OXFORD United goalscorer Danny Hylton relished being a thorn in AFC Wimbledon’s side after being told to go out and be a nuisance to the home side.

The forward opened the scoring with his tenth goal of the season early in the game, but contributed to the 2-1 win in other areas.

Hylton cleared one Jon Meades shot off the line and worked hard to disrupt Wimbledon.

It involved walking a fine line between being a pest and avoiding a tenth booking of the season, which will trigger a two-game suspension if it comes in the next three games.

U’s head coach Michael Appleton described the No 10’s performance as “magnificent” and Hylton was thrilled to play his part in a significant result.

He said: “It’s a huge win, massive.

“I don’t think many teams are going to come here and beat them.

“They are a big, strong, physical team who play a certain way and they are very good at it. We’re delighted we’ve stood up to be counted and were ready for the battle.

“I knew what type of game it would be and the gaffer said ‘get out there, put yourself about, be a nuisance’.

“It was that type of game, everybody needed to do it. You had to work hard and be ready for a fight.

“It’s a bit of a tightrope, but you can’t play a different way or take the aggression out of your game.

“I’m just going to keep playing the way I do and try my best not to get a booking, but I certainly won’t change the way I play.”

Hylton, who turned 27 last Thursday, was pleased to reach double figures for the campaign with a scruffy goal, although he joked Jordan Bowery should have set him up for a second.

He said: “It was a really scrappy goal, but they are the best ones and I was delighted to see it trickle over.

“Jordan’s goal was unbelievable.

“I still think he should have squared it to me because I would have had a tap-in, but it went in and we won the game.”