George Dugdale

Oxford United 2 Northampton Town 0

Oxford United put the misery of November firmly behind them with a hard-fought victory over Northampton Town on a bitterly cold afternoon. The returning Tom Craddock scored the Yellows' first, with Deane Smalley's first home goal rounding off the scoring in a fixture that came to life in the final ten minutes.

Chris Wilder had a plethora of attacking options at his disposal following the arrival of Matthew Fletcher, and the return of Craddock, Alfie Potter and Jon-Paul Pittman. The fixture came too soon for the Australian striker, with Michael Duberry, Tony Capaldi and Paul McLaren still ruled out through injury. Furthermore, Josh Payne was absent following the birth of his child earlier in the day.

Wilder opted for an attacking line-up, with Craddock and James Constable flanked by Potter and Rob Hall. With Craddock dropping deep to link the midfield and attack, United were effectively playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation against a Northampton side who were looking to build on a promising start to Aidy Boothroyd's reign.

The manager's attacking intent was reflected on the field in the early exchanges as United pinned the visitors back in their own half. Potter flashed a cross across the six yard box and Peter Leven fired a free-kick into the wall as the Cobblers' emerged unscathed.

As the balance of play began to level out, United were only saved from falling behind when Andy Whing hacked a Saido Berahino header clear from under his crossbar. Moments later, Ryan Clarke flung himself low to his right to block an effort from the Northampton striker.

Boothroyd's side weren't playing particularly attractive football, relying largely on collecting the second ball after the 'broad' Ade Akinfenwa had buffeted a United player into the middle of next week. In Michael Jacobs, however, Boothroyd possesses a technically gifted player and he would be well advised to resist the temptation to play the game above his head. Jacobs' vision and Akinfenwa's hold-up play were posing United a few problems and despite Simon Heslop's low drive, the game was evenly balanced as the teams went in at half-time.

After the interval, Craddock appeared to be playing slightly closer to Constable and this paid off five minutes later. Potter found the former-Middlesbrough striker on the edge of the area and after shifting the ball to his left, Craddock hammered his shot past Sam Walker to give United the lead. This was Craddock's first goal of the season after injury and he headed straight for the dug-out as the ball nestled in the Cobblers' net.

A goal to the good, the home side were looking comfortable, but failed to enhance the lead as the play became increasingly scrappy. With Northampton's attacks continuing to come from long-balls, Andy Whing was becoming an increasingly dominant influence at the back.

A Jake Robinson shot took a looping deflection off Simon Heslop, before dropping the right side of the post from an Oxford perspective, before Clarke denied Akinfenwa with his feet at close quarters.

Craddock was showing the home fans what they had been missing as he continued to link the play intelligently, and the lead was nearly doubled as Ben Tozer sliced the striker's cross narrowly wide of his own post. At the other end, a collision between Jake Wright and Whing allowed Akinfenwa a sight of goal, but his goal-bound effort was brilliantly blocked by Damian Batt.

Five minutes before the end, Craddock should have taken the game beyond the visitors. Seconds after coming on, substitute Deane Smalley worked the ball into the box from the right, where Craddock twisted and was brought down. As referee Bates pointed to the spot, the Oxford striker had picked up the loose ball, clearly wishing to continue his role from last season. As this season's taker Peter Leven staked his claim, the situation became heated, before captain Wright arrived on the scene to rule in Craddock's favour. With added pressure on his shoulders, Craddock fired his spot-kick into the car-park. One assumes that his car-sharing partner may be given responsibility next time around…

Moments later, however, it was time for cuddles all around. Constable's endeavour was rewarded as he stole the ball in the full-back area, before crossing perfectly for Deane Smalley to prod home his first league goal of the season. The United players were clearly delighted for the former Oldham striker as he celebrated a goal that will hopefully kick-start his season.

As the game entered stoppage time, Heslop side-footed substitute Anthony Tonkin's cross wide of the goal when well placed, before the referee levelled the penalty count. Batt was harshly adjudged to have handled a Northampton cross, but it mattered little as Clarke got down to palm Akinfenwa's penalty round the post to ensure his clean sheet.

This was not Oxford United at their best, but after a run of six games without a victory, a gritty home victory is most satisfying. Thanks to a solid defensive effort and quality when it mattered, United are heading back in the right direction.

Anthony Bates' handling of the game was mixed. He was keen to allow the game to flow, encouraging players to use the old-fashioned shoulder-barge when challenging for the ball. However, both penalty decisions will be contested by the respective management teams and the mayhem that ensued following a clash of heads was laughable (none of the 7517 crowd were laughing). Despite both sides wanting to return the ball to Clarke in the Oxford goal, Bates insisted on a contested drop-ball, much to the concern of Jake Robinson, who was asked to go head-to-head with man-of-the-match Whing. Fortunately, the Northampton striker avoided serious injury in the ultimate mismatch of size.

Bates booked three United players in the first half. Heslop was cautioned for a late challenge, Whing for dragging his man back on the one occasion that he was caught out of position, and Constable for dissent. For Northampton, Akinfenwa rounded off a frustrating afternoon with a yellow card for a stray arm in an aerial challenge, whilst John Johnson was booked for hauling down the advancing Craddock.

This win takes United to one place outside the play-offs, trailing Gillingham by two points. With none of the top three managing a victory, third-placed Cheltenham are nine points clear of Wilder's side. Crawley remain top after a 1-1 draw at Crewe, with Southend losing at home to Bradford on Friday night. Dagenham & Redbridge remain bottom, despite gaining a point at Burton Albion. Plymouth Argyle drew at home with fellow strugglers Hereford, whilst Gillingham and Port Vale recorded thumping wins over Bristol Rovers and Aldershot respectively.

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