JOE Rothwell believes Oxford United’s 1-1 draw at Milton Keynes Dons was a fair reflection of the game.

The midfielder was influential in the visitors’ dominant first 25 minutes, during which Rob Hall opened the scoring, while United also carved out three very good chances in the latter stages of the Sky Bet League One game.

But in between it was the home side that made most of the running.

Although U’s goalkeeper Simon Eastwood only had one save to make, it was hard to argue they did not deserve Callum Brittain’s equaliser, which earned them a share of the spoils.

Rothwell said: “We got off to a good start and chipped in with a good goal, but we kind of let them back into it.

“We said at half-time we couldn’t rest on our laurels, but they had that 25-minute period and managed to get a goal.

“Then it was game on and it was just a matter of knuckling down.

“I thought we reacted well and could have nicked it at the end, but a point is probably a fair result.”

The draw gave United eight points from their opening five games – twice the tally they managed at the start of last season.

While the concept of using five-game blocks went with Michael Appleton’s departure as head coach in June, eight points was the target to make the play-offs, so it shows the U’s are on track for a top-six finish.

Rothwell said: “We’ve changed it now, it’s game-by-game, which I think the lads prefer.

“Eight points from five games is a good start really, and is better than last season.

“There are plenty of positives to take out of it.”