BOSS Chris Wilder believes his Oxford United side are still right in the mix for a play-off place after their courageous never-say-die fightback at Stevenage on Saturday.

And he saluted the character of his players as they battled back with ten men from a goal down in the second half to keep their season alive.

“It's game on,” he insisted after the 1-1 draw at their promotion rivals.

“Backed by wonderful support, we gave it a right go and deep down I'm happy with a point.

“I think seven points from three very difficult away games is a great effort.

“I've got nothing but credit and praise for my players.

“I was delighted with their focus and we showed great character and commitment to get back.

“We were positive, we were disciplined when we had to be, we kept our shape, we frustrated the opposition, and when we broke, I thought we did so really well. We were fully justified for the point.

He added: “It was a difficult game.

“Stevenage are up there on merit, they've got a lot of good players, are FA Trophy finalists and 21 unbeaten, so it was no mean feat for us to get a result.”

The big decisions probably evened themselves out.

While on another day Damian Batt might only have got a yellow, rather than a red card, by the same token, some referees might not have judged Adam Chapman's fall in the area to have been a trip, with James Constable converting the resulting penalty to bring the U's their equaliser.

Wilder said: “I thought it was harsh to send Batt off.

“Yes, you can argue there's justification, but I felt Chris Willmott had gone around the back of him and was covering.

“It was a 50-50 one and it went against us.

“The ref was quick to give a decision with the red card, which we felt was a tough one, and he was equally quick to give the decision for the penalty, which I thought it was.

“It was positive play by Chapman and we fully deserved the result.”

Batt, who had only just signed a new two-year deal with the club, felt the Stevenage players' reaction got him sent off.

“I thought it was a bit harsh,” he said.

“He (Mitchell Cole) cut across me and I couldn't stop myself from running.

“Initially, the ref said to me the ball was going away from the goal, that's why I thought he was only going to book me.

“But the way four or five of their players ran up to him helped make up his mind.”