Table-topping Oxford United returned to winning ways but it was a hard old battle against Barrow.

James Constable converted a penalty for the second Saturday in succession after 27 minutes for his 13th goal of the season.

But Chris Wilder's men could never be truly comfortable while there was just one goal in it, and Barrow almost punished them in stoppage time with two efforts which weren't far away.

As well as Matt Green being injured, and Steven Kinniburgh suspended, the U's were without centre half Mark Creighton, who had a hamstring problem.

So Scotland Under 21 international Ross Perry came in for his full debut, lining up to the left of Luke Foster in central defence.

Otherwise, manager Wilder reverted to the 4-3-3 formation of old, with Sam Deering dropping back to the bench.

The U's made a sharper start than at Kidderminster last week, and a driving run by Dannie Bulman created an early opportunity, though Jack Midson had strayed offside, so his shot would not have counted even had Stuart Tomlinson not got behind it.

The Barrow keeper was left red-faced when Constable chased a totally lost cause and somehow weedled the ball out of his grasp as he gathered.

The referee was barely five yards away, so had a clear view that it wasn't a foul. But the angle was too acute and Constable's left-foot shot struck the outside of the post.

However, the combative, never-say-die centre forward was charging through on goal again in the 26th minute, after Midson had got a touch on a long free-kick forward, and the team's leading scorer got to the ball fractionally ahead of Tomlinson, who brought him down just inside the area.

The referee's assistant immediately put his flag across his chest and the ref pointed to the spot.

Perhaps the only surprise was that the ref produced only a yellow card, when it had seemed a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Last week Constable sent the keeper the wrong way from the spot. This time he blasted it high into the net.

There seemed to be a shoot-on-sight policy against a low-on-confidence keeper because United players kept trying long-range efforts, and Jamie Cook saw a deflected effort hit the outside of the same post that Constable had struck.

Adam Murray was unlucky to see a 35-yard angled free-kick totally beat Tomlinson in the air and smash against the far post before being scrambled clear.

In the second half, attacking towards their fans in the Oxford Mail Stand, the U's soon began to dominate totally.

Constable hooked a shot wide, Damian Batt saw his drive, from a 25-yard free-kick, take a deflection and so prove a comfortable save, and Midson almost forced in Cook's cross from close range.

As the drizzle turned to heavier rain, Cook then fired in a fierce left-footed shot from the edge of the area, and this time Tomlinson saved brilliantly, down by his right post, somehow forcing the ball up and over the bar.

As if it wasn't wet enough, with the ball often skidding off the greasy surface, the sprinklers mistakenly came on midway through the second half, causing a brief stoppage.

Adam Chapman replaced Murray for the last 17 minutes, and almost immediately, Constable broke down the right and sent over a superb cross that Midson, eight yards out, was just unable to get anything on.

In the last few minutes, the home fans' anxiety increased because their team hadn't put the game to bed, and sure enough, Barrow got a couple of half-chances in the four minutes of stoppage time.

But the efforts of substitutes Paul Rutherford and Carlos Logan didn't really trouble Ryan Clarke, and the U's held on for a vital victory that maintains their five-point lead at the top.