Oxford United 0 Torquay United 2

Oxford's biggest crowd of the season saw the side slump to their first Conference defeat of 2009, and their first home defeat since 20 September, when Crawley won 2-1. In a game which was ruined by some terrible refereeing, it was ultimately two defensive errors that cost the Yellows and which quietened what was initially an electric atmosphere inside the ground.

United started strongly, and in the opening exchanges it was the Us who looked on top, although none of Damien Batt, Adam Chapman, or Craig Farrell could get their shots on target, and James Constable was unable to get a shot away during a goalmouth scramble when the ball got caught under his feet. Torquay were slow to get going, but when they did eventually get a sight of goal Billy Turley did well to save from Kevin Nicholson. The game almost changed just after the half-hour mark, when Craig Nelthorpe lost possession after a misunderstanding with Simon Clist and in his frustration he dived in for the ball. The referee decided that the challenge was worthy of a straight red card. However, the ten men were not too disheartened and continued to match Torquay, and even almost took the lead when Chris Willmott headed narrowly wide.

Ten minutes into the second half the numbers were even when Torquay substitute Roscoe D'Sane matched Nelthorpe's challenge, going in with studs showing on Luke foster. Off went D'Sane (or should that be De Sade), within seconds of coming off the bench. Unfortunately, Torquay being reduced to ten men seemed to make United relax and take their eye off the ball, almost literally after 65 minutes. A deep corner from Oxford's left found Tim Sills totally unmarked at the far post. His header was pushed against the bar by Turley, but the ball dropped nicely for Elliott Benyon to put it into the roof of the net. Five minutes later a dreadful goal-kick from Turley went straight to Benyon, who advanced on goal before placing the ball out of Turley's reach and into the net. Game over. Very faint play-off challenge over. Season over.

Chris Wilder kept the same starting eleven that beat Mansfield Town last weekend, despite having Lewis Haldane back from his one-game suspension. The first substitution was made just after the first goal, when Yemi Odubade replaced Farrell. With 12 minutes remaining United made a double substitution, with Haldane coming on for Chris Carruthers and Chris Willmott being replaced by Kevin Sandwith, making his Oxford debut after signing from Weymouth yesterday.

This evening's referee was Simon Beck, last in charge of United for the 0-0 draw with Woking back in August. As well as sending off Nelthorpe, he also showed yellow cards to Luke Foster and Constable, Foster's being his fifth of the season meaning he will miss the trip to Forest Green Rovers next Saturday, while Nelthorpe's red means he'll be out for the next three games. The attendance of 5,837 was United's best since Boxing Day 2007, barely assisted by the 348 dragging themselves up from the English Riviera.

The defeat leaves United in ninth place, six points behind fifth-placed Torquay. Today's other results meant that today's defeat didn't hurt Oxford as perhaps they might. Leaders Burton Albion were surprisingly held to a 0-0 draw at fifth-bottom Woking, allowing second-placed Histon to make up a bit of ground with a 3-0 win at rock-bottom Lewes. Courtney Pitt scored a late goal for third-placed Cambridge United to earn a 1-1 draw with Crawley Town, who are eighth after learning that they are only being deducted one point for fielding an unregistered player. Stevenage Borough's amazing run of wins continued when a last-minute winner gave them a 2-1 victory at Altrincham. Wrexham remain sixth after they were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw at home by Salisbury City, while United's next opponents, Eastbourne Borough, lost 2-0 at seventh-placed Kidderminster Harriers.

Second-bottom Northwich Victoria picked up an unlikely point with a 0-0 draw at fourth-bottom Barrow, while third-bottom Grays Athletic drew 1-1 at 19th-placed Forest Green Rovers. York City scraped a 2-0 win against Weymouth's under-11s, while a 90th-minute Rob Duffy penalty gave Mansfield Town a 1-0 win at Rushden & Diamonds. [@news]2464[/@news][@opponent]torquay united[/@opponent]