MICHAEL Appleton admitted Oxford United were the architects of their own downfall as AFC Wimbledon came from behind to complete a league double.

A Simon Eastwood own goal and Sean Kelly’s header saw the Dons wipe out Rob Hall’s early strike at Kingsmeadow.

Only Eastwood’s excellence kept the contest alive, but despite the goalkeeper’s heroics the visitors were unable to claw their way back into the game.

Appleton was critical of his side’s decision-making, especially in the first half, which allowed Wimbledon, 3-1 winners at the Kassam Stadium in October, to seize the initiative.

He said: “It’s not as if they’ve opened us up, or put balls into the box playing percentage football.

“It was just a lot of silly errors on our part that got them the opportunity they were making.

“There are a lot of young players in there who will learn from it and deal with it better.

“If you want to pit your wits against better opposition and become better then you have to come to places like Wimbledon and beat them.

“If not, you’re going to keep coming back here.”

While it was a bad day at the office, Appleton was mindful of United’s encouraging run, which had seen them lose just once in 13 games before last weekend.

He said: “I’ve got to give the players credit, it’s been a long time since we’ve felt as disappointed as we do.

“Here we were just a little bit short in areas where Wimbledon have an abundance.”

On the day of the game the Oxford Mail revealed the U’s had not been approached by the Football Association, who have started their interviews for the England Under 21 role.

Appleton, who was reportedly on their shortlist and was viewed by bookmakers as a leading candidate, said: “There’s been absolutely no contact and I don’t expect there to be.

“It’s come out in the press which is a bit of a relief because they can get on with it and people can hopefully stop asking questions about it.”