United went tamely out of the FA Cup in this evening's second round replay at high-flying third division side Southend United.[@news]2235[/@news][@opponent]southend united[/@opponent] While the 3-0 scoreline was ultimately justified, by the same token United may well feel the victim of some injustice, as they came close to scoring themselves on a couple of occasions, and they were also, again, the victim of some curious refereeing decisions. That said, Southend must be wondering how they missed so many chances, with strikers Dean Morgan and Charlie MacDonald particularly profligate.

United were practically out of it as early as the fifth minute, when MacDonald nipped in to convert a deflected near-post cross from Mark Gower. The hosts continued to mount pressure on Oxford's defence, and Billy Turley did well to save from Morgan, while Luke Foster's defensive header came off the bar. Just after the half hour there was a rare glimmer of hope for United, when Yemi Odubade's long-range shot hit the top of the bar. Stephen Collis then had to be alert to stop an Ashley Barnes shot. The game turned Southend's way in first-half stoppage time. First, Turley was harshly adjudged to have brought down Morgan, but he brilliantly saved MacDonald's spot kick low to his left. Less than two minutes later, Matt Day lunged in and it was MacDonald's turn to go down. Another penalty was awarded, and this time Morgan made no mistake to double Southend's lead.

Southend continued to have the majority of possession at the start of the second half, but this time United were restricting their chances, and gradually clawed their way back into the game. With 20 minutes to go, James Clarke fashioned United's best chance, taking the ball past Collis, but as the ball fell to Barnes he was quickly closed down and the opportunity was lost. At the other end, Turley was on top form to deny MacDonald and Morgan, both of whom also contrived to shoot wide when faced with open goals. In the final minute, MacDonald completed the scoring, as he knocked home a cross from Simion Francis.

Darren Patterson made three changes, all enforced, to the side that lost at Northwich Victoria on Saturday. With Alex Jeannin suspended, Matt Day was moved to left back, and Phil Trainer, fresh from his own one-game suspension, returned to midfield. On the right wing, Joel Ledgister made just his second start of the season, against his former club, to replace Eddie Anaclet, who dislocated his shoulder on Saturday. The third change was up front, where Yemi started in place of Matt Green, who broke his collarbone at Northwich and has therefore returned to Cardiff City. Ten minutes into the second half Ledgister, who had already been booked and had just made a rash challenge, was taken off with Rob Duffy, who has just completed a three-game ban, coming on up front, Yemi going wide right. With 20 minutes left, Ben Weedon made a rare appearance for United, coming on for Day, who had struggled all game. Five minutes later, young Alex Fisher came on for Barnes to inject some freshness into United's front line.

Unfortunately, the referee from the first game, Keith Hill, didn't take charge of this match, with the officious Trevor Kettle taking his place. Mr Kettle, who last took charge of Oxford for their disastrous 2-1 defeat at Stockport County in March 2006, surpassed even his own tally by booking eight players, six of them from Oxford, earning the club a