Mark Gelder
Easter Monday saw United a goal down in the first half from Torquay's top scorer Rene Howe, following a slip on the grass by Harry Worley which gave Howe a narrow angle to shoot under Ryan Clarke.

However, the second half saw a brighter Oxford side, Scott Rendell coming on at half time for James Constable, and Adam Chapman making amends for his Friday night penalty miss with a goal straight from the corner, perhaps last seen on a windy Tuesday night in Eastbourne courtesy of Adam Murray.

Cristian Montano knocked in a second, and with Torquay down to ten men, the main worry was Clarke, clearly in pain and having his kicks taken for him. With Anthony Tonkin unable to get on the pitch with no breaks in play towards the end, almost inevitably another last minute goal against United saw the team finish with just the one point from the Easter weekend, when six would not have been unjustified.

United remain in seventh place on 66 points, ahead on goal difference over Crewe. Gillingham and Rotherham are four points further back, and Cheltenham are just two ahead on 68.

Saturday's visitors are Gillingham FC, who beat us 1-0 at the Priestfield Stadium in October. The year before, the Gills finally ended their run of 39 away defeats with a 1-0 victory at the Kassam Stadium.

United News
Michael Duberry will be back available after his suspension, and on the injury list update, Peter Leven has a bruised fibia and so is unlikely to play, whereas Alfie Potter and Tom Craddock are now confirmed out for the season. We await news on Ryan Clarke, but if called on, Wayne Brown will not want a repeat of his Johnstone's Paint Cup appearance against Southend this year where he was sent off after just 15 minutes for handling outside of the area.

It is perhaps 50/50 as to form between Duberry and Worley, so presumably it is Damian Batt – Jake Wright – Worley/Duberry – Liam Davis.

In midfield, possibly Andy Whing in front of the back four, with Adam Chapman and Asa Hall behind the front three.

Last Monday saw three forwards on the bench, a first half attack of Montano – Constable – Morgan, with Rendell replacing Constable at half-time, and Oli Johnson for Montano in the last five minutes, JPP unused. Whilst this leaves plenty of forward options, the starting attack from the second half looks most likely, with Montano and Morgan both extending their loans until the end of the season.

Gills News
Dagenham and Redbridge defeated the Gills 2-1 on Monday at the Priestfield Stadium. Out for Gillingham are midfielders Danny Jackman and Jack Payne. Matt Fish (defence) awaits a fitness test, Jo Kuffour (striker) was back in the team on Monday after knee injuries, coming on with 20 minutes top go. Andy Hessenthaler is also hoping for returns for Charlie Lee (midfield), Gavin Tomlin (striker), and Simon King (defence), although the last two have only started 8 games each.

Top scorer is Danny Kedwell with 11 in the league, Chris Whelpdale has 10, and Jo Kuffour 8. Midfielder Lewis Montrose, once of Wycombe, tops the disciplinary charts with 61 fouls, seven yellows and one red card.

Hessenthaler, two years into a three year contract, seems fairly pessimistic about his chances of being in charge next season, particularly if the Gills don't make the play-offs, and has also mentioned the negative aspects of some of his home crowd's support. If policing issues aren't resolved soon, the match between the Gills and PDC's Swindon Town will be played behind closed doors, although a similar threat prior to their FA Cup fixture against Stoke was worked out.

Owner Paul Scally's hopes of a stadium sale, and move to either Chatham Docks or Mill Hill with an enabling development have been scuppered, with the proposed Docks redevelopment including a supermarket, but not a football ground, and hence the Mill Hill area would not also get a supermarket and retail facilities, the key to a move. In rather a pithy put-down, the Docks developers said “He [Mr Scally] was estimating that would be in the Premiership within two years, and actually rather than going into the Premiership they've gone down a league. I understand the attendance is about 5,000 so it can't be a capacity issue. I don't understand the reason now for a complete relocation.

Other games
Friday night of course sees Barnet playing at home, and a victory over Hereford would surely see the Bulls dead and buried on 36, six points from safety with three games to go. Macclesfield are also on 36, Barnet 39, and Bradford and Plymouth are not yet safe on 43 and 44 points respectively.

Saturday's games of interest to United are:- Cheltenham (6th) – Accrington (12th); Macclesfield (23rd) – Crewe (8th): Shrewsbury (3rd) – Rotherham (10th); Torquay (2nd) – Southend (5th); and Aldershot (11th)- Dagenham (19th). Victories for the top teams Torquay and Shrewsbury are wanted, and hopefully the relegation battlers will take some points off against our play-off challengers.

Ex Us News
Hubert Busby Jr., the Canadian goalkeeper who made one sub appearance for United against Wycombe in September 2000, has been named Director of Coaching for the Sahlen's Sports Park (the largest indoor sports complex in Western New York); and Assistant Coach of the United States Women's Professional Soccer team, Western New York Flash.[@opponent]Gillingham[/@opponent][@connection]Gillingham[/@connection]