Oxford United and Kidderminster Harriers fought out a goalless draw at Minchery Farm this afternoon in a game in which neither side particularly impressed.[@news]2245[/@news] [@opponent]Kidderminster Harriers[/@opponent] In fact, both sides showed what they really are: poor, mid-table Conference fodder, both reasonably solid in defence and very poor going forward. United will be pleased to have kept another clean sheet, especially given that they made changes to the back line, but will be disappointed that they are still looking toothless up front, where none of the forwards troubled Scott Bevan to any degree.

United had the first chance, but Boxing Day scorer Phil Trainer could only find Row Z in the East Stand, literally. Trainer was called into action almost immediately afterwards at the other end, where he headed a James Constable header off the line following a corner. Further Kidderminster pressure failed to yield any clear chances to the visitors, and United had a couple of opportunities at the other end, first when Yemi Odubade wriggled into the penalty area, but failed to get a shot away, and then when Eddie Hutchinson found himself in space on the edge of the area, but got under the ball and lofted it well over.

Kidderminster almost broke the deadlock at the start of the second half, after a free kick harshly awarded against Barry Quinn. Jeff Kenna curled the ball around the wall, but it struck the post and Quinn headed clear. Quinn then did exceptionally well to clear a cross from Simon Russell from the centre of the goal. Constable was booked for an assault on James Clarke, in a clear attempt at retribution for his dismissal at Aggborough, and he was lucky not to get sent off after another deliberately late tackle on Clarke that, luckily for him, the referee missed. After the resulting stramash, that enlivened the game considerably, Constable was substituted to ensure that he didn't get himself dismissed. Matt Taylor delivered a superb cross that was just a smidgeon too far in front of Yemi, and the game petered out into the scoreless draw that always looked on the cards, although United will be concerned that they ended the game on the back foot.

Darren Patterson made two changes to the side that beat Crawley 1-0 on Boxing Day, both in defence. One change was enforced, as Michael Corcoran replaced the suspended Luke Foster. The other change saw Clarke return to the side in place of Matt Day, and which represented a massive vote of confidence in the young defender by the management, given the likely vengeance that the Kidderminster players would be looking for. The first Oxford substitution came just seven minutes into the second half, as Ashley Barnes replaced the disappointing Rob Duffy. Half way through the half Taylor was given his home debut, coming on for Joel Ledgister, who failed to enhance his reputation with another below par performance. Not in the squad was Gary Twigg, who has left the club by mutual consent due to his pregnant wife's homesickness for Scotland.

This afternoon's referee was Russell Fletcher, taking charge of his first Oxford game, and failing to impress with a very fussy performance. He also missed what could have been the game's turning point: Constable's late challenge on Clarke, while penalising many harmless challenges. He showed yellow cards to Trainer for kicking the ball away, and to Turley for his part in the mass brawl. Today's attendance was down to 5,398, with 274 having those annoying West Midlands accents.

The dropping of two points sees Oxford drop back into the bottom half of the Conference, into 13th place, with Kidderminster remaining just one place above the Yellows. Aldershot remain top, despite losing 2-1 at Gray Athletic, who go above Oxford and Kidderminster on goal difference. Torquay United stay second even though they won 1-0 at Woking, thanks to a Tim Sills penalty. Stevenage Borough are back in third place after winning 5-1 at fourth-bottom Altrincham, while Cambridge United dropped to fourth after drawing 0-0 with Burton Albion, which means that Oxford are still nine points adrift of the play-offs.

Droylsden are bottom after losing 2-1 at sixth-placed Forest Green Rovers, while Stafford Rangers remain one place above them after they lost 1-0 at home to Ebbsfleet United. Northwich Victoria remain third from bottom after losing to a Wayne Hatswell goal at Rushden & Diamonds. Exeter City are seventh after they beat eighth-placed Histon 2-1, while Farsley Celtic are still fifth-bottom after losing 5-1 at home to United's next opponents, Crawley, for whom Jamie Cook scored the fifth goal. Salisbury City beat Halifax 1-0, while York City went above Oxford after beating Weymouth 2-0.

Finally, Rage Online would like to congratulate United's goalkeeping coach, Eddie Hodgkinson, for his MBE. Despite a natural antipathy to our antiquated honours system, Hodge's award is richly deserved, as was his reception from the Oxford supporters prior to the game.