Oxford United Through to the First Round of the FA Cup

Oxford United has beaten Hayes and Yeading and is now through to the first round of the FA Cup. The draw was made on October 26th and fresh from hosting Hayes; Dorchester will now be the team travelling to Oxfordshire for a game which will be played on November 8th.

Once again Oxford will face Blue Square South opposition; this time however, the Blue Square South opponents are of a much lower quality. Whereas Hayes is a high flying Blue Square South side, Dorchester is a team that currently sits 19th in the league, a massive 14 points below Hayes and Yeading United; a team Oxford comfortably defeated 2-0.

Last time Oxford United played Dorchester was November 1995; on that occasion Oxford recorded its greatest ever win of 9-1. That was also in the first round of the FA Cup, at the time though Oxford was in Division Two (what is now League One), and was to be promoted the following season to Division One (the Championship) along with rival team Swindon Town.

With only one league’s difference; a 9-1 win will probably not this time be on the cards for United, fans will still be expecting a comfortable victory however and could then potentially face a high profile away game against a team such as Leeds United, Leicester City, or even local rivals Swindon. Failing that; an easy second round draw would be excellent, reaching the FA Cup Third Round could mean a potential battle against a Premier League giant such as Chelsea or Man United.

The last time Oxford United reached the third round of the FA Cup was in the 2002/03 season; on that occasion we played an away game at Arsenal and lost the match 2-0; hardly a disgrace of a result. Another high profile third round tie such as this would be a dream come true for Oxford; at current we don’t own our own stadium and money is therefore very hard to come by. An FA Cup away trip such as this and we’ll be secure for the season.

We’ll need to get past Dorchester and another unknown team yet, for the time being the FA Cup dream is still very much alive for Oxford United though and who knows what the next couple of months will have in store for us. However far we get in the cup; Oxford United will still remain the football club I love, and forever this will remain to be true.


Many apologies for being so slow to update about this one; I’ve been quite busy setting up a new music blog and a new football blog also.

FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round 2008

The full draw for the fourth round of the FA Cup is as follows:

Hinckley United v Curzon Ashton
Kettering Town v Burton Albion
Tamworth v Barrow
Kings Lynn v Kidderminster Harriers
Boston United v Cambridge United
Newcastle Blue Star v Altrincham
Droylsden v Belper Town
Durham City v Histon
Retford United v Alfreton Town /Ilkeston Town
Northwich Victoria v AFC Telford United
Blyth Spartans AFC v Guiseley AFC /Sheffield
York City v Mansfield Town
Fleetwood Town v Nantwich Town
Wrexham v Eastwood Town /Harrogate Town
Stevenage Borough v Horsham
Woking v Ebbsfleet United
Hampton & Richmond Borough v Brackley Town
Oxford United v Hayes & Yeading United
Maidstone United v Dover Athletic /AFC Wimbledon
Frome Town /Team Bath v Salisbury City
Dorchester Town v Bishop's Stortford
Oxford City v Eastbourne Borough
Ashford Town (Middx) v Forest Green Rovers
Evesham United v Rushden & Diamonds
Bury Town v Basingstoke Town /Bashley
Burgess Hill Town v Harlow Town /Crowborough Athletic
Grays Athletic v AFC Totton
Aylesbury United v Sutton United
Torquay United v Atherstone Town /Chipstead
Leiston v Lewes
Crawley Town v Havant & Waterlooville
Weymouth v AFC Hornchurch


As you can see, Oxford United will be at home to Hayes and Yeading United, Oxford City meanwhile will also be at home and will play Eastbourne Borough. As an Oxford United fan of many years I can honestly say that I'd rather go and watch City than United; if I was from Manchester this is something you'd probably never hear me say, as an Oxford fan though it's all very true.

Playing Eastbourne Borough will be a very big occasion for Oxford City and a fantastic chance to reach the First Round proper and play a League side. Oxford United against Hayes and Yeading United on the other hand will be a very low profile event and could well end in embarrassment. I'll be rooting for Oxford to win, as unpredictable as Oxford United is at current though I just don't know what to expect from the side.

Oxford United is often quite incapable of scoring goals at current; no matter how many chances are had. It'll therefore be interesting to see how United cope with Hayes and Yeading United, a side that currently sits third in the Blue Square South. That said though; Oxford is often very good at gaining results against high flying opponents, just not so strong at shooting down minnows.

