Nick Merry’s Oxford United needed a late Rob Duffy penalty to overcome a dogged Tamworth side 2-1. Oxford took the lead seven minutes into the second half through a Matt Day long-distance special, but typically slack defending from a corner allowed Taiwo Atieno an unmarked header to level the scores ten minutes later. With ten minutes to go Carl Pettefer was hauled back, and Duffy stepped up to score from the spot, via the post.

The first half was a fairly dull affair, as the Lambs piled men behind the ball and United were unable to create many chances. Following Day’s goal early in the second half, Tamworth were forced to play football, and the game livened up. The Us had several opportunities to scored, with several last-ditch blocks coming in from the Tamworth back line. They also had a couple of decent shouts for penalties turned down before the one that was eventually awarded. Tamworth were poor, but United have struggled at home against poor opponents before this season, and it was inevitable that they should score from their only decent set piece of the match.

Jim Smith rang the changes for the visit of the Lambs, some of them enforced. Phil Gilchrist’s ankle had failed to recover and his place was taken by Day, with Chris Willmott taking the captain’s armband. Rufus Brevett was also injured, and Gavin Johnson came into the side for his first start since the start of September. In midfield, Eddie Hutchinson was preferred to Pettefer, who found himself on the bench for the first time this season. Up front, Duffy returned to the side, with Steve Basham dropping to the bench. Smith made two substitutions, both at the half-time interval. Pettefer came on for Hutch, while Yemi Odubade replaced the disappointing Jamie Slabber, who was making his home debut after joining on loan from Grays Athletic for a month.

Today’s referee was Darren Sheldrake, who had a typical Conference official’s performance: a curate’s egg of a game. At least no Oxford players found their way into his book. The attendance was 6,614, of whom just 163 were from Staffordshire, or wherever Tamworth is. This is United’s second best gate of the season, and coincidentally is also the second highest crowd of the Conference, this season. It’s also the 20th best Conference crowd since the league started. Hopefully, a match report will appear sometime over the weekend. Possibly.

The three points proved to be crucial for United, as closest challengers Dagenham & Redbridge also won, beating York 3-2 in their delayed game at the KitKat Crescent, after the Minstermen were ahead twice. This leaves York in fifth place, while Tamworth drop back into the relegation zone, fourth from bottom. Gravesend are up to third after winning 2-1 at Northwich Victoria while Weymouth dropped to fourth after their 4-0 hammering at Woking.

Southport remain bottom of the Conference after losing 2-1 at home to Cambridge United, while Rushden’s 1-0 home defeat by Aldershot leaves them second from bottom. Crawley are third from bottom after they beat Halifax 2-0. Stevenage, whom United visit next weekend, won 2-1 at Kidderminster. Slabber’s club, Grays, drew 1-1 with Altrincham, and another 1-1 draw was at Morecambe, who were held by Forest Green Rovers. Stafford Rangers and St Albans also shared the points, in a 2-2 draw.