Oxford City 1-1 Scarborough Athletic ( att : 604 ) - 2024/25 National League North
November 10, 2024
Today’s Saturday’s afternoon entertainment was the National League North match between Oxford City and Scarborough Athletic, whereby 19th played host to 16th.
Oxford City Update
These diaries last featured Oxford City at the end of September, when in Ross Jenkins’s first match back in charge after the sacking of Sam Cox, The Hoops exited the FA Cup at home to step 3 Gosport Borough.
City’s fortunes had improved since then, being unbeaten away from home in four matches, with a 2-2 draw at league leaders Scunthorpe, a 2-0 victory at Warrington Town, a 3-1 win at Radcliffe Borough, and on Tuesday night, a 2-0 win at Hereford United.
However, the Hoops were still to register a home win under Jenkins, with a 1-3 home loss to King’s Lynn and a 1-1 draw with Southport since the loss to Gosport.
Scarborough Athletic Background
Scarborough is a coastal town in the county of North Yorkshire and has a population of just over 60,000.
Scarborough Athletic were formed in 2007 after the demise of Scarborough FC. After ground sharing with Bridlington Town for ten years, they moved into the purpose-built Flamingo Land Stadium in July 2017, which now has a capacity of 3,252. They are also known as The Seadogs.
Starting in Step 9 Northern Counties East League Division One, Scarborough steadily rose through the pyramid and in 2021/22 were promoted from the Northern Premier League Premier Division via the play-offs, beating Warrington Town 2-1.
Scarborough finished in 8th place in their first season in step 2 National League North and 13th last season.
Scarborough FC were the first ever side to win automatic promotion to the Football League after winning the Conference title in 1986/87 under the guidance of Neil Warnock. They stayed at the fourth level of the English League structure until being relegated in May 1999, when Carlisle goalkeeper Jimmy Glass famously scored in added on time to give his side victory and leapfrog over Scarborough, with the Scarborough fans already on the pitch celebrating their survival.
Scarborough were relegated from the Conference in 2005/06 and would have been relegated to the Northern Premier League the following season, but the club were wound up due to financial difficulties.
Fatbear’s first interest in Scarborough came when Crawley Town striker Craig Whittington was signed by Scarborough for £50K in 1993. Neil Warnock, then in charge of Huddersfield, signed Whittington for £20K from Scarborough, but soon after he was sacked for drug offences and served a ten month ban before re-signing for Crawley.
Scarborough This Season
Scarborough came into today’s came with four defeats in their last five matches. Last time out they lost 0-2 at Buxton and before that suffered an unlucky 0-1 reverse in the FA Cup to League One Burton Albion. Although a 1-0 win had been obtained at lowly Marine, two home losses had been incurred before that, to Curzon Ashton ( 0-2 ) and Southport ( 1-2 )
Scarborough had started the season well, with three wins and a draw in their opening four matches, before two draws and two defeats in their next four matches, after which they recorded an impressive 1-0 home win over leaders Scunthorpe and a draw at 1-1 Leamington.
Prior to their exit at Burton Albion, Scarborough’s FA Cup run had seen victories over Northern Premier League sides Dunston ( after a replay ) and Warrington Rylands ( A 2-0 ), then fellow National League North side Chester ( H 3-1 ).
Scarborough Squad
Ex-Manchester United, Middlesborough, West Bromwich Albion, Fulham and Nottingham Forest midfielder Jonathan Greening had been in charge of The Seadogs since 2021.
Ex-Halifax attacking midfielder Dom Tear was their top scorer in the league this season with 7 goals whilst ex-Stockport County, Harrogate Town, Boston United and Farsley Celtic Irish striker Frank Mulhern was next with three goals.
Midfielder Lewis Maloney was at Middlesborough as a youngster and played for Gateshead after being released before joining the Seadogs. Striker Luca Colville had played for Bradford City and Greenock Morton, and attacker Richie Bennett was much travelled with Barrow, Carlisle, Port Vale, Stockport County, Sutton United, Scunthorpe and Southport being some of the clubs he has represented.
Midfielder Cameron Wilson played in the Football League with Scunthorpe whilst Alex Purver has played for Darlington and Swedish side Ostersund. Keeper Ryan Whiteley was previously with York City.
Previous Meetings
The two sides met for the first time last season in the 4th Qualifying Round of The FA Cup when an injury hit National League Oxford City travelled to their step 2 opponents and fell 0-2 behind early in the second half after goals from Mulhern and Tear. Fulham loanee Olly Sanderson pulled a goal back, but City were indebted to a 98th minute equaliser from centre-back Canice Carroll to earn a replay.
In the second meeting, Scarborough again built a two lead thanks to goals from Kieran Weledji and Colville. City appeared to be heading out of the competition, but two goals in a minute from Tom Harrison and Latrell Humphrey-Ewers looked like forcing extra time. However, substitute Maloney had other ideas and sent a sublime finish into the top corner in added on time to give the Seadogs a First-Round tie against Forest Green Rovers.
