JOSH Ruffels was delighted to end his barren goalscoring run to trigger Oxford United's 3-0 win over Shrewsbury Town.

The left back, who turned 25 this week, headed in Tony McMahon's third-minute corner.

It was his first goal for ten months - and the margin of victory was the U's biggest in the league for even longer, since the 4-0 win at Plymouth last November.

Ruffels said: "To get on the scoresheet is something I haven’t done for a while, so it was an added bonus.

"We got the result we really needed. It’s been a good couple of weeks for us now.

"It was my birthday on Tuesday, when we got a not bad result at Charlton and to finish off a really positive week with a goal and a win is great.

"We’ve been trying since the start of the season to get a decent set piece and finally I’ve got on the end of one."

The result was befitting of the occasion, with United celebrating their 125th anniversary.

There was a parade of legends before the game and boss Karl Robinson was happy to see his side deliver in front of the biggest home league crowd of the season.

He said: "You want to play in these sort of atmospheres on a consistent basis and that’s something you feel.

"We don’t always get these opportunities, but today it’s all about the people who for 125 years been impeccable servants.

"We all pass through – players, coaches, managers, owners – but the constant are the fans.

"Over those 125 years there have been thousands and thousands who have stood on cold days like today and supported this great club."

While it was not quite enough to lift the side out of Sky Bet League One's bottom four for the first time this season, United's five-game unbeaten run has got them back into the pack.

Just their third league win of the campaign looked on the cards early on, with Gavin Whyte adding a second goal before the 15-minute mark.

Full back Tony McMahon laid on both goals and felt the fast start made all the difference.

He said: "I think the early goal settled everyone down and made it that little bit louder.

"The fans have been great, even when it’s not been going well they still stuck with us.

"Today’s a good day – three points, a clean sheet and three goals, you can’t argue with that."