LATICS boss Richie Wellens felt his side were denied at least one certain penalty in Saturday’s stalemate at the Kassam.

Wilfried Moimbe was felled in the first half, then Rob Hunt was pushed to the turf in a similar incident after the break.

He said: “I’m disappointed the referee didn’t give us at least one penalty. I didn’t see the first one but the lads are telling me it should have been given.

“I thought the second one on Rob Hunt was a definite penalty.

“They say it’s swings and roundabouts, so hopefully, we’ll get a decision we maybe don’t deserve in the coming weeks.”

The manager believes a point was the least Athletic deserved – especially after losing Kean Bryan, possibly for the rest of the season, with a hamstring injury inside the first 20 minutes.

“For the first 20 minutes, Oxford – who are a good passing side – were on the front foot but for the last 15 minutes of the first period, they couldn’t get out of their own half,” he added.

“Jack Byrne had one cleared off the line and then for the most of the second half we were really positive and looking to win the game but also with an eye on closing the back door.

“Karl Robinson is not daft – he saw that I had to put a young centre-back on so then goes with two up front.”

Wellens praised his rejigged defence – especially teenager Tom Hamer who produced a faultless display.

He said: “The two young lads – George Edmundson and Tom Hamer – coped really well with it.

“Tom is 18-years-old and to come on in difficult circumstances, playing at the back in a League One game, is fantastic – it doesn’t get much tougher than that and he didn’t put a foot wrong.

“Tom has done great and I’ll never be scared of putting him in. I worked with him a lot in the development team, he’s a real good lad who wants to learn and I know he can go on to play at a good level.”

Jack Byrne was given a recall to the starting line-up in a bid to combat Oxford’s compact shape in midfield, revealed Wellens.

“I put Jack Byrne back in because I didn’t want to play a 4-4-2 against their diamond,” he said.

“I didn’t want us to be outnumbered in the centre of the pitch because Oxford can outplay teams.

“A change in shape was to give the midfield an extra body in there because I want Jack to get on the ball and make things happen.”