ALFIE Potter said Oxford United “shocked” league leaders Gillingham with the standard of their performance in winning 1-0 at Priestfield, writes DAVID PRITCHARD.

The U’s had won just one of their previous seven games, but a changed line-up delivered with an impressive display.

There was nothing fortunate about the victory, which was sealed by a cool finish from Potter six minutes from time.

The 24-year-old was thrilled to upset the odds and felt United had surprised their high-flying opponents.

“It’s a massive result,” he said.

“We had been written off by everyone, but we’ve shown on our day we can compete with the best teams in this league.

“I think we shocked them, maybe they turned up thinking they were going to roll us over.”

Potter had worked hard in a central role and was tiring late on before the big chance fell his way from Tony Capaldi’s through ball.

He said: “It was probably the last run I had in me, so I was glad to get on the end of it because my legs had gone after that.”

It capped off a dramatic day for United, who had problems getting to Kent.

Like many supporters, the team bus was caught up in heavy congestion caused by the closure of the M40.

The delays threw their preparations into disarray, forcing the players to eat their pre-match meal much later than usual.

The bus only reached Priestfield around an hour before kick-off, so the squad could only go through a shorter warm-up than normal.

U’s boss Chris Wilder, who also lost Andy Whing to illness earlier in the day, was immensely satisfied with the result.

He said: “It’s been a difficult, long day, but it’s been an enjoyable night for us.

“We’ve had to overcome a lot of different challenges and I think we deserved the win.

“We got here really late, the changing room looked like a bomb site before the game – there was kit everywhere.

“It shows that sometimes when you’re not the best prepared you just dig in. All credit to the character of the players.”