OXFORD United produced arguably their best performance of the season to smash high-flying Rochdale’s winning run at Spotland to smithereens.

Keith Hill’s men had won their previous ten home games, but a combination of ruthless finishing and defensive errors saw the U’s stroll to three points.

Marvin Johnson, restored to his role as a winger, opened the scoring and made the second goal for Rob Hall with a superb piece of skill.

United had to weather a brief response from the hosts before Ryan Taylor blasted in a third goal early in the second half.

And the thrashing was completed in style by Ryan Ledson, who collected a loose pass from goalkeeper Conrad Logan to score his first career goal from long range.

It capped off a terrific afternoon for the visitors, ahead of a big week of cup action.

Oxford Mail:

  • Rob Hall congratulates Marvin Johnson for opening the scoring

Head coach Michael Appleton made one change from the side who had lost 2-1 at AFC Wimbledon.

Joe Skarz made his first league start for two months, replacing Alex MacDonald, prompting three positional alterations.

Skarz’s return at left back pushed Johnson into his more natural position higher up the pitch. Chris Maguire was chosen to fill MacDonald’s role on the right, so Hall was pushed up front alongside Taylor.

It did not take long for all three switches to reap dividends.

Rochdale’s home form was intimidating, but there was little between the sides in a scrappy opening.

Maguire, a nuisance on the right flank, had the only effort of the opening quarter-hour, cutting on to his left foot and seeing his curled 20-yard effort saved by Logan.

The visitors’ next effort on target flew in, on 18 minutes.

Hall won a corner and his delivery was flicked on to Johnson, lurking unmarked at the left corner of the box.

The winger looked set to cross the ball, but a slight mis-control seemed to change his mind and he opted to smash a shot from an acute angle which found the corner of the net.

United showed no desire to sit on their lead and went on to grab the initiative.

Logan saved from Hall, who had been put through by Taylor, while the makeshift forward also came close with a curler from the edge of the box.

The third time was a charm for Hall, but he had Johnson to thank for teeing him up to make it 2-0 just before the half-hour mark.

A fortunate ricochet of Joe Rafferty sent Johnson into the box. The opportunity looked to have gone as the ball ran towards the byline and Logan came out of goal to narrow the angle, but Johnson came up with a brilliant backheel which gave Hall a simple tap-in.

Dale’s home fans, who had not seen their side drop points at home since August, were stunned into silence.

Their side stirred in the closing stages of the half, but failed to test Simon Eastwood.

The United goalkeeper caught a dangerous cross from Andrew Cannon, while Scott Tanser’s free-kick from the edge of the area looked to be heading in before Taylor rose from the wall to head the ball over.

The visitors almost had a third goal on the break four minutes before the interval.

Chey Dunkley was the unlikely playmaker after winning the ball in the centre circle and playing in Taylor, whose shot was smartly saved by Logan.

Another glorious opening arrived shortly after the restart, but Curtis Nelson skewed wide from Phil Edwards’s low cross.

Dale had made an attacking double change at the break and briefly put United under pressure with a series of set pieces.

Henderson came closest to reducing the arrears with a volley just over the bar.

But it quickly became 3-0, as United cashed in on a piece of good fortune when Jimmy McNulty’s backpass bobbled over Logan’s foot.

The resulting corner was taken short and when Hall delivered, Taylor thumped in a volley at the near post.

Oxford Mail:

  • A delighted Ryan Taylor (No 20) added United's third goal

A bizarre stoppage followed around the hour mark when Eastwood brought the referee’s attention to a suspicious object in his penalty area.

Groundstaff were summoned over the PA system with a shovel, where it became clear the offending article was a dead animal – prompting a debate in the stands over whether it was a rat or a mole.

When play resumed Eastwood, his area now an animal-free zone, dived to save a header from Vincenti.

Any lingering hope Dale had of getting back into the game vanished 17 minutes from time.

Logan was the culprit, hitting a free-kick straight to Ledson who, from at least 35 yards, returned the ball with interest. It was a spectacular way to score your first career goal.

United’s lead gave Appleton the luxury of resting Hall, Taylor and John Lundstram in the closing stages – an unexpected bonus ahead of a busy schedule.

Rochdale: Logan, Rafferty, McGahey, McNulty (Canavan 63), Tanser, Camps, Allen, Cannon (Vincenti HT), Mendez-Laing, Andrew (Owusu HT), Henderson.

Unused subs: Diba Musangu, McDermott, Noble-Lazarus, Morley.

Oxford Utd: Eastwood, Edwards, Dunkley, Nelson, Skarz, Maguire, Lundstram (Rothwell 81), Ledson, Johnson, Hall (Sercombe 74), Taylor (Hemmings 75).

Unused subs: Stevens, Raglan, Ruffels, MacDonald.

Referee: Robert Jones (Merseyside).

Attendance: 3,246 (no away figure given).