George Dugdale

Whilst many Oxford United fans succumbed to partner pressure on the annual celebration of commercialism via romance, those who ventured to Grenoble Road pulled an absolute minger. The fact remains, however, that Oxford United pulled, thus making the night a resounding success.

When combining a prolonged absence from competitive football due to the recent freeze with a number of new faces in the squad, it is little surprise that the clash with lowly Dagenham and Redbridge was far from a classic.

Chris Wilder opted to unleash two of his new signings, with Mark Wilson joining the midfield three and Scott Rendell playing as the central striker. As a result, James Constable shifted out to the left wing. Oli Johnson, hardly a long-standing Oxford player himself, played on the right side of the front three.

To say that the first half was disjointed would be the greatest of understatements. Aside from one long range effort, Dagenham's contribution was to return the ball to the men in yellow. For the most part, Oxford passed the ball slowly at the back, before returning the favour. The fact that Michael Duberry knocked more cross-field passes into the stands than there were chances tells you everything that you need to know. Asa Hall did volley wide of the upright after smart work from Rendell, but that was as good as things got in the opening 45 minutes. United looked like a side who were not quite sure how to play without the outlet balls to Damian Batt and Alfie Potter.

Wilder responded to the lethargy by replacing Hall with Lee Holmes, who made his d