OXFORD United boss Michael Appleton felt a goalless draw was probably a fair result in a game of few clear chances at Dagenham & Redbridge.

Conditions definitely played a part, with players struggling on a tricky playing surface when the ball was on the floor, while anything launched high was affected by a gusty wind.

It all added up to a game desperately low on entertainment and Appleton acknowledged the result was about right.

He said: “It probably was, I thought we had the better chances and made their keeper work a little bit more than Clarkey (Ryan Clarke).

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“He’s got a pretty clean top which suggests he’s not had too much to do.

“Unless you’re on the pitch you don’t realise how bad the wind was and how difficult the conditions were for both sets of players.

“When you keep a clean sheet away from home you’ve got to take that and expect it’s a decent point.”

He added: “On another day we might’ve nicked it 1-0.

“We had a couple of chances in the first half and I think Danny (Hylton) missed a great chance for us near the end, but he will come back strongly next week and hopefully take one.”

Appleton’s opposite number, Wayne Burnett, had a similar view on the game, which was in complete contrast to August’s 3-3 draw at the Kassam Stadium.

He said: “We didn’t really threaten their goal, but they didn’t really threaten ours.

“I think the weather played a massive part and it was different from the first game where both teams played flowing football.”

Appleton had caused a stir in the build-up to the game when raising concerns about the atmosphere at home games.

But he was thrilled with the backing provided by the 551 travelling fans, who made up more than a quarter of the attendance at Victoria Road.

He said: “They were fantastic, right from the start.

“Literally from the first minute you could hear them singing along and getting right behind the players.

“We might be a little bit frustrated we haven’t scored, but I’m sure they will be delighted with the way the lads stuck at it, defended and made sure we kept a clean sheet to get something from the game.”

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