Neal Ardley conceded Oxford United were the better side at both ends as his AFC Wimbledon side slipped to a 2-0 defeat at Kingsmeadow.

The hosts had long spells of pressure, but could not break through a well-organised defence.

At the other end, United struck early on through James Constable and wrapped up the points with Deane Smalley’s penalty.

Ardley felt his side were second best where it counted most.

He said: “We lacked quality at times, but that comes from confidence being drained at times.

“At one end they were a constant menace and at the other they were solid, we need to pick ourselves up and become a better team.”

The Dons were third last month, but Saturday’s defeat extended their winless run to six games.

One key area of improvement for Ardley is stopping his side conceding first.

He said: “It’s always tough when you keep having to chase games. Five minutes in we were 1-0 down again, and that’s eight games on the trot now.

“The boys have given a lot of energy at the end of a tough week and have put everything out there.

“If we stuck a half chance away we could have kicked on. “I won’t moan about the effort and energy. The buck stops with me and we will have a meeting on Tuesday and get some positivity back in the camp.”