February 22, 2025
Today’s match in the National League North saw a meeting of 19th vs 2nd
Since these diaries reported on Oxford City’s home loss to Leamington earlier this month, The Hoops had played three away matches and lost all three of them. Two late goals condemned them to a 1-2 loss at Peterborough Sports, they were not at the races on a cold and icy day at Needham Market, sliding to a 0-4 defeat, and on Tuesday they were beaten 1-2 at Kings Lynn.
The match at Kings Lynn saw the return to the club of centre-back Canice Carroll, who had been playing for National League South side Salisbury, and The Hoops had clearly missed his defensive skills and leadership qualities after his injury in January 2024, which contributed to losing the battle against relegation from the National League.
However, Carroll’s appearance back in a Hoops shirt was very short-lived as he was sent off in the first minute, when the referee deemed Carroll had denied a clear goalscoring opportunity when bringing down the Linnets striker Johnny Margetts, despite Aaron Drewe standing between them and the goal. The red card has been rescinded but Oxford City had to play with 10 men for 89 minutes and still nearly came close to grabbing a draw.
Also making a return to Oxford City was former keeper Laurie Walker, on loan from Solihull Moors. Walker was the keeper during the 2015/16 season, making 45 appearances, and had since played in the Football League for MK Dons, Stevenage and Oldham Athletic
Four defeats in a row had moved Oxford City back into the relegation mix, just two points ahead of 21st placed Marine, and they needed to quickly start picking up points again, and to not be distracted by the upcoming last 8 home tie against Woking in the FA Trophy and being just two wins away from Wembley. Taking points from high-flying Scunthorpe would be far from easy though !
Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe is a town in Lincolnshire with an estimated population of around 80,000. Its football side were formed in 1899 and joined the Football League in 1950, where they played until being relegated in 2022. Another relegation in the following season saw then go down to National League North. As recently as 2010/11 Scunthorpe were playing in the Championship.
Last season Scunthorpe finished second in National League North but were beaten on penalties by Boston in the play-off semi-final.
Scunthorpe played at The Old Show Ground until 1988 when they moved to Glanford Park, which at the time was the first new football stadium to be built in the country for 33 years. The ground now has a capacity of 9,088.
The club’s nickname is The Iron, after the town’s association with the iron and steel industry, and their traditional colours are claret and blue stripes.
Scunthorpe was the club at which Ray Clemence and Kevin Keegan started their careers, and Ian Botham played 11 matches as a centre-half for the Iron.
Scunthorpe often falls foul of profanity filters on many social media forums………..
Scunthorpe This Season
Scunthorpe came into today’s game with an overall record of 17-10-5. They were a formidable 9-7-1 at home and 8-3-4 away.
Scunthorpe started the season with 7 wins and a draw before suffering their first defeat at Scarborough ( 0-1 ). They suffered a bit of a wobble in late October/November losing three out of five matches, all by a 2-3 margin, going down to Southport ( A ), Spennymoor ( A ) and Buxton ( H ).
They were now though currently on a run of just one defeat in their last 15 games, which was surprisingly at lowly Rushall Olympic ( 1-2 ), and had taken 17 points from the last 7.
In the two cup competitions, Scunthorpe were eliminated by lower league opponents. They exited the FA Cup at step 3 Guiseley ( 0-1 ) and the FA Trophy at home to step 3 Warrington Rylands ( 1-2 ).
Scunthorpe were the best supported side in the division, with an average home attendance of 3,814
Scunthorpe Squad
Former Newcastle United, Aberdeen and Notts Country winger Callum Roberts was the division’s joint top scorer with 16 goals, closely followed by team-mate and ex-Maidenhead, Kilmarnock and Eastleigh forward Danny Whitehall on 12 goals. Whitehall would be missing today through injury.
Keeper Ross Fitzsimons played in the Football League for Notts County and had also played for Weymouth, Chesterfield and Gibraltar side St Joseph’s in the Europa Conference.
