Substitutes Gatlin O’Donkor and Mo Missanga struck twice in eight minutes to earn Oxford a 2-0 victory over local rivals Reading and a first Thames Valley derby win since 1999.
Just minutes after coming off the bench, O’Donkor thundered a low left-footed shot from Cameron Brannagan’s free-kick in off the far post to delight the home fans in a packed Kassam Stadium.
After that 71st-minute breakthrough, Missanga then turned in O’Donkor’s knock-down at a corner in the 78th minute to seal the three points.
Victory extended the U’s unbeaten run to 10 games and lifted Aaron Ramsey’s men to third in League One.
Although Reading had their chances, United – who controlled a lot of the possession – deserved the win.
Brannagan twice went close at free-kicks and visiting goalkeeper Joel Pereira also made a fine smothering save at Aidomo Emakhu’s feet.
Reading saw two efforts strike the crossbar, one by substitute Jacob Brown and the other coming off defender Ciaron Brown, while Simon Eastwood saved from Jack Marriott’s shot high to his left and Jeriel Dorsett’s close-range backheel.
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