Oxford United 1 Macclesfield Town 1

George Dugdale

United missed the opportunity to go into the derby with back-to-back wins under their belt after a frustrating draw against a free-falling Macclesfield Town side. Oli Johnson was on hand to partly reduce the blushes of Michael Duberry after the Oxford defender had enhanced his unenviable record of beating his own goalkeeper early in the game.

Oxford were without captain Jake Wright, meaning that Harry Worley made only his second start of the season. Andy Whing had recovered from a knock sustained against Barnet to continue in the midfield.

Although the rest of the game dictates that it will be forgotten, the hosts started the game very well. Macclesfield found themselves pinned inside their own area and a Johnson cut-back was only denied from reaching James Constable by the outstretched leg of a defender.

The match referee Mr Drysdale and his assistants wasted little time in making friends with the home fans, penalising Whing for the type of challenge United midfielders of old would have been proud of, before halting the advancing Constable for a high foot that only the grounded defender would have considered about grass level. Feeling that he should take some of the attention away from his referee, the linesman in front of the South Stand flagged for an offence against Scott Rendell as goalkeeper Richard O'Donnell's clearance cannoned off the striker's back. If Mr Drysdale and team would care to get in touch, it would be greatly appreciated.

Between howls of derision from all but a handful of the 6,189 of the crowd, a football match was taking place. In the ninth minute, Oxford were trailing in this contest.

Peter Leven felled an advancing Macclesfield player, allowing Matt Hamshaw to swing a free-kick into what shall henceforth be termed the 'corridor of Duberry'. Uncertainty was certainly present as the big centre-back thumped a header past Ryan Clarke at the same end of the field as his second Hereford mishap.

This was the signal for Macclesfield to dig in, although new-boy O'Donnell's attempts to run the clock down from each goalkick were slightly optimistic.

United had not been threatened prior to going behind and continued to advance into the opposition's half with ease. Breaking through the visitors' defence was proving a more problematic equation however, although Peter Leven's free-kick may have provided a solution were it not for a kind deflection taking the ball into the goalkeeper's midriff.

Attempts on goal from United's Scottish playmaker were to become a regular occurrence, with Leven again testing O'Donnell with a sidefooted attempt from the edge of the area. The strike was spilled, but Holmes miss was made redundant by a linesman's flag.

Five minutes before the interval it was again Leven who was seeming the most likely to level the scores, this time firing narrowly wide after Johnson had rolled the ball across the edge of the area.

Oxford had merited an equaliser and it came shortly before the break. The ball fell to former-Norwich man Johnson on the edge of the area and the winger showed quick feet to create space before thumping a low effort into the corner of the net.

Despite continued pressure, United couldn't get a second before the break and as seems to be so often the way, the break and change to attack the fence end appeared to have broken the momentum.

The recurring theme of the second half would be frustration, but Oxford came so close to making life a great deal easier moments into the second half. Duberry – attempting to make amends as he had done in the Hereford fixture – flicked a corner goalwards, only to be denied by a goalline block with Johnson in close attendance.

The referee had won few friends in the first half, but nearly played a key role in a second Oxford goal. Macclesfield were tackled by Mr Drysdale deep in their own half, allowing Lee Holmes to release Constable on the right side of the area. United's top scorer saw his effort blocked by the goalkeeper, before Johnson and Rendell were denied by brave Macclesfield defending.

Macclesfield made rare forays into Oxford territory, but only troubled Clarke after the United stopper had gifted possession to George Donnelly twenty yards from goal.

It was evident that Macclesfield would be more than happy to take a point to end their losing streak and it was becoming increasingly apparent that the Oxford of the second half were running out of ideas. The build up play was slow and the movement that had been present in abundance early on had disappeared totally. Much to the relief of former-United beanpole Ben Futcher, too many of United's attacks were culminating with low-quality balls into the box.

However, Oxford missed a golden chance to win the game late on. Lee Holmes sent over a measured cross onto the head of Constable, but his header was painfully lacking in direction.

Mehdi Kerrouche and Mark Wilson came off the bench, but as the former lashed a left-footed effort over the bar, United's hopes of a third 2-1 home victory in succession disappeared to the audible frustration of the home support.

This was far from United's finest performance of the season. The early momentum was lost as Oxford gifted their lowly visitors a lead upon which they could cling. The second half performance left a great deal to be desired in terms of quality and imagination as United failed to trouble a stubborn Macclesfield defence. A great deal of Oxford's attacking intent comes from the full-back regions and that both players were considerably below par throughout had a detrimental effect. Andy Whing started brightly, but seemed to be quietened by a booking for a late tackle. James Constable and Scott Rendell struggled to get into the game for large periods, although Oxford's failure to gain any attacking platform after the latter's substitution perhaps tells a story.

We are finally at the stage where we can talk about the Swindon game and one thing can be for sure