Mansfield Town

Defender believes we were the better team in victory over Oxford United.

Ryan Tafazolli hailed midfielder/assistant-manager Adam Murray after his decisive late strike earned us a vital 2-1 win over Oxford United.

Tafazolli put us on course for three points with a close-range header late in the first half, but the visitors looked to be on course to snatch a point when Danny Hylton converted a spot-kick.

However, Murray who had only just came off the bench, struck in the dying minutes to earn us our first win in Sky Bet League Two this season.

Tafazolli said: “I’m not sure how easily the referee gave [the penalty to Oxford], but Adam Murray made amends for me.”

“All credit to him, he’s taken away the attention from me. I didn’t want to be held responsible for us losing two points.”

Tafazolli thought the Stags deserved the win over the 90 minutes.

He continued: “We limited them to only a number of chances, so I think we definitely deserved to win.”

“We were solid, our structure looked good today. They didn’t really have that many chances so it was a shame when we conceded.

“All credit [goes] to the gaffer for making two changes, bringing on Muz [Adam Murray] and Fergo [Fergus Bell]. They made the difference when they came on and for the better.”

With regards to his own display, Tafazolli said that he’s pleased with both his, and the teams start to the season: “I just go in to every game giving my everything and I’m pleased that I’m putting in some good performances.”

“We looked quite solid today, when we did give away cheap free-kicks and corners, we didn’t look like we were going to concede. Everyone needs to take their good performances in to Tuesday night.”

Ryan Tafazolli’s full post-match interview will be available on Stags Player later tonight. To subscribe, click here.