PLAYER VERDICTS: Taylor stands tall in latest Peterborough United defeat

Taylor played at the tip of a midfield diamond and sprayed numerous excellent passes around, but Posh still went down 2-1 to Oxford United.

Luke McGee: No chance with the goals, but he’s started to look a little suspect when challenged for high balls in his own penalty area. A fine save towards the end of the first-half and a couple of other decent stops after the break 6.5

Michael Smith: Limped off midway through the first half which was a shame as he’d been playing well going forward 6

Andrew Hughes: As usual he put a strong defensive shift in. Struck the bar with a late header, but could have done more with a couple of decent crossing opportunities 6

Ryan Tafazolli: Had to deal with plenty of balls into the Posh penalty area as Oxford made hay down the flanks. Generally sound apart from a couple of dodgy moments in possession. Needs to become more of a threat in the other penalty area 6.5

Jack Baldwin: Plays with great commitment, but he remains rash when attempting to tackle and prone to errors when in possession 5.5

Michael Bostwick: His move back to midfield wasn’t a roaring success apart from one goal-saving tackle in the first-half. Passed poorly, caught out for second goal by which time he was back at centre-back 5

Leo Da Silva Lopes: Bright early on when he was denied a goal by a fine save. His game suffered when Smith limped off and his poor tackling technique led to an entirely justifiable red card late in the game 6

Chris Forrester: His woeful run of form continued although he did force a fine fingertip save with a 25 yard strike after the break. His passing has gone to pot and it’s far from certain the more advanced role in the midfield diamond suits him 5

Paul Taylor: The team’s outstanding player by some distance. Passed the ball extremely well and ran hard at the visiting defence all afternoon 8.5

Tom Nichols: Looks so short of confidence which is not entirely surprising if he can hear the barracking from a small section of Posh fans. His performance here was one of delayed shots and one inaccurate shot when particularly well placed 5

Craig Mackail-Smith: His 100th Posh goal was a fluke and it was irrelevant. A great achievement though and a reward for another hard-running effort. Denied a goal a few minutes earlier by a brilliant close-range save 5

Substitute

Harry Anderson: (for Smith, 28 mins) Looked to struggle with the pace of the game, but then it was his first League One appearance since October 2015 5

Brad Inman: (for Baldwin, 67 mins)

Junior Morias: (for Nichols, 67 mins)

Martin Samuelsen: (not used).

Mark Tyler: (not used).

Jerome Binnom-Williams: (not used).

Anthony Grant: (not used).