ELLIOTT Moore rued a missed opportunity as Oxford United’s hopes of a trip to Wembley were dashed by Tranmere Rovers.
The U’s were beaten 2-0 by their Sky Bet League Two opponents in the Papa John’s Trophy semi-final at the Kassam Stadium.
United struggled to get out of first gear throughout the 90 minutes, as a disjointed display was encapsulated by Matty Taylor’s wild miss from the penalty spot shortly after half-time.
But U’s captain Moore felt the damage was done beforehand, with their slow start allowing Kaiyne Woolery to give Tranmere the lead before the break.
“It’s a very tough one,” the centre back said.
“This was a massive chance for us to get to Wembley again and win a trophy.
“We didn’t turn up first half, we’ve only got ourselves to blame and we got punished for it.”
Kieran Morris made it 2-0 only after Taylor blazed over from the spot and hit the woodwork twice in the second half, but Tranmere were the better side for much of the contest.
The last-four tie began less than 48 hours after the final whistle blew on United’s Sky Bet League One win over Wigan Athletic on Sunday.
Moore did not feel tiredness was a factor in their display, with head coach Karl Robinson making seven changes to his starting line-up.
“I felt fine, we have no excuses,” the skipper said.
“It doesn’t matter whether we’re here every day or not, we’ve got to turn up and play and that was a poor performance.
“I think everyone will hold their hands up and say they had a poor game.
“We’ve just got to learn from it and move on.”
Karl Robinson: Certain players let themselves down against Tranmere
Robinson gave Blackburn Rovers loanee Joe Grayson his first U’s start, with the defender joining Moore at centre back.
The 21-year-old endured a difficult evening before being replaced at the break by Rob Atkinson, who won the penalty four minutes after the restart.
United improved after half-time, but Moore insisted each player was collectively responsible for the defeat.
He said: “It was a tough night for all of us – no-one stood out individually.
“We came out in the second half and put them under a lot of pressure.
“Unfortunately for us, the ball didn’t go in the net.
“If it did it might have been a different story.”
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