Matchday Information
The distance from Scarborough to Oxford is close to 220 miles and should normally take around four and a half hours via the M1, M69 and M40. An impressive number of Seadogs supporters had made the journey, with at least 75 fans dotted around the ground.
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. The programme had an unfortunate spelling mistake, with the Scarborough player being called Purve……
The weather at the 15.00 kick-off was dry and 12 degrees but it got chilly as the light faded.
Bet365 made Oxford City 31/20 favourites, with Scarborough at 27/20 and the draw at 12/5
Scarborough made three changes from the side that lost at Buxton with Colville, Alex Wiles and Mackenzie Maltby coming into the side for the injured Bailey Goorda and Maloney, whilst Mulhern dropped to the bench. Oxford City were unchanged from the side that started at Hereford.
I don’t really know how to describe the kit Scarborough were playing in. Beige, pale green ? Whatever colour it was, it was pretty hideous ! They really ought to have played in their normal all red kit. Oxford City were in their usual blue and white hoops.
The Last Post was played before the kick-off and a minute silence was observed. However, this led to the kick-off starting four minutes late.
Match Report :
The visitors made a fast start and Tear’s flick put Harry Green in space, but Carbon made a good block to concede a corner. However, despite the attentions of Andre Burley, centre-back Will Thornton rose the highest at the back post and his header back across goal nestled inside the post despite Scott’s attempt to head off the line. The Hoops had yet again conceded an early goal, and it was 0-1 in the first minute.
Oxford City looked lively in response to falling behind, but Parker’s pass couldn’t quite reach Scott, and Thornton cleared for a throw-in.
Green was then played into space down the left wing for Scarborough, but Carbon shielded the ball out of play for a goal kick. However, play was held up for several minutes as Green took a knock in the incident.
In the 7th minute Parker won a corner for the home side off Brown, but Ashby’s delivery was headed over the bar by Drewe.
Five minutes later Hoops keeper Mckenzie-Lyle fumbled a cross, but recovered before an attacker could take advantage.
Shortly after, McEachran was in an offside position but stood still to allow Parker to take possession. Although the move came to nothing, Scarborough keeper Whitley hurled some abuse at the referee claiming it was offside, showing the keeper didn’t understand the current offside laws. Sometimes it is better to stay silent rather than to reveal one’s ignorance !
Scott then shot into the side netting from an acute angle after twisting between two Scarborough defenders. At the other end, Green fed Wiles but the long range left footed effort was straight at the Hoops keeper, who made an easy save.
With play being end to end, McEachran teed up Ashby, but the Oxford City midfielder’s shot was blocked., whilst for Scarborough Colville’s 25 yarder bounced straight to McKenzie-Lyle. A long throw from Drewe bounced around the Scarborough area before Thornton hoofed it clear.
After 28 minutes a free-kick from Purver, looking like a throw-back to the 1970s with his long hair, was headed away by Jones. Shortly after, the Hoops keeper should have collected a long ball forward but for some reason decided to stay on his line, and Green was able to get ahead of Burley, but the shot from a tight angle went over the bar.
Another good move from the home side saw McEachran found in space on the right but his low ball into the danger zone needed a sliding interception from Purver to concede a corner.
The lively Green then made another threatening run for the visitors but again Carbon was back on defensive duties and stopped the danger.
A historic moment occurred when Parker was awarded a free-kick for the first time since the dinosaurs roamed the Earth, as the referee saw the shirt-pull and grab by Maltby. The free-kick came to nothing, but a minute later a long cross-field ball from Burley found Carbon on the right wing but after pushing the ball past Brown, the referee deemed the Scarborough defender had been fouled.
Around this time there some comedy gold from a Seadog fan sitting close to me, who was perhaps the most one-eyed fan I had heard for many years, with some hilarious, ridiculous observations on the action. However, in the interest of balance, Fatbear needs to report that after moving to watch the closing stages from another part of the ground, an Oxford City supporter was pretty close to matching that level of nonsense. Somehow the referee was incompetently biased against both sides !
As the first half was approaching its conclusion, a threaded pass from Ashby was intercepted by Scarborough’s Maltby and when the Seadogs sent the ball long, Jones was perhaps fortunate to be awarded a free kick as he seemed to lose control under pressure from Bennett. When Jones attempted to take a quick free-kick, Bennett fell dramatically to the floor, so play was halted.
Parker had a Scarborough defender’s arm around his neck when Ashby took a corner, but predictably the referee ignored this and waved play to continue. Roddy and McEachran then produced a nice move that was halted by a deliberate handball, which strangely the Seadog fan didn’t see, but the free kick by Ashby went into the wall and high into the air for Whitley to claim.