Giant Scottish striker Mark Beck had played for Carlisle, Harrogate, Falkirk and Wrexham whilst left-back Tyler Denton was ex-Port Vale, Peterborough, Stevenage and Chesterfield.
Centre-back Andrew Boyce played for Scunthorpe when they were in the EFL before leaving for Grimsby and a long spell at Eastleigh. Full-back Ollie Rose was on loan from Peterborough, Joe Rowley spent 6 years with Chesterfield and Alfie Beestin was ex-Doncaster and Chesterfield and one letter away from being a painful bite !
Chris Wreh signed during the week, initially on a one-month loan from Tamworth, and was a substitute in the Lambs’ FA Cup tie against Tottenham.
Previous Meetings
The two sides had met only once before, when in front of a crowd of 4,318 an injury time equaliser from defender Aaron Drewe gave Oxford City an unexpected 2-2 draw at Glanford Park in Ross Jenkins’ first league match in his second spell in charge of The Hoops. Callum Roberts had notched a brace for the Iron.
Matchday Information
According to AA Route Planner, the journey from Scunthorpe to Oxford is 165 miles and should take just over 3 hours down the M18/M1/M69/M40. The game was segregated with at least 300 Iron fans making the journey.
Tickets for today’s match were £15 online or £17 at the gate for seats, or £13 or £15 for standing, and the programme was £3.50. A pint of Belhaven lager was £4.90.
The weather at the 15.00 kick-off was sunny and an unseasonally pleasant 13 degrees.
Bet365 made Scunthorpe 13/20 favourites, with Oxford City at 29/10 and the draw at 3/1
Scunthorpe made one change from last week with centre-back Will Evans replacing the suspended Boyce, and Oxford City also made one change from the side that started against Kings Lynn with Alfie Potter swapping with Tom Scott. In the absence of Josh Parker and Corie Andrews, Oxford City did not have a recognised striker, so again teenage winger Jayden Carbon had to lead the line.
Scunthorpe were wearing a mostly orange shirt with black and white patterns on the lower half, and black shorts and socks. They looked like a Luton team from the 1980s or 90s ! Oxford City were in their usual blue and white hoops.
Match Report
Oxford City’s lack of a recognised striker was visible almost straight away as first Andre Burley got to the Scunthorpe byline with no-one to finish his ball across the goalmouth, and then after Zac McEachran and Lewis Coyle combined, no-one was at the far post for a simple header.
A long-range effort from McEachran then struck Maxim Kauogun, although the Scunthorpe defender knew little about it.
The visitors showed their first attacking intent when a long cross-field pass floated over Freddy Willcox for Roberts to run into the Oxford City area, but although the winger was able to run past keeper Walker, he was crowded out and unable to get a shot in.
A free kick for Scunthorpe was played beyond the far post where Evans was able to head back across goal, but Beck’s header was a nice height for Walker to make a regulation catch on his line.
With 11 minutes played, Beck beat Carroll in the air from a long free kick from the Iron keeper, but Aaron Drewe was covering a put the ball out for a corner to deny Beestin. The corner was taken short, but Michael Clunan’s eventual cross was overhit and bounced out for a goal kick.
The visitors were enjoying a slight edge in possession as Rose made good ground to feed Roberts, who set-up Kian Scales to shoot from 20 yards, but the effort was deflected for a corner. The set-piece was partially cleared as far as Scales, who again saw his shot from the edge of the area blocked. Oxford City quickly countered but Potter was outmuscled by the corner flag by Denton.
As the match completed its opening quarter, play had been pretty even with neither side being able to create any clear-cut chance, and a slight delay ensued when a wayward Scunthorpe pass struck a spectator in the face, but thankfully no damage appeared to have been done.
With 25 minutes on the clock, Beestin’s pass sent Scales running to the left-hand byline, but the low cross was intercepted by Carroll, who calmly passed to Reece Fleet for City to clear their lines. Rowley was then played into a good possession in the right-hand channel, but his pull back went behind Scales and the danger had gone.
