Oxford United dropped two more points this afternoon, after being held to a 1-1 draw by a desperately poor Altrincham side. United had several chances to score before Matt Day popped up with the opener after 54 minutes, a long-range drive that was deflected past Richard Acton. The Us then had several more opportunities to seal the game before the northerners equalised with their only real attempt on goal, a penalty awarded for an alleged push by John Dempster, and converted by Steve Aspinall with four minutes remaining.

Jim Smith was forced into three changes from the side that drew 0-0 at Kidderminster on Tuesday. Chris Willmott was suspended, while Rufus Brevett failed a late fitness test. John Dempster came in to the centre of defence to cover for Willmott, while Day was Brevett’s replacement. Steve Basham was also suffering with an injury, but he found himself on the bench as United were down to the bare bones of the squad, centre back Andrew Gunn having gone on a month’s loan to Didcot Town yesterday. Yemi Odubade made a rare start in Basham’s place. Smith made no substitutions.

Today’s referee was Andy Hendley. He had a fine first half, allowing the game to flow but blowing his whistle when necessary. Unfortunately he ruined his record with a second half of such abysmal decision making that many people left the ground shaking their heads with disbelief. He allowed several blatant fouls by a physical Altrincham side to go unpunished, and awarded the visitors their penalty despite no-one else actually knowing what the offence was. The attendance was 5,938, swelled by 190 from the posh Mancunian suburbs. A match report may, or may not, appear on these pages tomorrow, or sometime.

Despite the draw meaning that United broke their own record for an unbeaten start to a season, and broke the Conference record for the same statistic, most Oxford fans came away from the game disappointed. This was compounded when they learned that the Yellows’ lead at the top of the Conference was reduced to just two points after Dagenham & Redbridge beat Stevenage Borough 2-1. Altrincham have risen to 16th, while Stevenage are now 13th. Third-placed Weymouth also kept up the pressure, with a 2-0 win over now-bottom Southport. York stay 4th despite losing 4-1 at 21st-placed St Albans, and Exeter are 5th after their 2-2 draw at 10th-placed Morecambe. Gravesend are up to 6th after they won 1-0 at 9th-placed Burton, while 7th-placed Aldershot beat 19th-placed Kidderminster 4-1, thanks to a Marcus Gayle hat-trick.

Crawley Town’s 2-1 win at Cambridge United, Oxford’s next opponents currently 18th in the table, ensured that they stayed in 23rd place, just behind Forest Green Rovers, who drew 1-1 at 11th-placed Grays Athletic. Halifax Town beat Tamworth 3-1, while Northwich Victoria thrashed Rushden & Diamonds 4-1. Woking, in 8th place, lost 1-0 at Stafford Rangers. Former United players in the news included Chris Hackett, who opened his account for Millwall, in their 1-0 win over Bournemouth, and Dean Whitehead, who scored an own goal for Preston, as Sunderland lost 4-1. Adam Griffin scored Stockport’s goal in their 1-1 draw at Hartlepool, and Richard Walker was on target for Bristol Rovers as they won 2-1 at Notts County, for whom former Oxford triallist Junior Mendes scored.