KARL Robinson was thrilled to see Sam Long crown his excellent performance against Rochdale with a goal.

The right back replaced the injured Chris Cadden early in the second half and put in an excellent attacking display even before making it 3-0 with four minutes remaining.

It was just the second time the academy graduate had scored for his boyhood club and Robinson admitted he could not be happier.

He said: “Longy lit the place up – I love power and pace, I like people who can manipulate the ball, but most of all I like good people.

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“Sam Long is one of the best young men we have at the football club – he’s one of the favourites because of how he conducts himself.

“To come on the way he did and to score a goal was something that will mean a lot to him.”

The United head coach was pleased his fringe players stepped up to the plate, with Shandon Baptiste and Rob Hall impressing off the bench and Mark Sykes offering a threat from the right wing.

But the circumstances that brought Baptiste and Long into the fray will worry Robinson, with Cameron Brannagan also forced off with injury.

The U’s boss will hope Brannagan and Cadden avoid a treatment room already occupied by Ben Woodburn, George Thorne, Jamie Hanson and Malachi Napa.

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But to him the injury list makes United’s 10-game unbeaten run even more impressive.

Robinson said: “People are forgetting that we’ve had at least five players injured or not available for every squad for the last seven or eight games.”

Tariqe Fosu was on the receiving end of a high challenge from Aaron Wilbraham that saw the Rochdale striker given a straight red card.

Robinson did not think the tackle was a sending-off offence, but feared for the U’s winger.

He said: “I know that’s not the type of person he (Wilbraham) is, I had him at MK for the beginning of my managerial career.

“With Cameron injured, I thought ‘please not Tariqe as well’, because these are games that people can get frustrated and players get treated a little bit different.”