ROB Dickie paid tribute to Oxford United after his stunning strike helped knock them out of the Carabao Cup.

The former U’s defender broke the deadlock for Queens Park Rangers 26 minutes into the second-round tie at Loftus Road, with Ilias Chair’s deflected effort completing the scoring before half-time.

It was the latest highlight of Dickie’s successful spell in west London, having moved from United for an undisclosed fee last summer.

Read the match report here

The 25-year-old did not celebrate his fourth goal of the season out of respect to an estimated 2,000-plus U’s fans, who made plenty of noise.

“The space opened up for me and I know I’m capable of scoring from there, so I thought why not,” he said.

“It was a really special night, the Oxford fans were amazing throughout the game.

“This is a good Oxford side.

“They play some really good football, they had some decent spells against us.

“Thankfully we’re in the hat for the next round, but all credit to Oxford.

“I know what they’re capable of and I wish nothing but the best for them.

“The club holds a very special place in my heart and it means a lot to me, I’ve still got a lot of friends there.”

United started the tie brightest to give their supporters hope of a shock against Sky Bet Championship opponents.

But from the 15-minute mark QPR gradually took control and were comfortably on top after Dickie’s strike.

Simon Eastwood was in the United goal and he could do little about the thunderbolt.

He said: “I saw him coming and I said to myself ‘go on then, hit it'.

“I’ve seen him do it before this season, so credit to him - it was a great strike.”

United had chances during an entertaining match and could have set-up a grand finale with some good chances towards the end.

But QPR saw the game out, allowing Dickie to leave the field as a late substitute to applause from both sets of fans – and with even more admiration from Karl Robinson.

The U's head coach said: “It’s a difficult place to find yourself when you want to show total respect to your team but also to Oxford United.

“I thought he did that in typical Rob Dickie style.”