JOHNNY Mullins was disappointed Oxford United failed to heed the warnings about Luton Town’s fast start as they fell behind in just over a minute, writes DAVID PRITCHARD.

The visitors were well aware the Hatters, backed by the vast majority of the 9,000-strong crowd at Kenilworth Road, would begin strongly.

But they could do nothing about Luke Wilkinson, who leapt to head in a free-kick which put them on the way to a 2-0 victory.

It was the fourth time this season the U’s had conceded in the opening ten minutes of a game and Mullins knows it is a habit which needs to be stamped out.

Latest Sport news

He said: “We’ve got to stop that happening as a unit.

“You can talk until the cows come home in the changing room about let’s not concede early and we know they’re going to come.

“Everything was said, but it obviously didn’t go in because they scored.”

He added: “It was a sucker punch to concede so early in the game, it gives you a mountain to climb.

“I felt we pushed on and had a lot of the ball, but then we got caught again by another sucker punch.

“You come off the pitch thinking we haven’t actually played that poorly, but we’ve lost 2-0.”

The second goal came midway through the second half, when Luke Howells reacted quickest after his penalty was blocked by goalkeeper George Long, tucking in the rebound.

Mullins was on the scene as Danny Hylton was penalised for handball, which the centre back felt was questionable on two counts.

He said: “I thought it was outside the box, so it was a harsh decision for where he was.

“Hylts was up in the air challenging for a header and they came together.

“But we can’t stand here and blame the referee for losing.”

  • Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone’s contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.