PREVIEW Southend United v Oxford United

A full guide to Saturday's Sky Bet League 1 game at Roots Hall

5 October 2018

Oxford United look to get back to winning ways when they travel to Southend United on Saturday in Sky Bet League 1.

TEAM NEWS

United will be without Shandon Baptiste who serves a one game suspension after his red card against Luton on Tuesday night. Jamie Hanson needed stitches after a stray elbow caught him in the face in that game but is expected to be available while Jamie Mackie is in contention after a recent hip problem. Samir Carruthers and Simon Eastwood are both back in full training but more likely to return on Tuesday when United welcome Northampton Town in the Checkatrade Trophy.

Ricky Holmes will be hoping to impress against the club that released him as a schoolboy while Charlie Raglan and Cameron Norman were impressive in the under 23 side's win over Swansea last night.

Gavin Whyte is available before he flies out to join up with the Northern Ireland squad on Sunday.

See Gavin, Ricky Holmes and Karl Robinson all talking about the game in the Preview Show in iFollow where we also have the full game live.

THE OPPOSITION

Southend have picked up three wins in a row but Manager Chris Powell wants still more from his side

“I’m really proud of the players at the minute but I’m still pushing them,” he told Southend's official site “I don’t want them to think they’ve cracked it. The second we relax, we’ll have a problem. And they’ll have a problem with me.

“Now, for me, getting a result and a win at home in front of our fans would really crown and top off a really good week because we’ve had two away trips. What’s great is we’re showing we’re quite adaptable. We’ve got one way of playing and we’ve shown we can play another way if we have to."

Holmes heads for home

The Gaffer

Whyte Stuff

TICKETS

Southend United v Oxford United
Saturday 6th October | 3 pm | Roots Hall | SS2 6NQ

Tickets for this game are no longer on sale online but are available in person or by phone (01865 337533) until 3pm on Friday 5th October.

Prices

Adult	£22
60 and over	£15
Student (with valid ID)	£14
17-22	£14
Disabled (with free carer)*	£14
9-16	£10
8 and under	£4

*NB There is an adult/senior concession price for disabled supporters. All other disabled supporters pay the age-relevant price with a complimentary carer ticket if required.

London Road Club coaches
Depart stadium: 11 am

Adult members: £17
Adult non-members: £19
U18 members: £15
U18 non-members: £17

Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult. No alcohol is permitted on the coaches.

Tickets available from www.oufctickets.co.uk and the Oxford United ticket office.

FOLLOW IT LIVE

iFollow has the whole game live - hear it if you are in the UK, see it if abroad. You can sign up game by game or for the whole season, and we have full 90 minute reruns of every game.

@OUFCOfficial will be tweeting throughout the game and the match centre on this site gives you full stats and text commentary throughout the match.

The official report goes live with a full gallery right here on the final whistle.

Match Previews

Match Reports

REPORT Southend United 0 Oxford United 0

U's pick up a point at Roots Hall. Full time report

6 October 2018

Oxford United picked up a point with a determined display at Southend this afternoon. A 'back to basics' attitude ended a losing streak and ensured that they got at least one point from all their hard work.

United shuffled the pack after recent results and moved skipper John Mousinho in at the base of a midfield diamond, brought Josh Ruffels into the side at left back and asked Jamie Mackie to lead the line.

Mousinho, ruthlessly efficient and fiercely determined, typified the spirit and made an early block before keeper Jonathan Mitchell saved well from Tom Hopper in the seventh minute as United withstood early pressure. Things settled after that and Gavin Whyte had one dangerous run halted by a good sliding tackle on the slick Roots Hall pitch and then a left-footed effort go well wide as United started to look dangerous on the break.

United's best chance in the first half saw Rob Dickie head well wide of the mark from a free kick but there was an almighty let off after 28 minutes when Simon Cox found too much space on the right of the box and hammered in a powerful shot which bounced harmlessly away off both bar and post. Ben Coker rattled a shot against the scoreboard on 35 but United had defended stoutly and deserved their clean sheet at the break for resilience alone. Maybe the luck is starting to turn their way for once?

They then raised their game in the second half without truly creating many chances, their magnificent supporters doing their best to roar them forward as the rain fell steadily and both sides started to tighten up and guard against making any costly mistakes.

Mackie, who worked selflessly all afternoon, glanced a Mousinho cross wide after 71 minutes and most of the play was in the Southend half as United started to dominate; Mitchell didn't have a shot to save in the second 45 minutes, with Yearwood dragging the best opportunity for the home side well wide after 79 minutes.

The best chance of the half seemingly fell for Holmes who should have scored against his hometown club when he got above his man at the back post, but he couldn't guide a perfect Tony McMahon cross on target. There was one more still to come when Mousinho met another McMahon free kick but saw his header brilliantly saved by Mark Oxley to ensure that neither side found a breakthrough.

A deserved point and a draw earned through grit and determination. There was simply no way United were going back round the M25 empty handed this time from a ground where they rarely do well.

Att: 6,670

Away: 436

Report by Chris Williams, pictures by Darrell Fisher, stats by OPTA

Match Reports

Ticket News

Southend Ticket Details

All the details for United's trip to Roots Hall

3 October 2018

Oxford United visit Southend United this Saturday, 6th October. All the ticket and travel information is below: