THE pressure was off, but it was a must-win game.

Oxford United’s trip to Fleetwood Town was an afternoon of contradictions from the very beginning.

Three defeats in a row lowered expectations and made the U’s outsiders for a Sky Bet League One play-off place, so this one did not feel as important as the games against Plymouth Argyle, Morecambe and Sunderland.

Equally, only a win would keep United’s faint hopes of a top-six spot alive, so they desperately needed a result.

An away following of 739 was impressive considering the U’s recent form, even on the Easter weekend, and every fan would have thanked themselves for making the trip after a ruthless first 16 minutes.

RATINGS: Every Oxford United player marked out of 10 for Fleetwood display

Yes, Fleetwood made it easy for United, but the build-up to each goal was incisive and all three finishes were clinical. Kieran O’Hara was not given the chance to make the wonder saves we have seen from opposition stoppers in recent weeks.

That opening quarter of an hour showed why the U’s have challenged for the play-offs all season, but from then on – particularly in the second half – we saw why they could well miss out on the top six.

Callum Camps’ free-kick against the crossbar and Ellis Harrison’s effort that went wide were a warning that Fleetwood would not lie down and accept defeat.

United’s loss to Morecambe showed what happens when a team fighting for their lives receive a route back into the game, and the visitors almost dropped more points in Lancashire from a position of even greater dominance.

The U’s cannot have too many complaints about the penalty decision, although Matty Taylor should have restored the three-goal advantage when he was denied by O’Hara. Going in at the break 4-1 down would surely have extinguished Fleetwood’s fire.

READ MORE: Karl Robinson felt Oxford United could have been more clinical at Fleetwood

Instead, the visitors were on top for most of the second half and when Cian Hayes scored their second you feared the worst.

Jack Stevens did not necessarily need to race off his line with Ellis Harrison facing away from goal and Sam Long covering, although he was unlucky that the ball squirmed out of his grasp.

Ciaron Brown’s last-ditch clearance moments later was a huge moment, as Fleetwood had all the momentum and would have fancied their chances of going on to win.

United’s game management has been better this season, but they needed to keep possession better and did not break up the contest until the closing stages – James Henry’s head injury was an unfortunate reason for interrupting Fleetwood’s flow.

The hosts looked dangerous when they ran at the U’s defence or played balls into the channels, and they worked that out pretty quickly.

READ MORE: Cameron Brannagan knows Oxford United underperformed against Fleetwood

Assuming Karl Robinson does not make many personnel changes against MK Dons on Tuesday, it might be worth switching to 4-2-3-1 to add an extra body in front of the back four.

United arguably looked most comfortable defending set-pieces and long throws – ironic, considering their struggles earlier in the season.

After three defeats in a row, they deserve credit for surviving the onslaught and seeing this one out, even if it was not entirely convincing.

We know how quickly the play-off picture can change and this result, rather than the performance, will hopefully give the U’s a confidence boost going into two huge games next week.

It is more apparent than ever that United will need to win their last three matches to have a chance of reaching the play-offs.

They will need to defend better to manage that, while also retaining the ruthlessness of the opening 16 minutes.