Saturday 8th March 2025 ko 14:00

Banbury District & Lord Jersey League Division One

ARNCOTT ATHLETIC 2 (Dawistan 16 Davenport 60)

TYSOE UNITED 1 (Gardiner 40)

Att 15

Free Entry

When it comes to the leagues local to me in Oxford, I reckon I know most of them fairly well. Clearly organising hops for the North Berkshire and the Witney & District and sitting on a committee for the Oxfordshire FA helped for the Oxon Senior League, but the Banbury District & Lord Jersey League remains something of a mystery to me.

Not so much in terms of the clubs or fixtures, its just that I’ve only ever met a league official once, and that was to take my money at Wroxton Sports once for a semi final! For those not in the know the league’s name is portmanteau of the Banbury and District League and the Lord Jersey (Bicester) FA League. Yes the league is a merger, and it does throw up interesting fixtures such as this, Arncott on the Oxfordshire/ Buckinghamshire border and Tysoe in Warwickshire!

Arncott is very much in Bicester’s sphere, and there are two Arncotts, Upper and Lower, seperated by a little used level crossing on the Bicester Military Railway. Incidentally the railway has over 40 miles of track and is used by the Pioneer Corps to link up depots in Arncott, Piddington, and Graven Hill with the main Oxford to Bicester Line.

You’ll find Arncott Athletic at the village hall in Upper Arncott, and after weeks of high profile games and organised events it was lovely to watch a game on my own, and watch two sides completely new me. Deservedly Arncott won, and Mickey Davenport’s 20 yard thunderbolt was deserving of a far higher profile stage.

But the great joy of football right at grassroots is the taking a snapshot of two clubs both literally and metaphorically at one moment in time. Who knows when I’ll see Arncott and Tysoe again, but it’ll be fun looking forward to that next snapshot!