Oxford United vs Southend United. Sky Bet League One.
The Kassam StadiumAttendance8,978.
Wednesday 26 December 2018 18:58, UK
Southend ended a run of four straight away league defeats with a 1-0 victory over Oxford thanks to Michael Kightly's late winner.
On his return to the team, Kightly rose to head in striker Theo Robinson's cross in the 79th minute.
It was only Oxford's second defeat in 17 games in front of nearly 9,000, their biggest league gate of the season, though the hard-working Blues closed down well and restricted the home team to few clear-cut scoring opportunities.
Jamie Mackie had a goal disallowed for the U's in the first half, the striker straying offside before turning in Gavin Whyte's cross.
Southend had a near-miss when Robinson stretched but was just unable to turn in Simon Cox's chipped cross over the goalkeeper, while Oxford centre-half Curtis Nelson volleyed Cameron Brannagan's free kick across the face of the goal.
In the second half, James Henry narrowly missed turning in Whyte's low cross from the right and went close with a fizzing 20-yard drive as Southend took all three points.
