JOSH Ruffels was delighted Oxford United’s players could keep their end of the bargain to ensure the club’s 125th anniversary went with a bang.

A 3-0 victory against Shrewsbury Town was just what the occasion merited and moved the side to the brink of moving out of the Sky Bet League One relegation zone.

To mark the milestone United wore a special kit and invited a host of legends, who had more than 6,000 appearances between them.

And it was appropriate Ruffels, born just days before the U’s centenary and the only Oxfordshire-born player in the starting XI, headed in the opener.

“It was a really good occasion and the result was the main thing, so we gave the fans what we wanted,” he said.

“I know a lot of the lads who have come through the academy, where I started when I was really young.

“It’s good for the fans to come out and support. I thought the flag at the start was great and it showed really good support.

“It was my birthday on Tuesday, when we got a not bad result at Charlton (1-1 draw) and to finish off a really positive week with a goal and a win is great.”

The victory extended United’s unbeaten run to five games, which has lifted them off the bottom and back into the pack.

It has been built on a defence which has conceded just once – a penalty – in 450 minutes and full back Tony McMahon is looking up.

He said: “I think over the last five games we’ve been really good.

“We’ve gone back to basics and have a game plan that seems to be working for us.

“We’ve been hard to beat and keeping clean sheets, which is the most important thing and is giving us a chance.”

He added: “The fans have been great, even when it’s not been going well they still stuck with us.

“We’ve kept going and it’s not through lack of effort that we’ve been losing, we’ve been trying our best.

“But we seem to have turned a corner now and are on the up hopefully.”