Oxford City v City Preview

City travel to Oxford City on Monday Bank Holiday afternoon hoping to bounce back quickly after the disappointment of losing to Chelmsford City just two days before.

The Hoops have started the season with three draws including a high scoring affair in their first home fixture. Following a 1-1 draw at Braintree they entertained Concord Rangers with new signing at left back George Harman providing the lead after just 90 seconds. With the score at 3-1 midway through the second half the three points looked safe but the Essex club staged a great recovery in what sounded like a thrilling match. On Saturday they travelled to the south coast to meet Eastbourne in what appears to have been another lively affair. This time the Hoops cancelling out a two goal deficit at half time with that man Harman on the score sheet again.

The two clubs only met once last season with City travelling to Marsh Lane in October for the very late opening fixture. In our sixth visit to Marsh Lane we suffered our first defeat with Josh Ashby’s two well struck free kicks securing the three points for the Hoops.

Of course we were frequent visitors to the City of Dreaming Spires to play Headington (now Oxford United) in Charlie Fleming’s era and our more mature supporters will remember many classic battles played in front of huge crowds against that club.

Bath aside, there is probably no more attractive city to visit in National League South than Oxford. As well as many attractions, including the historic university buildings, famous museums and galleries, the city is blessed with some outstanding pubs and restaurants.

Unfortunately, as with so many of our destinations in this league, Marsh Lane is situated some three miles from the centre, requiring a bus or taxi trip and there are few facilities in the neighbourhood. However, there is excellent access from the nearby ring road so there is no need to drive through the centre if you are just interested in the match.

The ground is neatly set out, with a good-sized clubhouse and the added bonus on Monday of a beer festival being held prior to the match.

You can read a detailed description of the ground here.

Getting there

The eighty mile trip from Bath will take just under two hours. The Supporters Club will be running a coach and full details can be found on its website.

The train journey from Bath Spa will involve changing at Swindon and Didcot and a thirty minute bus ride to the ground from Oxford station.

Admission prices

This is amongst the cheapest clubs to watch football at this level if you buy tickets in advance.

Whichever means of travel you use to get to the match, have a safe journey and hopefully the reward of three more points for the City!