As the underdogs, Hayes and Yeading United will be up for this and also very excited to play a team that won the League Cup 22 years ago. Oxford United will not have it easy when this home game rolls around on October 25th, it'll be up to Oxford to sink Hayes and Yeading United; on their day they could do it with ease, with Oxford United you never quite know which team will turn up. Will it be Jekyll or will it be Hyde? Only time shall tell.

Concentration Key at Altrincham

Going into a tough away game at Altrincham; Oxford United now know that concentration is very much key. After scoring late on in Thursday’s game and earning themselves a point, Oxford must now keep positive and remain strong as they head to Altrincham. Altrincham is an in form team at current, and although Altrincham should have theoretically been relegated for the last three seasons; that hasn’t stopped them from this time turning it all around and finally looking as though they may just do something in the Blue Square Premier League this season.

For the last three seasons Altrincham has finished in the bottom four, once 22nd and twice 21st. Three times the team has been saved however through other clubs pulling out of the league due to bankruptcy/being relegated down for various different reasons. Altrincham is a very lucky team to still be in this league, currently the side has 3 more points than Oxford however and it’ll now be up to Oxford to match their thrice ‘relegated’ opponents.

Oxford United is very inconsistent at current and who knows how the team may play against Altrincham; I’m hoping for big things from my beloved Oxford United however and will very much be hoping for the full 3 points to be gained. Never bet against Oxford; it might seem fairly unlikely right now that a win will come, with Oxford always be prepared to expect the unexpected though and don’t be too surprised if/when three points are in the bag.

Osborne Joins Eastbourne

Having not so long ago spent a month on loan at Oxford Untied; Brentford’s Karleigh Osborne has now joined Eastbourne Borough on a short term loan until November 6th. There had been talk that he’d potentially be returning to Oxford, Oxford having recently changed chairman and things generally looking up for the side; it wasn’t to be though and it has now been announced that Osborne has joined Eastbourne and will be in the side for the game against Stevenage on Sunday.

Osborne is an experienced defender and although not technically highly skilled; his defensive duties are superb and he should prove to be a huge help for Eastbourne who currently sit unhappily in the drop zone. Osborne proved himself to be a powerful presence in the Oxford back four during his month on loan at the Kassam and I’m sure that he’ll be just as effective at Eastbourne as he had been in Oxfordshire.

This news comes at the same time that it’s announced that Eastbourne striker Jean-Michel Sigere has signed for Horsham on a three-month loan deal. He signed for Boro in the summer but has found himself to be surplus to requirements and as such has departed in order to gain some first team experience at fellow East Sussex side Horsham.

Oxford Grab Deserved Draw

After a poor first half display, Oxford United here turned it around in the second half of the game as they grabbed a draw away at Torquay. Torquay dominated the first half, only managed the one goal however and this was only due to poor Oxford United defending from a corner kick. The Oxford United players had been drawn to the ball leaving the post completely unmarked and allowing for defender Chris Robertson to cruise in and grab a goal for the home side. Chris Robertson didn’t seem to know too much about the goal, he came rushing in and the ball bounced off his trailing leg and went through the legs of Billy Turley to find the back of the net. Torquay were good value for the lead, it was poor defending on Oxford’s behalf however and they really should have done more to stop it.

Despite disappointing in the first half, Oxford United came out in the second like a completely different team, enjoying much of the possession and creating a number of chances to level the game. Haldane had a great chance to score, didn’t get his whole weight behind the shot but still it took a strong save from Scott Bevan to deny him by pushing the ball onto the post and away from goal.

In the 89th minute of the match Oxford’s equalising goal came and it was Trainer who was the man to grab it. Again from a corner; Trainer cruised into the box in a similar style to that which Robertson had done early on and was happy to see his shot hit the back of the net. Oxford had drawn level and it was now too late for Torquay to do anything about it.

A draw was a fair reflection of the game, both teams played well for a half and each side deserved a point. It will have felt like a loss for Torquay to have conceded so late on; Oxford United will have been happy to have grabbed a point that never seemed too likely at the stage of the game the goal was scored though, and the Oxford fans will be by far the happier of the two side’s supporters.

It was a decent second half of football for Oxford, and having broken the Setanta curse against Cambridge; a draw against a team that had won five of its last 6 games wasn’t too bad a result at all. Oxford United’s season is now looking up a little, the side is still struggling but it’s all starting to come together a little more than it had been and that’s always good to see.

Torquay 1-1 Oxford United