November 16, 2024
The road to Wembley started today for Oxford City as they entered the FA Trophy in the Second Round with a home tie against Sporting Khalsa.
The Hoops recent record in the FA Trophy was not good, being eliminated by teams from lower divisions in the past two seasons, losing 0-1 at home to Chelmsford City last season and on penalties to Plymouth Parkway the year before. In 2021/22 they crashed out 1-4 at home to St Albans, who were at least in the same division.
Oxford City’s most recent game was last Saturday, and these diaries covered their 1-1 home draw with Scarborough Athletic.
Sporting Khlasa Background
Sporting Khalsa were founded in 1991 by the local Sikh community in Willenhall in the West Midlands and have been described as the first British Asian club to own their own ground after buying the former home of Bloxwich Town. In 2011 they acquired and moved to the Aspray Arena, formerly the home of the defunct Willenhall Town, and have extensively redeveloped the ground since then.
After starting in the Walsall and District Sunday League the club have worked their way up the non-league pyramid to the step 4 Northern Premier League One Midlands.
Sporting Khalsa were promoted from the Midlands Football League Premier Division when the Covid termination of the 2020/21 season saw them top a points per game calculation over the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons.
In their three seasons at step 4 so far, they finished in 8th place in 2021/22 and 4th in 2022/23, losing the promotion play-off semi-final 1-2 at Spalding United. Last season they came 12th
Sporting Khalsa This Season
Khalsa had already won four ties to get to this stage of the competition. In the First Qualifying Round they travelled to Coventry Sphinx and came away with a 2-0 victory, then home wins over Nantwich Town ( 4-3 ) and Harborough Town ( 5-2 ) were recorded. A 2-0 win at Barwell was achieved in the First Round Proper.
In the FA Cup, Khalsa eliminated Coventry United ( H 3-0 ), Gresley Rovers ( H 2-0 in a replay after a 1-1 draw ) before crashing out 1-6 at step 3 Basford United.
Khalsa were in 4th place in the Northern Premier League One Midlands table with a 9-1-4 record. Their home record was five wins and a draw, but away from home they had won four, lost four.
Khalsa were currently on a road of three defeats in four matches, having lost three away matches without scoring a goal, Coventry Sphinx 0-2, Boldmere St Micheals 0-2 and Quorn 0-1. Sutton Coldfield Town were beaten 2-0 at home though.
The average home attendance so far this season was 166.
Despite being a British Asian club, the only player in their squad with an Asian sounding name was ex-Kidderminster Harriers striker Gurjit Singh. Ex-Coleshill and Halesowen striker Simeon Colbourne was their top scorer with 12 goals in all competitions but he was missing today. Next in their scoring charts were Robbie Bunn and Andre Landell with 7 goals each.
38 year old centre-back and captain Tesfa Robinson won 10 caps for St Kitts and Nevis. and ex-Hereford midfielder Chay Tilt sounds like a soft drink for round the world yachtsmen !
Matchday Information
The journey from Willenhall to Oxford is approximately 90 miles, which should normally take 1 hour 40 minutes down the M5 and M40. Between 40 to 50 Sporting fans had made the journey, of which about half were Sikhs.
Ticket prices for this game had been reduced to £8 for adults if purchased online, and £10 on the gate. Concessions were £6 and Under 16s £5. A slimmed down programme for the cup tie was £2.
The weather at the 15.00 kick off was cloudy and 11 degrees.
Bet365 made Oxford City 3/4 favourites, with Sporting Khalsa at 13/5 and the draw at 27/10
Oxford City were missing Andre Burley, Jalen Jones and Kai Mckenzie-Lyle on international duty with St Kitts and Nevis, and Guyana. As a result, keeper Nick Harvey was making his debut, defender Phil Croker was selected for his first start of the season after being recalled from being sent on loan to Thame United, and Lewis Coyle and Alfie Potter returned to the side. Tom Scott dropped to the bench.
Sporting were playing in red shirts with black shorts and socks whilst Oxford City were in their usual blue and white hoops.
There was to be no extra-time or a replay if the scores were level after 90 minutes. Instead, the game would go straight to penalties.
Match Report
Sporting started the match well, and in the second minute The Hoops striker Josh Parker needed to be back helping his defence to head away a dangerous free kick. Tilt played the loose ball back into the 6-yard box, but the Oxford City defence dealt with it.
Reece Fleet then won the ball in midfield for Oxford City and Zac McEachran played the ball wide to Coyle, but the cross from the left was too close to keeper Ganley, who made a comfortable catch at his near post.
A City attack ended with an ambitious back flick from Potter giving possession to Sporting, who broke quickly, leading to Landell shooting from the edge of the area, but it was straight at Harvey who made a regulation save.
With 10 minutes played, McEachran ran from inside his own half and found Potter in space on the right. The floated cross found the unmarked Parker, but his header was pushed away for a corner.
The Hoops were starting to play some flowing football and Jayden Carbon, Aaron Drewe and Josh Ashby linked to win another corner, and when that was cleared, Drewe played in McEachran, whose low ball was put out for another corner. This time the delivery was a fraction too high for Parker, whose header sailed high and wide for a goal kick.
Parker then headed on a long kick from Harvey which Carbon latched onto, but the strong cross was cleared by Sporting full-back Kristian Green.
In the 19th minute Tilt made a good run down the right touchline but his cross was glanced wide by Landell from 12 yards.
Five minutes later, a Sporting free kick to beyond the far post was headed back by Ferrier, and as the Hoops defence hesitated, Landell’s shot on the turn was deflected wide for a corner. The home defence cleared the corner, but only as far as Tilt, who sent a fantastic 25-yard volley into the bottom corner past the motionless keeper. The tannoy announced the goal for Sporting and the teams were lining up for the restart, but then remarkably the referee spotted the raising flag of the linesman, and the goal was disallowed for offside. Presumably a Sporting player had obscured the keeper’s line of vision, and the stadium announcer sheepishly gave a correction. From where Fatbear was sat there didn’t looke to be anything wrong with it……….
