September 28, 2024
Today saw the Third Qualifying Round of the FA Cup, with today’s winners being just one match away from the First Round Proper.
Oxford City entered in the Second Qualifying Round and had a comfortable 6-0 home win over step 4 Willand Rovers. Gosport started in the First Qualifying Round and beat Wessex League ( Step 5 ) Andover New Street 4-0 at home, and then overcame fellow Southern League Premier South side Gloucester City with a 2-0 away win in a replay after a 2-2 home draw.
Oxford City Update
After recording their first league win of the season last weekend with a 3-0 home win over Needham Market, Oxford City crashed back down to earth with a 1-4 midweek loss at Leamington. Manager Sam Cox was sacked after this loss and Oxford City moved quickly to re-appoint Ross Jenkins, who left in the close season to takeover at Boreham Wood but had already moved on and was available.
With Oxford City having conceded the most goals in National League North, and conceding more embarrassing goals at Leamington, Jenkins has already acted in re-signing ex-QPR defender Aaron Drew, who had a season loan at Court Place Farm in 2021 and most memorably made a remarkable goal-line clearance in the televised FA Cup tie against Northampton Town, which The Hoops went onto win 2-1.
Gosport Borough
Gosport Borough were formed in 1944 and play at the 4,500 Capacity Privett Park, now known as the AEI Stadium for sponsorship reasons. They joined the Southern League in 1978 and played there until relegation to the Wessex League in 1992.
The Wessex League championship was won in 2006/07 to secure a return to the Southern League Division One South & West, from which they won promotion to the Premier Division in 2011/12 via the play-offs. A consecutive promotion was achieved, again triumphing via the play-offs, to go up to Conference South where they stayed until relegation at the end of 2016/17. Gosport have stayed in the Southern League Premier Division South since then.
Last season Gosport finished in fourth position but lost to Salisbury City in the play-off semi-final, an improvement on their 17th place the season before.
Gosport were runners-up in the 2013/14 FA Trophy, losing 0-4 to Cambridge United at Wembley.
I have seen Gosport on one previous occasion. In August 1987 I was in a crowd of 342 to see a 1-1 draw at Crawley Town in the Beazer Homes League, and my handwritten comments on the programme indicate the Crawley’s ex-Millwall centre-back Tommy Warrilow scored both goals !
Gosport Borough This Season
Gosport went into this game in 15th place in Southern League Premier South with a 2-3-3 record. They began the season with two losses, 0-1 at home to Frome Town then 2-5 at Hungerford. They then went on an unbeaten run of 5 games in the league ( and 8 including the FA Cup ), beating Winchester 2-0 away and Tiverton 3-0 at home, with draws against Basingstoke ( 3-3 at home ), Sholing ( 1-1 away ) and Merthyr ( 0-0 away ). However, they lost their last outing 0-1 at Wimborne.
One familiar name in the Gosport squad was ex-Crawley Town defender Charlie Wassmer who was part of the squad that earned The Reds promotion to the Football League in 2010/11. Wassmer also played for Cambridge United, Dagenham & Redbridge and a number of non-league sides, and joined Borough from Hayes and Yeading United. Wassmer was to be an unused substitute today.
Another recognisable name to non-league football followers in Oxfordshire and the surrounding regions was ex-Risborough Rangers attacking midfielder/forward Asher Yearwood, who has featured twice in these diaries, scoring in both games. Yearwood joined Gosport from Beaconsfield Town.
https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2021/10/risborough-rangers-4-1-arlesey-town-att.html
https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2022/10/risborough-rangers-1-1-colney-heath-att.html
Striker Alfie Stanley joined Borough from AFC Totton, Alexander Barsa is from the Czech Republic and has played for Slovacko B, whilst veteran midfielder Danny Hollands made over 400 EFL appearances for Bournemouth, Charlton, Portsmouth, Swindon, Gillingham and Crewe before going on to make over 150 appearances for Eastleigh in the Conference.
Striker Dan Wooden first played for Gosport in 2010 but after spells with Moneyfields and Porchester AFC rejoined the club in 2020. Keeper Ryan Gosney signed from Salisbury City, having played for Sholing prior to that.
Stanley was Borough’s leading scorer this term with 4 in the league plus three more in the FA Cup. Yearwood had 3 in the league and one in the Cup and Wooden had one league goal but three in the Cup.
Previous Meetings
These two sides have only been in the same division for two seasons. In 2015/16 and 2016/17 they competed in Conference South, and Gosport did the double in 2015/16 winning 4-0 at home and 2-1 at Court Place Farm. The following year Gosport again won in Oxford ( 2-1 ) but the Hoops won 1-0 in Gosport.
It had been reported that the two sides had met twice before in the FA Cup, with Oxford City winning on both occasions, but that must have been over 20 years ago as I haven’t been able to find the details of these matches !
