United started the new season with a fine win at Lincoln City, thanks to a sixth minute strike by Steve Basham. The goal came when Julian Alsop put Lincoln ‘keeper Alan Marriott under pressure, the ball squirming free to Scott McNiven who squared for Basham to tap home from six yards. Lincoln hardly created a chance, especially in the first half, and United should have doubled their score when Alsop pulled the ball back to an unmarked Derek Townsley, who could only shoot wide from ten yards.

United gave debuts to five of their new signings, with loanee defender Jon Ashton slotting into central defence alongside Andy Crosby and Matt Bound, with McNiven and Matt Robinson at wingback, in front of goalkeeper Andy Woodman. The midfield saw a trio of debutants, as latest signing Paul Wanless had Townsley and Danny Brown on either side of him, while Alsop and Basham played up front. Dean Whitehead was Oxford’s first substitute, replacing the disappointing Townsley after 78 minutes, and ROS Chris Hackett came on for Basham with six minutes left.

The match was referee Andre Marriner’s first as a football league official and he acquitted himself reasonably well, making the requisite dodgy and unaccountable decisions, but not to the detriment of the game as a whole. He showed yellow cards to Jon Ashton and Lincoln’s Simon Yeo after a minor bust-up, and after half an hour Yeo showed what a git he is by kicking the ball away after being caught offside, leading to his second yellow card and that long, lonely walk down the tunnel. McNiven was also booked for a late tackle. The attendance was a disappointing 4,543, of whom 742 were in the away section. A match report should appear tomorrow in the Match Reports section, surprisingly.

Other results of note in the Third Division include away wins for both of the teams promoted from the conference, Yeovil beating Rochdale 3-1 and Doncaster winning by the same score at Orient. Favourites Hull lived up to their billing with a 4-1 win over Darlington, but fellow big-spenders Northampton hilariously lost 1-0 at home to Torquay. Swansea also scored four, allowing Bury to score twice by way of a reply. Relegated Huddersfield were held to a 2-2 draw by Cambridge at the McAlpine, thanks to a last minute goal by the away side. The other two relegated sides both lost, Mansfield going down 2-1 at Kidderminster and Cheltenham losing 2-0 at Southend. Bristol Rovers won 2-1 at Scunthorpe while Macclesfield and Boston fought out a goalless draw.

Lee Nogan scored York City’s winner at Carlisle to give the Minstermen a 2-1 victory. Jefferson Louis opened his account for Woking by scoring a 40th minute equaliser at Morecambe, but the Lancashire side won 2-1. Chester draw 0-0 at Stevenage, although the Cheshire side is probably more in turmoil at manager Mark Wright allegedly being caught in coitus interruptus with Wayne Hatswell’s missus.