In their first FA Trophy game, [@news]612[/@news]United were held to a goalless draw at the Dripping Pan by Lewes FC[@opponent]Lewes FC[/@opponent]. The replay will be in Oxford on Wednesday 20 December. This was a disappointing performance by the Yellows, who struggled to cope with a very sticky pitch, which looked like it had been ploughed, rather than rolled, before the game. Despite dominating possession, it was the home side that came closest to scoring, with an angled shot from Gary Holloway hitting the post in the first half, and a mix-up between Billy Turley and Barry Quinn leading to a shot from former Rushden midfielder Simon Wormull that hit the side netting, when he should have scored.

United started the game strongly, but were unable to make a breakthrough, and as Lewes gained in confidence, Oxford found themselves increasingly on the back foot, and resorting to long balls to bypass the mess that was the middle of the pitch. As the Rooks tired, Oxford were able to assert themselves again, and in the last five minutes United mounted wave after wave of attacks, all of which were ultimately fruitless. The best chance fell to Rob Duffy who, after good work by Eddie Anaclet and Yemi Odubade, shot straight at David Blackmore, on loan from West Ham. Yemi always looked the most likely to open up the home defence, and it was noticeable that United played their best football when Steve Basham came on.

Jim Smith made a number of changes for this game, but introducing the transfer-listed Chris Tardif for Turley wasn't one of them. Most significantly, Smith changed the side's formation to 4-4-2, with Quinn at right back, John Dempster and Phil Gilchrist in the middle, and Rufus Brevett at left back. Anaclet played on the right wing, with Eddie Hutchinson and Chris Hargreaves in the centre, and Gavin Johnson on the left. Yemi and Duffy started the game up front. Twenty minutes into the second half Andy Burgess came on for Johnson who, let's face it, isn't really a winger. Ten minutes later, Carl Pettefer replaced Hargreaves, and United immediately looked much stronger, although they were still error prone. With just over five minutes left, Anaclet signalled that he needed to come off, and he was replaced by Basham. Oxford now came on really strong, and for the first time in the match they looked a class above their opponents, who were fully deserving of the draw, and could have won if their luck had been in. This was fairly reminiscent of last season's game at Eastbourne Borough, so let's hope that United can claim a similar result in the replay.

The referee today was S Cook, who was the kind chap who gave Oxford two penalties against Southport. Unfortunately, he wasn't feeling quite so generous today. He was certainly not the best referee we've seen, but he did a capable enough job in difficult conditions, and did well to defuse a couple of potentially nasty clashes. He booked Hutch for a tackle from behind (or possibly for dissenting the decision). The attendance was a measly 728 (allegedly; it looked like more than that to us), which is the lowest crowd to watch a competitive United fixture since 1960, and the fourth lowest crowd that United have played in front of since turning professional in 1949. We won't be producing a match report for this game, especially since no one responded to our call for a report from the Rushden match, and this game is possibly of even less interest to many United fans than that one (of course, if someone sends one in they we will publish it).

Other significant results in today's FA Trophy games include Conference South leaders Histon's 5-0 win over near neighbours Cambridge United. Other Conference sides who failed to make it into the second round were Aldershot, who lost 2-1 at home to AFC Wimbledon; St Albans, who went down 3-2 at Bishops Stortford; Forest Green Rovers, who went down 1-0 at home to Yeading; Stafford Rangers, who lost 1-0 at Kettering; Woking, who are United's next Conference opponents, who lost 3-1 at Salisbury City, Matt Robinson's new club. In the all-Conference clashes, Dagenham & Redbridge beat Crawley 2-1; Morecambe beat York by the same scoreline; and Weymouth lost 2-1 at home to Grays Athletic, for whom Danny Cadamarteri scored. Those Conference clubs, other than Oxford, who face replays are: Altrincham and Tamworth, who drew 0-0; and Kidderminster Harriers, who were held 4-4 at home by Vauxhall Motors. The best result was at Broadhall Way, where Stevenage Borough beat Merthyr Tydfil 7-0.