Tag Archives: Oxford

The Secret Santa

29 Tuesday Dec 2020

Posted by in L, O

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Saturday 19th December 2020 ko 15.00

Hellenic League Division One East

LONG CRENDON 1 (Warwick 54)

WALLINGFORD TOWN 2 (Dean 43 Silkstone 85)

Att 36 at Oxford City FC

Entry £5

No Programme

You could say I was at this game because of Santa Claus! As you may know I’m part of a pub quiz team based at the Masons Arms in Oxford. Each Christmas we have a meal out at a local gastro-pub and exchange gifts in a “Secret Santa” arrangement. Covid of course had meant that meal out was impossible, but we decided to do the Secret Santa gift exchange, and I offered to play Santa for the afternoon and do the collections and deliveries from the doorsteps of our homes. The idea was afterwards to go and watch either of two Oxfordshire Senior League games. The first was Bicester-based Bure Park with Oxford Irish (based at Rose Hill Community Centre) as back-up. Both were 2pm kickoffs. 

Continue reading →

Habeus Corpus

04 Monday Mar 2019

Posted by in C

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday 5th December 2009 ko 10.00

Oxford University Middle Common Room League- Cuppers Group A

CORPUS/LINACRE 13 (Beresford 46 85 Tyler 48 67 75 79 88 Lewis 58 Hunter 70 86 89 90 Brown 83)
UNIVERSITY 1 (Winning 77)

Att 1

Tonight’s tale is, in part, a retort to those who absolutely have to see a stand, or a rail, or whatever at any ground they visit. The corollary for that is that anything that doesn’t fit their requirements tends to be written off as “A Field.” For dear reader this the story of the ground that actually did become a field!
Continue reading →

The Last Resort

18 Monday Dec 2017

Posted by in F

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday 17th December 2017 ko 14.00

Oxford City FA League

FLORENCE PARK 2 (Simpson 20p Foley 79)

CHEQUERS 4 (Constant 13 Ventriglia 14 Sherman 33 Thomas 90)

Att c25

Entry FREE

I do like a game in an area’s league of last resort; a league that’s at the bottom of the pecking order in its footprint. In Oxford city that’s the single division OCFA League, nominally a feeder the Oxon Senior League. 4 years ago it was struggling, down to just 5 teams, but a new committee and a lot of hard work have seen something of a renaissance in its fortunes.  Continue reading →

Where It All Started

09 Monday Nov 2015

Posted by in M

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Saturday 7th November 2015 ko 13.30

Oxfordshire FA “John Fathers” Junior Shield 2nd Round

MASONS ARMS 1 (Long 22) 

BENSON LIONS 2 (Swales 14 Willis 55)

Att 16 at Margaret Road Recreation Ground, Headington Quarry, Oxford

Entry FREE

No Programme

In so many ways if any game had my name on it, it was this one. I’m from this part of Oxford, my local is the Masons Arms, and I serve on the committee of the North Berkshire League, the league where Benson Lions ply their trade. But that’s only a superficial look at why this game was a must see for me. Continue reading →

The Other Half

22 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by in M

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday 18th December 2014 ko 19.00

FA Youth Cup 3rd Round

MANCHESTER CITY 2 (Wood 26 Celina 90)

OXFORD UNITED 0

Att 476 at Academy Stadium, City Football Academy, Ethihad Complex, Manchester

Entry FREE

Teamsheet FREE

When Oxford’s United’s Youth team beat local rivals swindon town in the last round the assumption was that the away game would be played where Manchester City play most of their non-first XI games, Hyde FC’s Ewen Fields. That in itself would have been interesting, the club were Hyde UNITED when I went, and the stadium was predominantly red, both of which changed when City pumped in some of the oil billions. Now City have gone I wonder if the United and red will return? Continue reading →

The Barnett Formula

14 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by in O

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Saturday 13th December 2014 ko 15.00

League 2

OXFORD UNITED 2 (Jones 70og Barnett 90)

BURY 1 (Mayor 63)

Att 6,912 (215 away)

Entry- Season Ticket, my guest FREE

Programme £3 (incl Oxford Mail)

There are several strands to my footballing life, what I travel to watch personally is often different from what I’d organise a groundhop to, and I the only club I watch with any degree of regularity is my home-town team Oxford United. Perhaps the great irony of my existence is that the further the club slid down the footballing pecking order the more creditability I gained in my groundhopping life!

Continue reading →

Priorities

20 Thursday Nov 2014

Posted by in O

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday 18th November 2014 ko 19.30

FA Youth Cup 2nd Round

OXFORD UNITED 3 (Graham 14 45 George 20p)

swindon town 2 (McCormack 83 Oulridge 85)

Att 727

Entry £5

Programme 50p

If, perchance you are an Oxford United fan there is a prescribed order when it comes to local rivals. In strict order it goes like this,

 
  1. Swindon Town
  2. Swindon Town Reserves
  3. Swindon Town Youth team
  4. Swindon Town Ladies,

and so on…

Continue reading →

Four Laps, Clutch Start

20 Sunday Jul 2014

Posted by in C

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday 18th July 19.30

British Elite League

COVENTRY BEES 52 (Andersen 12+1 Jepson Jensen 11+1)

BELLE VUE ACES 39 (Zagar 10 Nielsen 9)

Entry £17

Programme £2.50

In another life I could have easily become a speedway hopper, the Oxford Cheetahs’ Sandy Lane track was a cycle ride away during my youth, and once one of us learned to drive there was the likes of the Reading Racers, the Milton Keynes Knights, the Cradley Heathens, Swindon Robins, Wolverhampton Wolves, and Poole Pirates all within a reasonably straightforward drive. But if you wanted a match at a big stadium with a sense of history you went to Brandon Stadium. My hey-day was the late eighties and nineties I suppose, but times change.

Continue reading →

Shapes

26 Thursday Jun 2014

Posted by in Q

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Headington Quarry School 1864-2014

I’ve written about my part of the world before, click here, and as you may know I attended my first school here, from 1976-1981. It was a happy place, even though the only time I ever managed to see out of the windows was when I returned in July 2003 to have a look round. It had just closed as a primary school, but happily it soon reopened as a foundation stage school for children aged 3 to 5, and so last weekend on its 150th anniversary, once again I had the chance to visit again and reminisce. Continue reading →

Empathy

09 Friday May 2014

Posted by in N

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Saturday 3rd May 2014 ko 15.00

League 2

NORTHAMPTON TOWN 3 (Marquis 29 Toney 33 Kouo-Doumbe 50)

OXFORD UNITED 1 (Williams 6) Williams sent off 19 (violent conduct)

Att 7,529 (1,358 away)

Entry £19

Programme £3

I’ve watched my team lose their league status, and its a perfectly horrible experience, and one I wouldn’t wish on any fan (well perhaps Swindon, but that’s tribal!). The Conference may well be a quasi-League 3 but the process of falling into it still hurts a lot. 6 months ago, Northampton were racing favourites to take that drop, sacked manager Aidy Boothroyd, recruited Oxford United’s Chris Wilder more here, and went into this game out of the relegation zone for the first time this year, needing a point to guarantee League football.

In contrast Oxford had been in the play-off positions virtually all season, but since Wilder’s departure form had slumped with the club destined to finish 8th whatever the result. They had nothing but pride to play for, but the Cobblers’ conundrum was as follows. If they lost and either Wycombe or Bristol Rovers won, they were down, so how the club decided to stage the game surprised me.

Continue reading →