Matchday Information
The distance from Gosport to Oxford is a shade over 80 miles via the M3 and A34 and should normally take around 90 minutes. However, with the closure of the A34 near Oxford for road works, AA route planner recommended a journey around the M25 and down the M40, which is nearly 115 miles and over two hours ! Unfortunately, the Gosport coach driver seemed to be unaware of these roadworks, and Gosport were late in getting to Court Place Farm, forcing a delay to the kick-off, and the game eventually started at 15.20.
Interestingly, the Gosport supporters’ coach was already at the ground when I arrived just after 14.00. Around 40 Borough supporters ( and a drummer ) congregated behind one of the goals and there were a few more watching from the main stand.
Tickets for today’s match were reduced to just £8 for adults online or £10 at the gate, compared to the usual £13-17 for league games.
A smaller than usual programme was produced for today’s cup-tie, being just 16 pages, but the price was reduced to £3. It had clearly been printed prior to the change in management as Sam Cox’s manager’s notes were on page 3…….
The weather at the 15.00 kick-off was dry with occasional blue skies, and the temperatures around 13 degrees.
Bet365 made Step 2 Oxford City 7/10 favourites with Step 3 Gosport at 13/5 and the draw at 3/1
Oxford City made two changes from their starting line-up at Leamington, with Siddik and Carbon replacing Jones and Roddy. Gosport were unchanged.
Gosport were in a kit of yellow shirts, dark blue shorts and yellow socks whilst Oxford City were in their usual blue and white hoops.
Match Report
The home side started brightly and McEachran was soon surging forward but his 20-yard effort was blocked. McEachran then looked to have put Carbon clear on goal, but the linesman’s flag was quickly raised for offside.
Gosport then launched a long ball which caused some hesitation in the Oxford City back line, but keeper Mitchell eventually claimed ahead of Wooden.
One early impression was just how short Danny Hollands was. Wikipedia states he is 5 ft 11 inches, but he looked even shorter than Santi Cazorla, who was listed a 5 ft 6 inches.
Gosport won a free kick in the 7th minute and after it was headed away, Murray got to it near the corner flag, but his left footed cross was claimed by keeper Mitchell.
The home side produced a neat flowing move that saw Ashby put in space on the left close to the byline, and with Ward-Smith dozing, his ball across the six-yard line found Potter who had a simple finish. 1-0 after 11 minutes.
McEachran, Burley, Carbon and Ashby all combined to put Potter clear on goal, but his prod was blocked for a corner.
The game was very open with both sides playing good football, but the home side came close again when Carbon made a strong run down the left and then lifted the ball across the pitch for Coyle to head back towards Parker, who was crowded out.
The first yellow was produced in the 16th minute which seemed to be shown to Walsh-Smith for foul language at Tarbuck, his own team-mate !
A minute later, a lovely through ball gave Parker some space inside the Gosport area, and the Antiguan international turned and sent a chip just over the bar.
Tarbuck then had difficulty dealing with a long ball into the Gosport half, first heading the ball high into the air, and then under pressure from Carbon was able to head back to his keeper, who caught the ball high above his head.
Carbon then played a neat ball down the right-hand channel for Burley to run onto and his ball into the Gosport penalty area reached McEachran, who turned and shot, but it was straight at Gosney, who made a comfortable save.
Another flowing move from the home side involving McEachran, Parker, Potter and Carbon ended with the final pass being a shade too heavy, and the ball rolled off for a goal kick.
The Hoops came close to doubling their lead in the 27th minute. Parker controlled a forward pass on his chest, McEachran took over and ran towards the Borough area and played in Potter, who cut inside a sliding defender, but with a square pass to McEachran leaving an open goal, he decided to shoot, and Gosney saved with his legs.
Fleet then played a lovely pass to McEachran who tried to skip to his right on the edge of the area, but Walsh-Smith made an important tackle.
A rare foray forward from Gosport saw Kavanagh’s right wing cross athletically cleared by Kpekawa. However, the home defence was soon panicking when Burley’s attempted back pass to his keeper hit Fleet, who was in the way. Fleet managed to retrieve the ball near the corner flag, but under pressure from Yearwood carelessly played a pass across his 18-yard line to no-one in particular. Wooden intercepted and sent a first-time left-footed shot just over the bar with the goal gaping.
A long ball out of the Gosport defence potentially put Wooden clear, but Mitchell came outside of his area to intercept. His clearance was charged down by Wooden and bounced towards the empty net. Fortunately for the home side, Burley was covering and was able to put the ball out for a throw before it could cross the goal-line or Wooden could capitalise.
However, Oxford City were still on the attack and after a corner was unconvincingly punched away by Gosney, Ashby and McEachran combined to give Potter a sight of goal, and after his first effort was blocked, he played the ball across the goal where Burley swept the ball just wide of the near post from close range.
The last action of the first half saw another neat passing move involving McEachran, Burley and Ashby but a floated ball to the far post was just a fraction too high for Coyle, whose header looped up in the air and Gosney made a routine save.
Oxford City fully deserved their half-time lead but might have been rueing not converting more of their chances and not having a more commanding leading. in particular, Jayden Carbon had enjoyed an eye-catching first period. However, The Hoops had got away with a sloppy five-minute spell when Gosport could have got back on level terms, and on the rare occasions Borough had put Oxford City under pressure they had looked dangerous.
