Oxford United 1 Cheltenham Town 0

George Dugdale

A Peter Leven penalty gave Oxford United a third win of the festive period and the perfect start to 2013. The Scottish midfielder converted from the spot after Tom Craddock had been felled and a resolute defensive performance ensured it was enough to take all three points.

Michael Raynes was unavailable after being struck down by illness so Michael Duberry made a return to the starting eleven following neck surgery in the summer. Luke O’Brien retained his place in the back four as Tony Capaldi returned to the bench following suspension.

The visitors were sitting in the automatic promotion spots at kick off and began the game on the offensive. Darryl Duffy almost wriggled free in the United penalty area, but the danger was snuffed out by captain Jake Wright.

Oxford began to grow into the game and forced Scott Brown into his first action of the game as Alfie Potter’s swerving shot was palmed away by the Robins’ stopper.

United’s wingers have been so effective over the festive period and it was Potter’s partner in crime Sean Rigg who cut the Cheltenham defence open for the game’s defining incident. The winger cut in from the left and his through-ball released Tom Craddock in the penalty area. The striker fell as he moved clear of Sido Jombati and there was only the briefest delay before referee Fred Graham pointed to the spot. Leven sent Brown the wrong way to score his third penalty of the season against Cheltenham and give the hosts the lead. That’s three goals in four games for the Scot.

The first half was well-suited to those in the crowd with hangovers from the night’s celebrations as most of the action was confined to the middle third. Lee Cox, Peter Leven, Darren Carter and Russell Penn scrapped for every loose ball and it was all very simple to keep track of.

Duberry’s return offered a threat in the opposition’s box and the centre-back fired wide from Rigg’s pull-back. With the greatest respect to the big man, there are better people for the ball to fall to on their weak foot on the edge of the area…

Cheltenham have been in the upper reaches of the table throughout the season and United were having to work hard to resist their pressure. Jermaine McGlashan and the ever-attacking Jombati gave both full-backs plenty to think about but they managed it with minimal fuss. With Duberry heading everything and Wright putting an end to opportunities before Cheltenham striker’s knew they had them, United were good value for their half-time lead.

Mark Yates’ side put pressure on Oxford at the beginning of the second half were restricted to one long-range effort from Penn which Clarke saw all the way.

A Damian Batt clearance prompted winces as the ball struck Carter in the side of the face from close-range. Strangely, the former Birmingham City midfielder limped from the field and was unable to continue.

Cheltenham continued to play the majority of the game in the Oxford half, but were struggling to convert this into chances. United were looking dangerous on the break and Potter rolled the ball wide of the post after James Constable’s pass.

Tom Craddock was booked for a late challenge on Penn and was replaced by Josh Parker who made a home début. The pacey striker came close to adding a second as he fired over the bar after cutting in from the left wing.

Billy Jones – who once missed a penalty for Exeter City at this ground in a certain play-off semi-final – curled a free-kick narrowly wide of the post in the latter stages, while McGlashan lifted the ball over Clarke’s crossbar in stoppage time.

It wasn’t particularly pretty, but United held on to make it nine points from nine in the past week.

Cheltenham are clearly a decent team. They have two attacking full-backs, creativity in midfield and the type of wingers that look to push teams back at every opportunity. In many ways, a gritty 1-0 victory was every bit as enjoyable as a more comfortable victory. United showed that they had the courage to defend a narrow lead and the defence were superb in achieving this. There was more attacking flair at Exeter and Wimbledon, but this was every bit as significant.

Jake Wright was superb (again) at the heart of the defence and never looked like being beaten. To his left, Luke O’Brien had an excellent game. The full-back is often understated in his work, but won his individual battle hands down.

Referee Fred Graham clearly did something to irritate the visiting fans (although the penalty looked a simple decision) but his performance was reasonable. There were a couple of advantages that could have been allowed but both teams were given the opportunity to compete in the middle of the field. This was a good decision with the ball taking more bobbles than in previous seasons and more loose touches inviting tackles. Tom Craddock was booked on the one occasion that such a tackle was fractionally late.

The win takes United up to 13th place, five points away from the play-off positions. Cheltenham slip to 4th.

Gillingham returned to the top of the table with a 1-0 victory over Southend, while Port Vale slipped to a 2-0 defeat at home to Fleetwood Town. Rotherham came from behind to win 2-1 at Rochdale and move into 3rd. Bradford’s 0-0 draw with Morecambe keeps them in the play-off places.

Victories for AFC Wimbledon and Bristol Rovers closed the gap to safety. The Dons scored in the last minute to win 3-2 at Torquay while John Ward’s side won 2-1 at Plymouth. Carl Fletcher has since lost his job.

Aldershot moved clear of the bottom two with a 1-0 victory over Barnet, who are now only one point above the relegation zone. Accrington Stanley beat Chesterfield 1-0, while Chris Hackett was on target as Northampton beat Dagenham & Redbridge 3-1. Exeter beat Wycombe 1-0, while York were 3-0 winners over Burton Albion.