Welcome to the latest installment of the Gloucester a Groundhopper blog.
For this chapter, we headed to Oxfordshire as we searched for a game that would provide a high scoreline. Marsh Lane was our host, as Oxford City took on Tonbridge Angels in the National League South.
It's All In The Name
The name Oxford comes from the old term 'Oxanforda' which literally meant a ford (shallow crossing) in the river where the cattle (Oxen) could cross safely. Oxford City's nickname is The Hoops. This is merely due to the fact that there are hoops on the club's kit.
Some Notable People From Oxford:
Stephen Hawking- Scientist
Hugh Laurie- Actor
Gugu Mbatha Raw - Actress
Miriam Margolyes- Actress
Florence Pugh- Actress
Some Notable Former Players:
Michael Hector
Ikechi Anya
Robbie Cundy
Dan Holman
Kayden Jackson
Garath McCleary
Brandon Thomas-Asante
Kabongo Tshimanga
Notable Former Managers
Bobby Moore
A History Lesson From AFC Finners
Oxford City was founded in 1882 and played sporadic fixtures in their early years before joining the Isthmian league after winning the FA Amateur Cup in 1906.
They struggled for much of the twentieth century before hiring legendary England captain Bobby Moore as manager and Harry Redknapp as his assistant in 1979, when the club became a limited company. Moore, on the other hand, was unsuccessful, and Oxford City was evicted from their home in 1988. In 1990, they returned to senior football, and in 1993, they relocated to Marsh Lane. In the 1990s, they rose through the leagues, reaching the FA Vase final in 1995. They experienced both promotion and relegation in the 2000s, and were promoted to the Conference North for the first time in 2012 after defeating AFC Totton in the playoff final.
The club had an incredible FA Cup run in the 17-18 season, knocking out Football League Colchester in the first round and reaching the first round again the following season. They also defeated Banbury 4-3 in a thrilling final to retain the Oxfordshire Senior Cup, and they knocked out football league opposition in the FA Cup again in Northampton.
They look to move forward after finishing fifth last season, building on a strong foundation of cup success.
Additionally, in the 1999-00 season, Oxford became the first team to take an FA Cup tie to two replays since the replay limit was imposed, as their first replay against Wycombe was called off due to a fire alarm just before the penalty shootout.
Honours
🏆 FA Amateur Cup (Winners: 1905-6) (Runners-Up: 1902-3, 1912-13)
🏆 FA Vase (Runners-Up: 1994-95)
🏆 AFA Invitation Cup (Winners: 1955-56, 1961-62)
🏆 Ithsmian League Premier Division (Runners-Up: 1934-35, 1945-46)
🏆 Ithsmian League Division One (Champions: 1995-96) (Runners-Up: 1977-78)
🏆 South Midland League Premier Division (Champions: 1992-93, 2005-06)
🏆 South Midland League Premier Cup (Winners: 2005-2006)
🏆 Oxfordshire Senior Cup (Winners: 36 times)
🏆 Tournoi de Pâques du Stade Français (Winners: 1921)
Matchday: Oxford City 4-0 Tonbridge Angels
We travelled to Oxford on a dreary Saturday afternoon as we searched for a game that would give us lots of goals. Arriving in Oxford, we decided to journey to nearby Bladon, which is home to St Martin's Church. For anyone that doesn't know, St Martin's Church is where former Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, is buried, so we visited his gravesite. After this, we headed to the stadium.
Arriving at the stadium, we parked in the free parking available at the ground. We then entered the ground. We had previously acquired tickets to the match online, and the club do a fantastic initiative where they offer students free entry, so this made the game affordable for myself. We then found the club bar, which was showing the... yes you guessed it, early kickoff. This time it was Manchester City vs Liverpool.
The first thing we did was purchase some food, which was available at a kiosk. One small criticism I would have is that the club don't have menus available, so it is really hard to choose what you want as you don't know what is on offer. In the end, I decided to purchase a cheeseburger, which was delicious, and later on I purchased a bacon roll. Sadly, the bacon was smoked, and I absolutely despise smoked bacon, so I gave my bacon roll to a friendly Oxford City fan who seemed to enjoy it.
Following on from this, it has to be said that the Oxford City contingent were amazingly friendly. They were all really willing to chat and were especially engaging when watching the early kickoff. They were really helpful with finding us some club pin badges too.
Walking around the ground, it became clear that there has been a lot of effort put into maintaining the stadium. A lot of people were walking around picking up any forms of litter they may have missed and everything was well kept. Four stands make up the ground which is reasonable for the level that it's at.
As we always say, nobody expects to see flares and drums at this level of football. It has to be said that the atmosphere was slightly lacking, but I think the acoustics of the ground added to this. It was clear that a small contingent behind the goal were trying to make some noise, but it couldn't be heard very well. Overall, I think the atmosphere was reasonable, but could have been louder.
Teamsheet
Oxford City
Manager: Ross Jenkins
Adnan Kanuric
Jack Davies ⚽️
Lewis Micchio
Josh Ashby
Lewis Coyle
Zac McEachran
Klaidi Lolos ⚽️ ⚽️ ⚽️
Alfie Potter
Aaron Williams-Bushell
Canice Carroll
Latrell Humphrey-Ewers
Substitutes
Andre Burley
Andre Bromfield
Jayden Carbon
Olly Sanderson
Joe Wilson
Tonbridge Angels
Manager: Jay Saunders
Jonathan Henly
Jamie Fielding
Sonny Miles (c)
Ben Swift
Bailey Akehurst
Lewis Gard
Devonte Aransibia
Scott Wagstaff
Tariq Hinds
Joe Turner
Jordan Greenidge
Substitutes
Tommy Wood
Tom Parkinson
Nat Gibb
Jeremy Santos
Tommie Fagg
Oxford City dominated from beginning to end. They took the lead when Zac McEachran danced past several Tonbridge defenders before passing to Lolos, who turned and found the bottom corner. Oxford almost doubled their lead, but Jonathan Henly made a spectacular save to deny Alfie Potter's swerving effort. Oxford did get their second when Alfie Potter's excellent work down the right-hand side created space for him, and he then stood up a perfect ball for Davies to powerfully head home.
Oxford City added a third shortly after the break when Lolos did well to finish into the bottom left for his second of the afternoon after a lovely ball into the box from Ashby. Lolos nearly got his hattrick when he has the ball in the net f but the flag was up for offside. Lolos then won a penalty as he was taken out by a defender. He then stood up and fired past the keeper to bag himself a hattrick. City nearly got a fifth when a wonderful ball behind the Tonbridge backline from Humprey-Ewers found Wilson, but he was denied by Henly. It finished 4-0 in a dominant display by promotion chasing Oxford City.
Scores On The Doors
Atmosphere: 5/10
Food and Drink: 6/10
Stadium: 6.5/10
Welcome: 9/10
Overall Experience: 8/10
GG
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