OXFORD United’s fluid attacking football poses a huge challenge for Braintree Town tonight, according to manager Danny Cowley.

The sides meet tonight in a first round replay at the Kassam Stadium, having drawn the first meeting 1-1 at the Avanti Stadium earlier this month.

Braintree played the final 20 minutes with a man advantage following Johnny Mullins’ sending off, but could not find a winner.

Cowley, whose side won 6-3 at Halifax Town in the Vanarama National League on Saturday, expects a tougher challenge to pull off an upset on United’s home turf.

“If we’re totally realistic, the first game was probably our best chance,” he told the Braintree & Witham Times.

“That’s the reality as I’ve seen their pitch and watched Oxford in quite a lot of footage and they move the ball very well on that pitch.

“I think what we saw in the first meeting will be even further magnified in the replay.

“But we have to enjoy the challenges.

“It will be really tough but you have to enjoy the questions, especially tactically and technically, that they ask of you.

“Particularly without the ball, they move you around.

“I have never seen a 4-4-2 formation with as much rotation as they had in the first game.

“It was like a choreographed dance.”