WHILE some of Oxford United's attacking play caught the eye against Peterborough United, skipper John Mousinho was delighted with how solid they looked defensively.

Karl Robinson's side opened their account at the Kassam Stadium with a 1-0 victory against a team backed to challenge for promotion.

In difficult windy conditions, the U's limited their visitors' goalscoring chances.

And Mousinho, who was making the 500th appearance of his career, felt it came down to hard work throughout the side.

He said: "Winning games is always built off the foundations of keeping clean sheets and good defensive performances.

"Albeit I thought we were really good going forward, especially in the first half, and it made our job a lot easier because we kept the ball so well.

Also read: League One round-up from Saturday's games

"We had a good mixture of both because in the second half we had to dig in and show we had a bit of steel about us.

"It was really positive from both aspects, but it was really pleasing to get the first clean sheet.

"Maybe at the very top level you can carry a couple of players, but we can’t afford to do it.

"We need the spark when we have the ball, but we need the work ethic on the defensive side as well.

"We saw that last week (in the 1-1 draw at Sunderland). Everyone really dug in and made it worthwhile. We’re going to need that going forward."

Cameron Brannagan's volley won the game, but the midfielder had to be withdrawn on the hour mark.

Already on a booking, he risked a second when giving away a foul against Marcus Maddison.

Also read: Player ratings - how the U's fared against Peterborough

Boss Karl Robinson admitted the sight of referee Michael Salisbury, who dismissed Shandon Baptiste last season before United could make a substitution, prompted the hosts to make a rapid change.

He said: "Someone said to me before the game this was the referee that sent Shandon Baptiste off against Luton.

"You can imagine what was going through my head when Cameron made a foul on the far side, so we had to make a decision very quickly."

He added: "We’re happy, but that game’s gone now.

"We’re sat here with four points from two tough games.

"I think the players have responded in a great way, but it means nothing if we can’t kick on and become better."