Aaron Ramsey’s praises Oxford United ‘reward’ in MK Dons draw

Centre back Ciaron Brown bagged a dramatic 95th-minute equaliser to rescue a point in the first League One game of the season.

Mark Harris had opened the scoring in the first half before the Dons turned the game around thanks to goals from Charlie Goode and Aaron Collins.

The U’s were without star man Stanley Mills, who has agreed a January transfer to Preston North End, as well as midfielder Brian De Keersmaecker.

Despite the thrill of a late goal, former Arsenal hero Ramsey emphasised that he wants more than to just draw matches.

“I’m not here to celebrate draws and things,” the former Wales international declared after the game.

“But in the context of things, I think it was really important for us to do that because also this has been a team that has struggled the last couple of seasons.

“And for us to keep going until the end, to keep knocking the door and to come back and be rewarded, that’s really big for us going forward as well.

“Because that mentality to keep going and to never give up was evident today.

“And we could have probably nicked the win in the end as well.

“It took us up to 95th minute to get that equaliser but I’m really encouraged by what I saw.”

Ramsey has been in post for almost two months and has reiterated that his methods will take time to fully embed in the squad.

Mark Harris scored the first goal of the season for Oxford United (Image: Oxford United)

Fans have seen flashes of exciting passages of play, particularly in the four friendly victories.

“Teams with their physicality and things like that, of course, that is going to be a challenge for us.

“But ultimately, we have to come up with the answers and I felt like for the first 20 minutes of the game today, we were really good.

READ MORE: Stan Mills chose not to play for Oxford United amid Preston transfer

READ MORE: Oxford United steal late League One point in MK Dons draw

“We handled that really well and started the game really brightly.

“And then as soon as we got a grip on it again, second half, we were dominant again.

“So now it’s just about adding layers and, maybe, can we go for 60 minutes next week? Can we do it for 75 minutes?

“Then as soon as we can get that mentality and that throughout large periods of the game, then we’ll be a real dominant team that will be a threat for everybody.”

The U’s have a week to prepare for their second league fixture of the season, an away trip to Stevenage who finished in the play-offs last season.