Sporting suffered a double-whammy shortly after when a long ball from Croker put Potter clear inside the penalty area, and he unselfishly drew the keeper and played a square pass to Parker, who had a simply tap-in. 1-0 after 28 minutes.
Sporting had to make a replacement with Landell, who had suffered an injury earlier in the game, having to go off and he was replaced by Singh. A minute after falling behind they created a reasonable chance as Tilt ran onto a free-kick behind the Hoops backline, but his shot from a tight angle was weak and at the keeper.
Oxford City were soon back on the front foot though, and a left wing cross from Coyle was headed just over the bar by Parker when it had looked like it was heading for the top corner. McEachran then turned superbly and played a defence splitting ball to put Potter clear with just the keeper to beat, but his shot struck the body of Ganley and looped over the bar.
The corner was cleared as far a Fleet, who steered the ball goalwards with a left footed volley, and the ball end in the back of the net. Croker was credited with the goal so he must have got the final touch, but in any case, it was now 2-0 with 35 minutes played.
Oxford City were now rampant. McEachran’s strong run ended with a low shot that Ganley saved at his near post, and then Parker teed up Coyle, whose fierce left-footed drive went narrowly past the far post. Fleet then intelligently read a pass out of the Sporting defence, took a couple of steps and then sent a curling shot arrowing towards the top corner, only to be denied by a fine diving one handed save from Ganley. The corner was headed over by Croker.
Sporting ended the half strongly though. A flowing move saw Singh spread the ball out to the right where Bunn played a dangerous low ball into the penalty area. Samson Hewitt played a clever dummy, but Singh was unable to latch onto the ball. Sporting reworked possession and won a free kick in a central position 25 yards from goal.
Hewitt had picked up an injury making the dummy, and play was held up for several minutes. When play finally resumed, Luke Ward shot into the defensive wall, and when Tilt crossed towards the far post, Dolman shot wildly over the bar.
The injury to Newitt prevented him coming out for the second half, with Kieron Whittaker coming on to play on the right, and Tilt switching to the left. Sporting again started a half well as Green combined with Whittaker, but the left-footed shot from the full back from the angle of the penalty area drifted well wide.
Another poor pass out of the sporting defence was intercepted by Parker, who pushed the ball past Ward and ran into the Sporting area before playing a square pass to McEachran, but his piledriver was blocked. Carbon sent the rebound a few feet over the bar.
Potter then ran deep into the Sporting half and found McEachran, who in turn fed Coyle, but just like in the first half, the left-footed drive went inches wide of the far post. McEachran then saw a shot deflected wide.
Croker was having an impressive match and showed good skill and technique to escape from two Sporting attackers with possession intact.
Sporting had some temporary respite when a long free kick was chest controlled by Bunn, but his shot on the turn was blocked by Drewe.
With 60 minutes on the clock, Croker and Potter combined to find Carbon in space on the right wing but the low cross was cleared by Ward. In an almost identical move involving Potter, Carbon and Ashby, Ward was again required to clear.
Peter Taylor almost surprised the Hoops defence, opting to go for goal from 35 yards and the effort wasn’t that far away from the top corner. Tilt then shot over after Taylor had done well to get to the byline.
The pressure from Sporting was short lived though, and Parker headed on a long ball out of the Hoops defence for Potter to again run into the area, but he was pushed over by Robinson. However, a goal kick was awarded instead of a penalty.
I didn’t see what happened next from the goal-kick but I looked up just in time to see McEachran walking the ball into an empty net. Presumably there had been a huge cock-up between the keeper and one of his defenders ? Anyway, it was now 3-0 after 69 minutes.
Potter was again involved in an Oxford City attack, this time playing in Carbon, but the shot from a tight angle was fisted away by Ganley.
Both sides made a raft on substitutions, but Sporting now had to deal with the pace of Corie Andrews, who outpaced a tiring backline only to screw his shot across goal and wide.
A minute later Andrews did much better, making a run down the right-hand channel and then finding Carbon with a back-heel, who calmly finished between the keeper and his near post. 4-0 with 78 minutes played.
With the visitors fading, Ganley had to make an excellent one handed save to push away a low shot from the edge of the area from Scott, and then Croker headed over the bar.
Singh did have a shot for Sporting but his 25-yard effort went wide, and substitute Reid got into a good position on the left only to cross into the crowd.
Andrew then got his second assist of the game, sending Scott clear, who confidently finished. 5-0 after 88 minutes.
With the result determined, the referee decided there was no point in playing an added time with the temperatures rapidly dropping, and promptly blew for full time right on 90 minutes.
In the end it was a routine win for a step 2 side over a step 4 side, but it could have been very different had the fabulous strike from Tilt been allowed to stand when the game was still goal-less.
Sporting attempted to play nice passing football and had some talented ball players. Credit to them for also playing the game in a very sporting manner. Unfortunately for them, Oxford City like to play the same way, and were better at it…..
Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWC6yNkHRXY
Oxford City : Harvey – Croker, Drewe, Roddy – Carbon, Ashby ( Ezennolim ), Fleet, Potter ( Walsh ), Coyle – McEachran ( Scott ), Parker ( Andrews )
Sporting Khalsa : Ganley – Green, Ward, Robinson,
Dolman ( Franco ) – Tilt ( Campbell ), Ferrier ( Reid ), Taylor, Hewitt (
Whittaker ) – Landell ( Singh ), Bunn
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