Oxford United tumbled to their second Conference defeat of the season at Rushden & Diamonds [@news]609[/@news]this afternoon[@opponent]Rushden & Diamonds[/@opponent], thanks to a 7th-minute header by Curtis Woodhouse. United really weren''t in the game at all today, with the midfield especially well below par, and Rushden goalie Nicky Eyre had a very quiet game. United did have occasional chances, including one that Jon Ashton [@player]Ashton, Jon[/@player] cleared off the line, but Rushden''s plan to stifle the creative players worked, and Oxford were unable to make the breakthrough.

Jim Smith brought in John Dempster to the back line to replace the injured Chris Willmott, while Steve Basham returned to the front line to partner Rob Duffy, with Matt Day dropping to the bench. At half-time Day came on in place of Barry Quinn in a tactical move, and ten minutes later Yemi Odubade replaced Chris Hargreaves. With 20 minutes to go, Day himself suffered a bad injury, and on-loan striker Jamie Slabber had to come on to replace him.

Today's referee, R Fletcher, was a typical Conference official, and all the more frustrating for that. He booked John Dempster for an apparently decent tackle, but was generally inconsistent in his approach. The attendance was 3,270, of whom 1,386 were United fans. Needless to say, this was Rushden''s best attendance of the season. We''re hoping (although experience tends to prove otherwise) that someone might be kind enough to contribute a match report to us, tomorrow if possible.

Despite this defeat, United still remain two points clear of Dagenham & Redbridge at the top of the table, following the Daggers'' 3-2 defeat at Exeter City, for whom a Shane Blackett own goal, in stoppage time, sealed the points. Rushden have climbed one place to third from bottom, although they are still equal on points to the bottom two clubs, while Exeter are 8th. Weymouth are still third after their 1-0 win at Northwich Victoria, and are now just eight points behind the Yellows. York City are fourth after drawing 0-0 at Grays Athletic, but Burton Albion lost 3-1 at home to Aldershot to drop to fifth.

Tamworth are now bottom of the table, after losing 1-0 at Crawley who, despite their financial problems, have clawed their way up to 19th place. Southport won 2-1 at Forest Green Rovers to climb off the bottom up to 23rd, while Rovers are now 20th. Altrincham occupy the final relegation place after losing 3-2 at Kidderminster. United''s next Conference opponents, Woking, who visit Oxford on Boxing Day, are 13th after losing 1-0 at home to Cambridge United. In other results, Morecambe are 6th after beating Stafford Rangers 1-0, while Gravesend dropped to 7th after losing 3-0 at Stevenage Borough. Halifax beat St Albans 4-1. United''s opponents next Saturday, Lewes, beat Weston-super-Mare 4-2 in the Conference South, and are now 10th.