A double from Kemar Roofe either side of the half time interval was enough for the home side after Jordan Turnbull was shown a straight red card.
Mark Cooper was forced into two changes with Yaser Kasim and Louis Thompson away on international duty. In came Drissa Traore and Anton Rodgers. There was also a start for Jermaine Hylton with Fabien Robert sidelined with an injury picked up at Blackpool at the weekend.
A cagey yet even opening was punctuated by two efforts from Jermaine Hylton and Callum O’Dowda, with the latter striking the angle of bar and post for the hosts. Traore also dragged wide before Jon Obika had the ball in the back of the net. Running onto James Brophy’s nicely-weighted pass, he slotted home with a precise finish but his and the travelling support’s celebrations were cut short by the linesman’s flag.
Arguably the game’s turning point came just after the half-hour mark. As Town couldn’t make the most of a corner and with the ball drifting wide, Jordan Turnbull tangled with Oxford skipper, Jake Wright. He fell to the floor and with the home crowd baying for a red card, the referee duly obliged and gave Turnbull his marching order.
Buoyed by their man advantage, the hosts broke the deadlock just before half time. Some quick feet from Kemar Roofe took him past a couple of tackles in the box before he slammed the ball into the back of the net beyond Vigouroux.
In stoppage time, Vigouroux produced a stunning save to push Jordan Graham’s curling effort onto the post.
Minutes into the second half, the home side doubled their lead with Roofe, again, on hand to find the net. He met a cross from the right with a header that beat Vigouroux.
Town rarely threatened the home side’s goal for the remainder of the half, failing to register a shot on target.
There was a lengthy delay as Bradley Barry was stretchered off with an injury and the hosts held on to seal their place in the next round of the JPT.