In with the new

From the Rage Online newsdesk Sunday, December 31st, 2006  

Oxford's first game of 2007 sees them visit St James Park, to take on old adversaries Exeter City[@opponent]Exeter City[/@opponent]. The last time that United won an away game on New Year's Day was under Jim Smith's previous management, when the side won 1-0 at Ayresome Park, then home to Middlesbrough, in the Second Division in 1985. The Us have only beaten Exeter five times in 27 meetings, most recently on 12 September, when a Steve Basham goal was enough to earn the points at Grenoble Road[@news]561[/@news]. United haven't won since beating Tamworth 2-1 on 25 November, and the side's last away win in the league was as far back as 20 October, when they beat Cambridge United 3-0.

There are three players who are definitely unavailable due to injury: striker Marvin Robinson, who is due to return to full-time training this week, defender Chris Willmott, and latest victim, midfielder Eddie Hutchinson. There is also a doubt over Carl Pettefer, who has apparently been receiving treatment recently, but who played the full 90 minutes against both Woking and Crawley. The main choices facing Smith are who to start up front, and whether Rufus Brevett or Gavin Johnson should start at left wingback. We suspect that he will revert to a starting strikeforce of Rob Duffy and Basham, and our guess is that Johnson will start, with Rufus replacing him towards the end of the game. However, our guesses have not been generally renowned for their accuracy.

Following their relegation to the Conference in 2003, the Grecians have struggled in their attempts to return to the Football League. They have just missed out on the play offs in each of the last three seasons, and this time around it so far looks to be a similar story, as City lie in 8th place, six points off the play offs. Exeter have featured a number of former Us in their ranks, with Jon Richardson [@player]Richardson, Jon[/@player]still at SJP. The defender was actually played up front in City's 2-1 win at St Albans yesterday, as Exeter have suffered an injury and illness crisis recently. Other former United players who have plied their trade in that particular neck of Devon include former captain Martin Thomas[@player]Thomas, Martin[/@player], and long-term servant for both clubs, Peter Hatch[@player]Hatch, Peter[/@player]. In United's current squad, Pettefer played for the Grecians during their relegation season, but was generally considered to be the one bright point during his season-long loan from Portsmouth. Bearing in mind Oxford's current form, we are loath to predict anything other than a 2-0 defeat for the Yellows, who will be cheered on by a lower away following than usual as a result of the 1 o'clock kick-off time and the all-ticket restrictions imposed by the Devon & Cornwall constabulary. That is assuming that the game goes ahead, as it has been raining heavily in south Devon all day.

The most significant other game that is taking place in the Conference tomorrow is Dagenham's trip to Crawley. It was after the Sussex side drew with Oxford yesterday that the Daggers wrested top spot from the Us, so now Crawley can do United a favour, and damage Dagenham's hopes. Third-placed Burton host Stafford Rangers, while there's a big game at fifth-placed Morecambe, where 4th-placed York are the visitors. Morecambe, of course, are United's visitors on Saturday.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 31st, 2006 at 12:00 am and appears under 2006, News Items.

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