Gosport started the second period strongly, passing the ball nicely but without creating any chances, and it was Oxford City that had the first chance of the half. Parker charged down Gosney’s attempted clearance and retrieved the ball to set-up Coyle, but his effort was blocked for a corner. Ashby’s delivery reached Kpekawa but his header at the far post was easily save by Gosney.
However, Gosport were soon on level terms. Stanley's flick forward put Yearwood clear inside the Oxford City area and his cute finish from an acute angle went past Mitchell and rolled over the line despite the best efforts of Coyle. 1-1 after 53 minutes.
The Hoops looked to immediately hit back and after Ashby’s strong run, Coyle’s low drive was cleared for a corner, at which the home side were penalised.
Gosport though were looking increasingly dangerous and seeking to exploit the defensive weaknesses of the home side. A long ball was headed forward by Hollands, forcing Mitchell to come out of his area to hack clear. Tarbuck then made a run inside the Oxford City area and went down under a challenge, but the referee waved play on.
At the other end, Fleet’s incisive through ball put Carbon clear for a one on one with the keeper, who made a good save, and then made an even better save to deny Burley at point-blank from the rebound.
It was a potentially game changing moment, especially when Gosport took the lead a minute later. Another long ball out of the Gosport defence put Wooden clear. From my good vantage point almost in line with play, he looked a yard offside, but with the linesman hopelessly out of position, play continued, and Wooden produced an outstanding finish across the goal into the top corner from a narrow angle. 1-2 with 59 minutes played.
It got worse a minute later for The Hoops when Siddik hopelessly failed to deal with another long ball, and the ball bounced off him to Wooden, who sent the ball left footed into the bottom corner from nearly 25 yards, past the keeper who was poorly positioned and seemed to make a slow-motion flap as he dived. It was the sort of comedy defending Oxford City had regularly produced this season, poor play from a centre-back and suspect goalkeeping. Regardless, it was now 1-3 with 60 minutes on the clock.
Siddik was hooked shortly afterwards, but Oxford City were in a state of shock and nearly conceded again when Tarbuck’s cross was met by Morrison, but his header drifted just high and wide of the far post.
Despite their defensive liabilities, the home side still looked dangerous going forward, and Ashby got in a good position close to byline, sliding in to play a ball across goal with his left foot, but Borough were able to clear.
Another long ball from the Gosport defence again saw Wooden well offside but the linesman was again not up with play, but fortunately for Oxford City Burley was covering to head back to his keeper.
McEachran then went on a typically mazy run before shooting from just outside the area, but Gosney made a decent save diving at his near post.
Substitute Ezennolim had brought some much need energy to the home side and after a strong run down the left, he played the ball back to Coyle, whose curling cross to beyond the far post was met by Carbon, who finished across the goal into the opposite corner. 2-3 with 71 minutes played.
Carbon though got injured in scoring and was replaced by Drewe, who quickly made an impact with a strong, but fair tackle on Faniyan that left the Gosport player in a heap and requiring treatment, and then he proved to be too strong for Wooden with a shoulder-to-shoulder barge.
The impressive Ezennolim then easily beat Tarbuck on the left, but his cross-cum-shot was cut out by Gosney. It was now all Oxford City as they searched for the equaliser against a stubborn defence. McEachran and Ashby probed and when the ball fell back to Ashby his shot was partially blocked and sailed gently in the air for Gosney to clutch out of the sky.
Another good move from the home side ended with Ezennolim blazing over the bar from the edge of the area when he probably should have at least hit the target.
With time running out Yearwood went on a spectacular run on the left when he must have beaten half a dozen defenders, most of them twice, before the ball ran out of play.
Oxford City were still struggling to deal with long balls, and when Wooden played forward to Faniyan, the header went wide, but this time the offside flag was raised.
Five extra minutes were to be played, and Ezennolim beat two defenders to get the byline but again the final ball was lacking, and his fierce drive was blocked. After this Gosport comfortably saw out the final stages to progress to the Fourth Qualifying Round much to the delight of their travelling fans.
For Oxford City, there was no new manager bounce, and the previous frailties were still very apparent. A host of chances were missed, the defence seemed incapable of dealing with long balls and the goalkeeping didn’t inspire too much confidence. They can have no complaints at exiting the competition, and next have a trip to top of the table Scunthorpe United to look forward to.
Gosport return to league action when they host Bracknell Town next Saturday, but they will be eagerly awaiting Monday’s draw.
Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q76kMfgm8E
Oxford City : Mitchell – Burley, Kpekawa, Siddik ( Ezennolim )– Carbon ( Drewe ), Ashby, Fleet, McEachran, Coyle ( Andrews ) – Potter ( Walsh ), Parker
Gosport Borough : Gosney – Kavanagh ( Lee ), Morrison, Walsh-Smith, Tarbuck - Barsa ( Faniyan ), Murray, Hollands, Yearwood – Stanley ( Agbeseyi ), Wooden
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