Denton sent a cross-field pass for Rose to run into The Hoops area, but his low ball was put out for a corner. Walker claimed the delivery into the 6-yard box and got needlessly clattered by Evans well after making the catch.
On a rare foray for the home side deep into Scunthorpe territory, Coyle’s left wing cross needed a desperate header from Evans to prevent Josh Ashby having a close range header. The corner was played low towards the near post, but Carbon was unable to make a decent contact, and the ball rolled through to keeper Fitzsimons.
A long free-kick from Fitzsimons reached Roberts on the right, who cut inside to send a left-footed cross towards the penalty spot which Beck chest-controlled, turned, and the shot a few feet over the bar.
The home side responded with Carbon trying to run away from Kouogun but good defending saw the Iron centre-back win the ball.
The first yellow card of the match was shown in the 37th minute when Beestin cynically pulled back McEachran as the Hoops midfielder ran away from him just inside the Scunthorpe half. Ashby’s free kick was headed high in the air by an Iron defender and the ball fell to Willcox just outside the area, but the young Cheltenham loanee’s left footed volley went out of the stadium.
As half time approached, Ashby’s header enabled Burley to run into space on the right but the ball across the 6-yard line was cleared by Kouogun. Oxford City reworked possession and Burley was again released on the right but neither Ashby or Potter could ball the ball into the net in a goalmouth scramble and the visitors were able to clear.
The game remained goal-less at the interval, with neither keeper having been tested. Despite plenty of skillful passing play, there had been no end product to show.
The second half nearly got off to a dramatic start when it looked like a hopeful punt out of the Scunthorpe defence would put Beestin clear, but Willcox applied the sting in the tail by being far too quick and got to the ball first, and for good measure was then trip by the Iron forward.
Oxford City twice in quick succession came close to shooting themselves in the foot. Burley carelessly lost possession and Scunthorpe worked the ball to Beestin, but the 20-yard shot was pushed around the post by Walker at his near post.
A minute later Carroll tried to be far too elaborate trying to play out of defence and was disposed. Beestin was put clear on goal but with only the keeper to beat from 12 yards, Drewe came from nowhere to make a brave block at the expense of a corner and personal injury to himself.
Shortly after, an inviting cross from Denton was well claimed by Walker, who again was clattered into late, this time by Beck, and a free-kick was awarded.
With 54 minutes played, McEachran won possession near half-way and played a splendid ball to put Carbon clear with just the Iron keeper to beat. However, his first touch was heavy, and the ball went to the Scunthorpe keeper. Carbon did subsequently go to ground as Kouogun challenged but the referee rightly ignored the appeals for a penalty. The phrase “he can trap it further than I can kick it sprang to mind” ! It was the best chance of the match so far.
The visitors looked to hit back, and Rose won a corner after an aimless cross had been played well beyond the far post, but again Walker made an important catch under his crossbar from the corner.
Iron substitute Carlton Ubaezuonu showed a good touch to control Kouogun’s long ball but good defending allowed Walker to dive on the ball.
The visitors’ most dangerous looking moment to date came in the 62nd minute when Ubaezuonu volleyed a cross from Rose over the bar from close range, but the referee had spotted the blatant push by Beck on Carroll to give Oxford City the free kick. Ubaezuonu was again in the action when Carroll made a bit of a hash trying to make an interception, but the ball rebounded off the shin of the Iron substitute and rolled across the goal for Walker to gather.
At the other end, McEachran twisted inside the Iron area to have a sight of goal, but the Hoops midfielder opts to try and find a pass rather than shoot, and the chance was wasted. Scunthorpe broke and Rowley ran from just inside the halfway line into the Oxford City area, but his left footed shot went narrowly high and wide.
The home side then enjoyed a brief good spell as McEachran and Burley combined to give Ashby some space, but the cross-cum-shot was blocked for a corner, which was headed off for another corner. This time, Coyle’s delivery went straight to Fitzsimons for a routine catch.
