KARL Robinson was proud of Oxford United’s character as they went down fighting in their Sky Bet League One play-off semi-final at Blackpool.
The U’s drew 3-3 in the second leg at Bloomfield Road, their 3-0 home defeat on Tuesday costing them as they bowed out 6-3 on aggregate.
United needed an unprecedented comeback to reach a second successive Wembley final a week tomorrow and Matty Taylor’s seventh-minute strike gave them hope.
But quickfire goals from Elliot Embleton and Kenny Dougall slammed the door, with Rob Atkinson’s header followed by a Jerry Yates effort for Blackpool.
Mide Shodipo equalised to ensure the contest ended all-square and Robinson took heart from United’s display.
“When my team went 2-1 down a lot of teams would’ve crumbled – we came out and won the second half,” the U’s head coach said.
“I think we showed fight.
“We’ve come up short, I didn’t expect this team to concede six goals.
“That was never in the game-plan.
“We came here to score three and scored three, (but) I’m disappointed as I think we left ourselves quite vulnerable on the turnover of possession.”
Back at Bloomfield Road for the first time since September, the 4,000 home fans made plenty of noise throughout the 90 minutes.
There was an intake of breath after Taylor’s opener, as the U’s sought to become the first side in Football League play-off history to come back from three goals down halfway through the tie.
But, like in Tuesday’s first leg, Blackpool scored twice in quick succession to take control and Robinson was frustrated to see the good work undone.
“We’ve conceded four goals in five-and-a-half minutes. There’s the tie,” he said.
“The game-plan was to stay at 1-0.
“1-0 at half-time is all you need.
“You find yourself 2-1 down and that’s the frustration that sits in me, at 1-0 I’m screaming just see the half out.
“I didn’t even get the chance to get a breath.
“It’s almost like a boxer’s hit you with a few combinations, you’re numb.
“We’ve not lost this game, which was really important – to come back and really push them all the way.
“We fell short and we just weren’t good enough over two legs.”
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