DEREK Fazackerley bemoaned Oxford United's lack of composure in possession as a fast start fizzled out to a defeat against Bristol Rovers.

Joe Rothwell put the hosts in front inside two minutes, from then on the visitors steadily increased their control.

The pressure told in the second half, when Kyle Bennett and Ellis Harrison struck to earn a 2-1 victory, in a game watched by Thai businessman Sumrith Thanakarnjanasuth, who is linked with a takeover of the club.

And caretaker boss Derek Fazackerley had no complaints about the result.

He said: "We did get a good start and got our noses in front, but ultimately the performance wasn’t good enough to justify us taking anything out of the game at all.

"Having got the start we got I would have anticipated us to show a little more composure.

"Bristol Rovers are a very difficult side to play against, they’re very direct, put balls on top of you and push you back.

"Inevitably if you’re defending for long periods it gives the opposition an opportunity to get the ball in and around your box which is what they did and they managed to nick a couple of goals."

Rothwell, who came off with cramp in the second half, admitted United did not build on the early goal.

He said: "In a weird way it was probably the worst thing we could have done, scoring that early.

"We just sat off them and allowed them to play. It turned out to be a bad thing for us.

"I don’t think you can score that early and sit off as much as we did and expect not to have them bombard our goal."