ASA Hall was thrilled with the quality of his goal for Oxford United on Saturday, but said slipping out of the play-offs was “horrible” with just two games remaining.

The 25-year-old scored his sixth goal in 12 games with a thunderbolt in the 36th minute to earn the U’s a point in the 1-1 draw at Plymouth Argyle.

Hall rated the 30-yard dipping strike as one of his best ever.

He said: “It came to me in the middle of the pitch with no-one around me and to hit it so sweetly and see it go in the top corner was a great feeling.

“It’s definitely up there and as far as my Oxford goals have gone, it’s definitely my best one.”

The joy of the goal was tainted by the result, as United were unable to win for the fifth game running.

It cost the side their place in the play-off zone with the end of the season in sight and Hall admitted it was a big blow to the squad when they realised Crewe Alexandra had climbed above them.

He said: “It’s really disappointing because we came here for three points.

“To see us fall out of the play-offs as well is horrible, but we’ve got two games left and six points is a must.

“I thought there was only going to be one winner in the second half.

“Maybe we just didn’t have that bit of luck, Chappy’s (Adam Chapman) hit the post, things like that, it’s disappointing.

“We definitely feel we’ve played some good stuff again, it’s just that final piece in the attacking third which we haven’t quite managed to get right in the last few games.”

Plymouth had taken the lead in the second minute, forcing United to come from behind once again.

The former Birmingham City trainee said everyone was baffled by the side’s habit of conceding early goals.

“We’ve gone behind really early two or three times now, we’ve tried to eradicate it,” he said.

“We were all ready in the changing rooms to start right, but it was strange, it was one of those weird goals.”

OXFORD goalkeeper Wayne Brown was presented with the match ball by Plymouth after reaching a career milestone on Saturday.

The game at Home Park was the 35-year-old goalkeeper’s 500th appearance in England, more than 15 seasons after making his senior debut.