Sunderland's last-gasp winner was 'a bitter pill to swallow', admits Oxford boss Karl Robinson as the Black Cats came out on top in the crucial play-off clash at the Kassam Stadium. Elliot Embleton came off the bench to score in the 89th minute to hand Alex Neil's side a 2-1 win which saw them climb back into the top six.
But it was a hard one to take for Robinson who saw his side slip to a third defeat in eight days, having previously been beaten at play-off rivals Plymouth last weekend and at relegation strugglers Morecambe in midweek. And to make matters worse, with the score poised at 1-1, it was Oxford who looked the more likely side to win in the second half until Embleton struck Sunderland's knockout blow.
"It's a bitter pill to swallow, my players are devastated in there," Robinson said of the mood in the dressing room. "In the last three games, even the harshest critics would say we deserved a lot more than what we sit here on.