As the sides headed off for half-time Scarborough were deservedly leading. The game had been fast paced and with plenty of endeavour from both sides, but although Oxford City had enjoyed more of the possession, they had not troubled the Seadogs keeper, and Scarborough had looked dangerous when they had attacked.
The beginning of the second half was very stop-start with no rhythm to the play. The first yellow card of the game was shown to Scarborough’s Bennett, perhaps one of the least mobile centre-forwards who will appear at Court Place Farm this season, after preventing Burley from taking a quick free kick. Perhaps a case of not Scarborough Fair……
The visitors created the first chance of the second period when a good move on the right saw a cross to Green, who controlled at the far post and then shot, but McKenzie-Lyle produced a top save at the base of his right-hand post for a corner. When the ball was played in, Weledji ghosted in but could only volley over from 8 yards.
Green then wasted a free kick in a good position for the Seadogs but then redeemed himself by forcing a corner. The ball in led to a scramble inside the Oxford City area, but when Green shot on the turn, his effort was blocked for another corner. This time the delivery to the near post was narrowly headed over by Wiles.
Scarborough were now on top and looked more likely to score the second goal of the game. Bennett was then awarded a free-kick for the type of challenge that is never awarded in favour of City’s Parker, but Purver decided to go for goal from inside his own half, but it was well wide, and McKenzie-Lyle easily gathered.
A 25 yard free-kick from Colville was then directed straight at the Hoops keeper.
The home side immediately looked more dangerous following introduction of substitute Corie Andrews. McEachran and Andrews linked up, but the back flick failed to find Parker, and Thornton gratefully cleared. In the 63rd minute, McEachran and Andrews again combined to put Andrews in space inside the Scarborough area, but the connection was poor and the ball rolled through to keeper Whitley.
A minute later, a cross from Purver found the head of Colville, but the header bounced nicely for McKenzie-Lyle to gather. A piledriver from Brown then needed a brave diving block from Drewe to prevent a second goal for the visitors, but although there were appeals for handball, play continued.
Parker and McEachran then combined but there was no-one on the 6 yard line for a tap in, before a period of play in which both sides looked to have committed fouls that the referee ignored, only for Carbon to send a cross into the stand.
Oxford City were looking a different side since the introduction of Andrews, and after Burley and Carbon again exchanged passes, Andrews was unable to control the ball into the penalty area and a Scarborough defender was able to put off for a corner.
In the 76th minute, McKenzie-Lyle took a long free-kick which Parker headed on to put Andrews clear, but the striker screwed his shot across goal and wide from a tight angle.
Andrews and McEachran were linking well for The Hoops, and after another move, Andrews ran into traffic and was crowded out.
Oxford City were now dominating the game as they searched for the equaliser, but Ashby’s corner was well caught by Whitley.
On what was an increasingly rare counter from Scarborough, in the 85th minute Wiles shot well over the bar from outside the area. However, there was nearly a disaster for the home side two minutes from the end of normal time when Jones tried to escort the play out of play for a goal kick. Brown nicked the ball from him and squared to the unmarked Tear who from close to the penalty spot had the easy task of putting the ball past the City defender on the line. Unfortunately for the visitors, his side-footed shot was horrible and went closer to the corner flag than the goal.
With four minutes of added time signalled, City laid siege to the Scarborough goal. Jones couldn’t make a decent contact to a ball from the left, and the loose ball failed to fall kindly for Andrews and the Seadogs cleared. Ashby and Coyle then both saw 20 yard shots blocked by brave defending.
Scarborough looked to wind down the clock by taking the ball towards the corner flag and Fleet saw yellow for chopping down Bennett in his frustration.
City were able to recover possession and launched their final attack. Andrews did superbly to just keep a through pass from Ashby in play and in the same motion was able to pull the ball back. The on-rushing McEachran latched on to the ball and hammered it into the far top corner from 10 yards for a sensational equaliser. 1-1 after 94 minutes.
Two further minutes were played, but neither side was able to fashion a winner. At the final whistle a draw was probably a fair result. Scarborough had looked to have had the edge for the first 60 minutes, but Oxford City were the better side in the final 30 minutes.
With this result, both sides remained in the same places in the table to which they had started. Oxford City now had only one defeat in their last 5 games and perhaps could now start looking up the table rather than down. Scarborough would have been pleased to have taken a point after their recent poor run but may feel they should have held on for all three points.
Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rn-uwL-ZDc
Oxford City : McKenzie-Lyle – Burley, Jones, Drewe, Roddy ( Coyle ) – Carbon, Scott ( Andrews ), Fleet, Ashby, McEachran- Parker
Scarborough Athletic : Whitley – Weledji, Thornton, Maltby, Brown – Wiles, Purver, Tear, Green ( Mulhern ) – Colville, Bennett
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