The views of the Cobblers boss
Cobblers boss Aidy Boothroyd reflected on the 2-1 reverse at Oxford.
"We knew Oxford were going to come out of the blocks quickly and I thought they started the game much better than we did," he said.
"In the second half we looked a lot more confident and once we got our goal I genuinely thought we were going to go on and win the game.
"It was a well worked goal from us and when we did get the ball into the box with quality we caused Oxford problems.
"We probably didn't do that enough overall, possession is great but ultimately it's about what happens in both boxes.
"We had some really good build up play but we weren't quite incisive enough in and around their box.
"Oxford played well but if we are going to be successful we need to be more consistent in every game.
"Both teams were up for it but when we got it back to 1-1 we switched off and we have to just take this defeat on the chin and congratulate Chris Wilder and his team.
"We've got a bit of a break now before our next game, we will be in working but the players will have a few days off to rest as well.
"We've grown as a team over the last few weeks and there were lots of positives for us this afternoon. We will learn from this and keep improving."