BIRTHDAY boy Alex MacDonald admitted Oxford United let their standards drop before rallying late on to grab a point against Northampton Town.

The substitute moved into double figures for the season with a precise 91st-minute shot to earn a 1-1 draw at the Kassam Stadium.

It rescued the game for the home side, who were woefully off the pace in the first half and, despite improving after the break, did not have a shot on target until MacDonald’s effort.

The winger, who turned 25 yesterday, was unsure why United made such a slow start, but was thrilled to give himself a present.

He said: “I think because our standards have been so high when we fall under them you really know about it.

“You can’t put your finger on it and say it was this or that.

“But we showed grit and determination to come back into it in the second half and luckily enough came out with a point.”

He added: “I was happy enough with the goal and with it being my birthday it tops it off.”

Northampton’s goal came from an Ivan Toney free-kick which bounced over goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown.

Michael Appleton put it down to a bad bounce off an area of the pitch which covers one of the rugby posts.

A problem at the other end of the ground held up play in the first half until it was repaired and the United head coach did not apportion any blame on the goalkeeper.

He said: “I think it’s hit something similar which has made it go over Jamie.

“I think he had it well covered. If it had been Shane Warne he would’ve been delighted with that delivery.”

On the game overall, the U’s boss said: “We never really performed in the first half, we were below par, but I thought in the second half we were much better.

“We had glorious opportunities in the first ten minutes of the second half which we should’ve done better with.

“But we kept going and kept asking questions.”

The late goal denied a victory for Cobblers boss Chris Wilder, who made his first return to the Kassam since leaving the U’s last season.

He said: “I think the 4,000 supporters here will have seen us play well and we were backed by decent numbers.

“We feel we’ve not got the rewards from a decent effort.”