MATTY Taylor was relieved to end his barren run in front of goal as he helped Oxford United to an impressive 3-0 win over Doncaster Rovers.

The striker’s double and Mide Shodipo’s strike all-but secured victory for the U’s before half-time as they comfortably beat their fifth-placed opponents at the Kassam Stadium.

Taylor had gone 14 games without finding the net and dedicated the pair of close-range finishes to his grandad, who recently passed away.

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After taking his tally to 13 for the season, the 30-year-old admitted it had been tough to stop the goal drought playing on his mind.

“When it got to six or seven games I was a bit frustrated, but I’m old and wise enough to know the goals are going to come back around,” Taylor said.

“I’ve snatched at a few chances.

“We’ve not been that creative in a few games and it’s been a bit frustrating on my part.

“You just keep getting in the box, keep shooting and eventually they come back.

“It’s nice to see a few go in.”

The victory saw United climb to eighth in Sky Bet League One and halved the gap to the play-offs to two points.

It was also their first triumph over one of the division’s current top six, coming at the tenth attempt.

The U’s were aware of the unwanted record and Taylor was pleased to consign it to history.

He said: “I don’t think it played on our minds, we were just frustrated that we hadn’t done it.

“We believe we’re good enough and we’d have liked to have beaten more of them.

“They’re all difficult games, we haven’t had the rub of the green in some of them and you make your own luck.

“That’s the way football goes, hopefully we get a few more wins against the teams above us and finish strongly.”

Karl Robinson has alternated between Taylor and Dan Agyei in recent weeks in a bid to avoid burnout and the U’s head coach felt his No 9 looked refreshed.

He said: “It’s been a hard week for him.

“I’m pleased for Matty, it looked like he had something to prove.

“He was a different animal, with the rest he’s had over the last few weeks he looks like the Matty of old.

“He was the bouncy, bubbly nuisance that takes chances when they come along.”