ALEX Mowatt savoured a magic moment as his first goal for Oxford United came in front of a packed away turnout and proved to be the winner at Bristol Rovers.

The Barnsley loanee calmly struck the only goal of the game eight minutes from time after coming off the bench.

It sealed a third straight victory for the U’s and the midfielder was able to celebrate in front of more than 1,200 travelling fans who had made the trip to the Memorial Stadium.

He said: “I was thinking ‘just get it on target and score’.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better place really, right in front of the fans.

“I thought the boys were excellent.

“There were a lot of long balls coming their way and they defended really well.

“I think it was a crazy game, there was a lot going on. I was just happy to get the winner.”

United had prepared for Rovers’ direct approach and boss Pep Clotet saluted the way his side had grafted to stay on level terms, allowing Mowatt to become the hero.

He said: “It was a fantastic game because it was very intense.

“We expected it to be like that, especially because we were playing a side with really good momentum after winning 6-0 away (at Northampton) last week.

“They are very strong at home and score a lot of goals, so we knew we had to do a lot of work to stop them playing.

“We did that and mixed some moments of dropping with some moments of pressing.

“We waited for our opportunities where we could put more of our football on the pitch.

“I’m delighted for the effort and commitment of the players, because they stuck 100 per cent to the game plan.

“They sacrificed themselves for the team and their fans. In the end they got a deserved victory.”

John Mousinho was at the heart of a U’s defence who had to deal with plenty of balls forward.

He said: “It was quite clear from the start their intention was to get it forward quickly and threaten us from that point of view.

“In the first 25 minutes they caused us problems doing it, but I think after that we settled down really well.

”At times in the second half they created a bit of pressure, but I can’t really remember them having a chance, which was pleasing.”