KARL Robinson felt Oxford United only had themselves to blame as they conceded twice late on to suffer a first defeat to Swindon Town since 2001.

The U’s took an early lead through Oxford-born Matty Taylor, but lost their grip on the derby during the second half.

United were unable to deal with defender Tom Broadbent as a makeshift striker, with the substitute scoring Swindon’s first ever goal at the Kassam Stadium with five minutes left.

The same player had a hand in the stoppage-time winner, as Simon Eastwood failed to deal with his header under pressure from Tyler Smith.

The 2-1 loss means the U’s are still without a clean sheet in Sky Bet League One this season and Robinson was frustrated with how his side handled the closing stages.

Gallery: Oxford United's derby defeat to Swindon defeat

The U’s head coach said: “We looked scared and we played with a little bit of fear.

“I don’t generally say that about the players.

“We were off it in a lot of our play and that to me is the worrying aspect of it.

“As a management team we know what we expect.

“There’s players in there that are underperforming and they’ve got to pull their finger out.

“The things that are in my control we’ll certainly get right, the things that aren’t are up to them to make the correct decisions for their own careers.”

United were facing their rivals for the first time since February 2017, with the fixture rearranged from October 24 due to coronavirus cases in the Swindon squad.

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The hosts had an eight-match unbeaten derby record to protect and Taylor’s 15th-minute chip seemed to set them on their way.

But the striker missed a great chance late in the first half and Robinson admitted that was a big moment.

He said: “That’s been a big problem of ours.

“If you look at an awful lot of games this year we’ve missed far too many chances when we’ve been dominant.

“That puts you under pressure the longer the game goes on.”