JOSH Parker admitted there was relief all round at the final whistle as Oxford United beat Plymouth Argyle 1-0 to claim their first win in six games.

James Constable’s first-half strike secured the result to end a barren run for Chris Wilder’s men.

They were worthy winners and on the balance of play the scoreline flattered the Pilgrims, who could easily have been on the end of a more emphatic defeat.

But Parker, who made his first start after Alfie Potter went down with an illness, was just delighted to end the wait for a win.

He said: “I think it’s a relief, but to be fair our heads have never gone down.

“We’ve never been negative about what’s happened, we’ve always just focused on the next game.

“It was a temporary blip because we knew most of the teams we come up against we are equal to or better than – we showed that (against Plymouth).

“I think the effort from all the players proves how much we wanted the win because things haven’t gone our way lately.”

Constable took his tally for the season to 11 by tapping in Damian Batt’s cross, but he thought a second goal should have stood late on.

A deflected cross appeared to land on the roof of the net before Plymouth goalkeeper Jake Cole tipped the ball back into play.

Constable pounced on the chance and his shot ended up in the back of the net.

Referee Chris Sarginson initially gave a goal, but after Plymouth protested, he consulted with an assistant and chalked it off.

Wilder thought the correct decision had been made, but Constable, who had a better view of the incident, disagreed.

He said: “I didn’t think the ball was out of play and we thought it was a pretty legitimate goal, but obviously the linesman thought otherwise.

“He gave it and then changed his mind for some reason, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.

“We would have been really disappointed if they had scored late on, but luckily it hasn’t cost us and we’ve got the three points.

“It’s a massively important result, we have been on a terrible run lately and it was nice to put that to bed and get the win we were all desperate for.”