Oxford manager Michael Appleton saluted his players' resolve as they hung on with 10 men for 35 minutes to beat Newport County 1-0 at the Kassam Stadium.
Michael Collins' 41st-minute free-kick from long range ended up winning the match, and ending County's seven-game unbeaten run.The U's had to defend for their lives in the second half to earn only a second league win of the season, after Tyrone Barnett was shown the red card in the 55th minute, following a second yellow card for a late challenge on Darren Jones.
"The performance shows the players can dig in when they need to and they've shown great resolve.
"It was a different side to us today. The concentration and the mental resolve were so strong today it was going to take something special to take it away from us.
"We should have been three or four goals out of sight at half-time.
"In the first half it was a fantastic performance from us. We had numerous opportunities. We only got the one goal, but fortunately we were able to hold onto it."