Eastbourne Borough 1 Oxford United 0

Eastbourne Borough secured their Conference survival thanks to a controversial penalty in the 83rd minute, converted by Us old-boy Simon Weatherstone. The home side probably just about deserved the win on the balance of chances, although United played the better football and looked more in control for long periods.

With Chris Wilder watching Rushden & Diamonds at home to Luton Town, Mickey Lewis took charge of the side, and there were several changes to the side that beat Wrexham 1-0 on Tuesday. Ryan Clarke returned to goal in place of Billy Turley, while the Us lined up in a 3-5-2 formation, with Damian Batt and Anthony Tonkin as the wing-backs and a back three of Rhys Day, Mark Creighton, and Kevin Sandwith. Lewis Chalmers and Chris Hargreaves comprised the central midfield, with Sam Deering playing just behind the front two of John Grant and Jamie Cook. United made their first change on the hour, when Batt was replaced by Adam Chapman. Ten minutes later Simon Clist came on for Tonkin as Oxford reverted to a 4-4-2 formation. The final change came in the 85th minute when Matt Green replaced Cook.

The game, played in baking south-coast sunshine, a world away from the mid-winter conditions that caused so many games to be postponed, was a fairly dull affair in the first half. The home side had the first chance, but Matt Crabb's effort went well wide, while at the other end Cook should have done better when put through by Deering after some good football, but his shot was tame and no problem for young debutant goalkeeper Greg Nessling. However, real opportunities were at a premium in the first half, although Weatherstone gave the Oxford fans a scare when his curling effort from the edge of the box squirmed just wide of Clarke's far post.

The second half was slightly more interesting, with Eastbourne committing men forward as they saw their Conference status slipping away. They came close when Luke Rooney's shot smashed off the underside of the bar and bounced down the right side of the line as far as the Us were concerned. United had their moments too, including a spell of pressure when they won three corners in quick succession. Grant then came as close as he has ever been to scoring his first Oxford goal when his shot on the turn was tipped over by Nessling, but in truth a forward line of Grant and Cook never looked like getting that close to goal. The goal came when Joe Benjamin had a shot from long range that struck Creighton on the arm as the defender turned his back on the ball. There was no way that the foul was deliberate, and it was actually given by the linesman who was about twice as far from the incident as the referee and on the far side of the pitch. The game then petered out as United searched in vain for a way to goal and Eastbourne did well to keep the ball away from danger.

Neither the result nor the performance will give much cause for concern to the management, as Oxford rested seven or so players who would normally feature. However, they will have learned a few things about some of the players who did play. For one thing, it is reasonably certain that we won't be seeing Grant in an Oxford shirt again. Cook's future as an Oxford player also looks to be in the balance after another frustrating display, while some of the other fringe players did themselves no harm. Chalmers and Day both showed that they will be able to step up to the plate if necessary, while various others achieved some valuable playing time. The enigma is Hargreaves, who had a decent game but was possibly the one player guilty of dragging the team out of shape too often. It is unlikely that his United career has finished just yet, as he will almost certainly feature in the play-offs in some capacity.

Today's referee was the familiar person of Brendan Malone, who has taken charge of Oxford games on five previous occasions, most recently in the FA Trophy quarter-final defeat by Kidderminster Harriers. He was pretty poor, frequently lagging behind play and therefore missing a number of incidents. He booked two Oxford players: substitutes Adam Chapman and Matt Green. The attendance was 2,634, with around a thousand yellows in the crowd.

The defeat means that Oxford finished the season in third place, while Eastbourne ended fifth from bottom. United will now face Rushden in the play-off semi-finals after they drew 1-1 with Luton Town, who finished second. Luton will face York City, who lost 1-0 at Stevenage Borough, who completed the season 11 points clear of the Hatters.

At the other end, Ebbsfleet United won 4-3 at Tamworth, but results elsewhere meant that they were relegated along with Grays Athletic, who beat Forest Green Rovers 2-1 to take them down with them. Gateshead's 1-0 win over AFC Wimbledon took them above Rovers and made them safe. Histon were in vague danger of relegation at the start of the day, but they drew 2-2 with Barrow so they didn't have to fret too much, while Hayes & Yeading United's 1-0 defeat by Wrexham also proved inconsequential.

In the nothing games, Kettering Town finished in sixth place despite losing 2-0 at Salisbury City, while Jake Speight scored a first-half hat-trick against Kidderminster Harriers, who fought back from three down to draw 3-3. Cambridge United won 2-0 at Altrincham. [@news]2707[/@news][@opponent]eastbourne borough[/@opponent]