U's and Gulls produce bore draw
Two sides down on confidence produced a poor spectacle at the Kassam Stadium as Oxford and Torquay played out a 0-0 draw.
There were few clear-cut chances until late on in a game riddled with misplaced passes and a lack of quality in the final third.
Jon-Paul Pittman's arrival for the second half briefly sparked Oxford into life, but after producing a sharp turn, Pittman blazed over the bar from a great position.
U's keeper Ryan Clarke parried an effort from Billy Bodin just before the break after the forward cut in from the right, leaving three defenders for dead.
Sean Rigg delivered a succession of crosses from the left for Oxford, but they had no-one to get on the end of them.
The Gulls threatened at set pieces with Kevin Nicholson's fine delivery and the visitors had a goal disallowed for offside early in the second half.
Torquay keeper Martin Rice, on his Football League debut, made two good saves from Peter Leven, and turned a snapshot from James Constable over the bar.
But Constable also blasted over from close in, and in a frantic finale, U's defender Andrew Whing headed against the post at a corner.
Martin Ling's side finished the happier, as the result ended a bad week that included defeats by Harrogate Town in the FA Cup and bottom club Barnet in the league.
Source: DSG
