Oxford United 0 Accrington Stanley 0

United's first historic meeting with the long-elusive Accrington ended in a dull anti-climax this afternoon, as neither side had the wherewithal to break down the other's defence. Accrington proved very stubborn opposition, closing down Oxford's midfield with speed and not allowing any United player to settle on the ball. Oxford, on the other hand, had a bad day at the office; they looked very sluggish and were second to every loose ball. They improved in the second half and came close to scoring through James Constable on a couple of occasions, but on both an individual and a tactical level they lacked the guile to get through the Stanley massed defence.

Chris Wilder returned to the line-up that had started the previous three League games, with the exception of Ben Purkiss, making his first League start in place of the injured Damian Batt. This meant that both Mitchell Cole and Alfie Potter found themselves back on the bench, with Jack Midson and Matt Green recalled to the side. The first change came ten minutes after the break, when Potter and Cole came on for Green and Midson. Ten minutes later Richie Baker replaced Dannie Bulman, as he did in the previous two matches.

Ryan Clarke was the first of the 'keepers to see serious action, pushing aside a Sean McConville shot. However, that was the only save that either custodian had to make in a first half that was characterised by sloppy passing from Oxford and snappy tackling from Accrington. Beano almost broke the deadlock five minutes after the break, when he got a shot away that went just the wrong side of the post. Shortly afterwards the best move of the match saw Simon Heslop feed Purkiss, whose excellent cross was headed across goal by Midson for Constable, whose shot on the turn was well saved and held by Ian Dunbavin. Beano forced Dunbavin into another save ten minutes from time after he reached a ball from Potter, who had run right across the Stanley back line to make room for the cross. The game finished with Stanley on the offensive, but they were unable to make Clarke work and United earned their third goalless draw in four League matches. For Accrington this was their fourth game without conceding, although they had their goalkeeper to thank for keeping a clean sheet today.

Today's referee was one who holds a special place in Oxford's history, as