The game had now opened up as play went from end to end. A superb cross-field pass from Clunan found Roberts in a good position, but Fleet was back to put the dangerous cross off for a corner, from which Fleet again made the clearance.
In the 67th minute a harsh yellow card was shown to Clunan for a foul on Coyle, when some referees might have given the free-kick the other way. Ashby put Coyle clear on the left from the free kick, but the cross lacked power and Fitzsimons dived on the ball. McEachran’s incisive pass then enabled Carbon to run clear of Evans, but the makeshift striker slipped near the byline.
Drewe got to the byline but Ashby’s effort from the pull back was blocked for a corner, which again was directed straight to the keeper for another easy catch.
A flowing move from the Hoops involving Potter, Carbon and Coyle saw Ashby send a curling cross to the far post where the unmarked Burley could only head over. It was a golden chance spurned.
Carbon chased onto a long ball inside the Iron area but as the ball ran out of play, the City player collapsed to the floor with no-one near him. It looked like a case of cramp, but for some reason the referee showed a yellow card, perhaps for simulation ? In any case, Carbon was unable to continue and was substituted, with midfielder Tom Scott taking over the makeshift striker role.
As the game entered the final 10 minutes, Ubaezuonu won a header ahead of Willcox to put Roberts into space inside the Oxford City area, but his shot was blocked. The visitors then won a free wide on the right near the corner, which The Hoops were able to clear after a scramble in the 6-yard box.
As Oxford City looked to press, Fleet lost possession and Clunan broke for the visitors and when the ball was played to Wreh, the Tamworth man stepped inside from the left, but his right footed drive was pushed away by the diving City keeper.
Back down the other end, Oxford City substitute Ezennolim beat Rose to get to the left byline but his ball across the area evaded Scott and needed Denton to stoop and head off at the back post to prevent a tap in for Burley.
The home side were now looking the more likely side to grab a late winner, but McEachran and Burley were both thwarted by good tackles in the act of shooting. Ezennolim then played a lovely curling pass down the left-hand touchline for Scott to latch onto but the ball across the goalmouth just evaded Potter.
It was then the visitors’ turn to press. Drewe was shown a yellow card for a foul on Fadera then Roberts got past Willcox only to see his cross cleared. As the game moved into 5 minutes of added time, a cross from Roberts was headed over the bar by Ubaezuonu at the far post.
In a frantic finale, McEachran then played in Potter but Rose produced a last-ditch tackle as the ex-Oxford United man was about to pull the trigger. Scunthorpe broke for Roberts set-up Fadera, who could only shot over the bar and over the stand from the edge of the area. Roberts then got past Willcox, but the Hoops defender was able to get back to make a tackle to concede a corner.
When the ball was played into the mixer a mad scramble ensued and the visitors appealed for a handball, but the referee had spotted some shirt-pulling and awarded a free-kick to Oxford City.
The referee blew the final whistle shortly afterwards, so the spoils were shared. The second half had been much better than the first half, and both sides could point to good chances missed. However, overall, a draw was probably a fair result.
Oxford City had ended their losing streak and were now three points clear of the relegation zone. However, after taking a point from the Division’s second place side, then next host league leaders Chester City on Tuesday night. Scunthorpe stayed in second place, now three points behind Chester but with a game in hand. They would no doubt be hoping that Oxford City can do them a favour on Tuesday !
Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HKmdWDVKcc
Oxford City : Walker - Drewe, Carroll, Willcox – Burley ( Jones ), Potter, Ashby, Fleet, McEachran, Coyle ( Ezennolim ) – Carbon ( Scott )
Scunthorpe United : Fitzsimons – Rose, Kouogun, Evans, Denton – Roberts, Rowley, Clunan, Scales ( Ubaezuonu ) - Beck ( Fadera ), Beestin ( Wreh )
