Wilder revels in Hall form

Boss Chris Wilder lauded midfielder Asa Hall after his brace helped Oxford to a 3-0 victory over Morecambe. Hall, who scored his first Football League goal against the Shrimps for Shrewsbury three years ago, took his tally to three in the last five games. Paul McLaren's superb curled effort past Barry Roche piled further misery on Morecambe, who have now gone eight games without a win. Wilder said: "When I signed Asa I told the fans he was a goalscoring midfielder and he has now come to the party. "He took both his goals well and he showed exactly why we brought him here in the first place. His first goal was a tap in but his second was superbly taken and gave us the initiative. "He has been unlucky not to score more this season because he is an exceptional player. "This was a really good win against a good Morecambe side who played some decent stuff. They pressed us well but when they did I thought we defended well with our central defenders outstanding and Ryan Clarke in great form. "It has seen us keep the pressure on the teams at the top and that is all we can ask for and we will be doing all we can to keep that pressure on. "I always thought we had control of the game and I was pleased that we put our chances away today to kill the game off because I have been a bit critical of the forwards in recent weeks." Morecambe boss Sammy McIlroy was left bemoaning his side's fortunes as their slump continued. He said: "We've played some great stuff especially early on in the game but failed to get a win again. "It is tough for us at the moment because nothing seems to be going our way. We have a good bunch of lads but I've told the players they have to take more responsibility and be more ruthless at both ends of the pitch. "We will keep telling the players to believe in themselves and we are going to have to keep working as a group but one thing is for sure we will not lie down. "The league table doesn't lie and we are down there at the moment but I'm sure we have the experience to turn things round and start to win games again."

Source: PA