April 21, 2025
Easter Monday saw the last home game of the season for Oxford City as they hosted already relegated Rushall Olympic. Oxford City were in 19th place but assured of playing step 2 football next season.
After the disappointment of relegation from the National League after one season, hopes were high that The Hoops would be battling for a return, especially after a promising pre-season under new coach Sam Cox. However, they started the season with 7 games without a win before breaking their duck with a 3-0 victory home victory over Needham Market. A 1-4 loss at Leamington in the subsequent match saw Cox sacked, and a return of Ross Jenkins, who had left Oxford City in the summer to move to Boreham Wood.
Form improved and progress was being made in the FA Trophy ( in which they reached the quarter finals but lost on penalties to Woking in a bizarre shoot-out ), and at the turn off the year some Hoops supporters were optimistically thinking the play-offs might be reached if their form continued. However, the wheels came off with 0-5 loss at home to Curzon Ashton, and soon a run of 8 games without a win saw Oxford City back in the relegation places.
Oxford City Update
Since these diaries reported on Oxford City’s 4-0 victory over Warrington, they had extended an unbeaten run to eight matches to secure safety from relegation, drawing 0-0 at Scarborough Athletic, beating Radcliffe Borough 1-0 at home, winning 3-1 at back-markers Farsley Celtic and drawing 2-2 at Southport. However, the two most recent games had been lost, 1-2 at home to Hereford and 0-1 in the relatively local derby at Brackley.
During the week, Oxford City announced that stalwarts Reece Fleet and Lewis Coyle would be leaving the club during the summer, marking the end of an era. Fleet had made 446 appearances for The Hoops whilst Coyle had made over 200 appearances. Today would be the last home game for both.
Rushall Olympic
Rushall is a former mining village that forms part of the Borough of Walsall in the West Midlands, and has an estimated population of just over 12,000.
The town’s football team were founded in 1893 and play at the 2,000 capacity Dales Lane. Their nickname is The Pics.
After playing in leagues in the Midlands, Rushall achieved promotion to the step 4 Southern League Division One West for 2005/06, and moved between the Southern League Midlands Division then the Northern Premier League Division One, before being promoted to the Northern Premier League at the end of 2010/11 season. Another level transferred occurred for 2018/19 with a move to the Southern League Premier Division Central.
In 2022/23, Olympic finished 5th in the Southern League Premier Division Central. In the playoffs, Coalville Town were defeated on penalty kicks as were Nuneaton Borough in the playoff final, as Rushall reached step 2 for first time in club history. Last season Olympic finished 19th, four points clear of the relegation places.
Rushall Olympic This Season
At the start of the day, Rushall were third from bottom and had already been relegated. They had a 9-8-27 record and a goal difference of minus 50, having conceded 90 goals in the league, with only Farsley Celtic conceding more. Their 40 goals scored was the joint third worst in the division, with only Warrington and Farsley Celtic scoring fewer. Away from home they were 3-3-16, with the three away wins were at Peterborough Sports ( 2-0 ), Kidderminster Harriers ( 1-0 ) and Farsley Celtic ( 3-1 ).
Rushall started 2025 with three wins in four games, and extended the run with two draws, to give hope that The Pics would be able to move away from the relegation places. However, since then they were on a run of just two wins in their last 14 league games, with the two victories coming at home against South Shields ( 2-1 ) and Hereford ( 1-0 ).
Olympic’s average home league attendance this season was 483, the sixth lowest in the division, which compared to 638 for Oxford City. The highest attendance was the 1,412 who watched the 1-2 defeat against Kidderminster Harriers on Good Friday.
Rushall had a memorable run in the FA Cup where they reached the First Round Proper for the first time in their history. Step 4 sides Sheffield and Anstey Nomads were despatched at home 5-0 and 2-1 respectively, but fellow National League North side Peterborough Sports were only overcome on penalties after a replay to progress to the First Round and a home tie against Accrington Stanley. The League Two side were too strong on the day, winning 2-0, but Olympic had the consolation of a crowd of 1,311.
Their FA Trophy run was not so successful. A 1-0 away win at Step 3 Royston Town was achieved in their first game, but they exited the competition at another step 3 side, 1-2 at Gainsborough Trinity,
Rushall Olympic Squad
Irish captain and striker Liam McAlinden started at Wolverhampton Wanderers, having loan spells at Shrewsbury, Fleetwood and Crawley, before moving on to Exeter, Cheltenham, Morecambe, Wrexham and Scunthorpe. McAlinden was to play at left-back today though.
Ghanaian midfielder Kobi Arthur played in the Football League for Birmingham City, Cheltenham and Macclesfield whilst centre-forward Austin Samuels was previously with Bradford City, Aberdeen, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Greenock Morton, and was an England Under 16 international when at Wolves.
Striker Luke Benbow previously played for Stourbridge and Solihull Moors and attacker Danny King was ex-Gloucester. Full-back Josh Green was previously with Chester and Stalybridge Celtic and keeper Scott Maloney was on loan from Oldham Athletic.
Midfielder Theo Williams was on loan from King’s Lynn, having previously played for Fleetwood Town, Darlington, Farsley Celtic, Torquay and centre-back Joe Hull was ex-Stourbridge and Bromsgrove. Experienced midfielder Dan Bradley had seen service at Alfreton, Fylde, Tamworth and Kidderminster Harriers.
Dutch manager Richard Sneekes had been a player for Ajax, West Bromwich Albion, Bolton Wanderers and Hull City.
The Pics top goal scorer was Kian Ryley with just 4 goals, but he had returned to Solihull Moors after a loan spell. Benbow and Samuels were next with 3 goals, together with Sam McClintock who left to join Kettering Town in February.
Previous Meetings
The side had met only once before, with The Hoops winning 2-1 on Boxing Day. In a game played in thick fog, Corie Andrews pounced to head an 89th minute winner after a long punt from keeper Kai McKenzie-Lyle.
Matchday Information
According to AA Route Planner, the journey from Rushall to Oxford is 83 miles and should normally take around an hour and 40 minutes down the M6 and M40. There was no segregation for the game and around 30 to 40 Olympic fans were 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 was £3.50, and a pre-match pint of Greene King Level Head Session IPA was £5. Despite it being a Bank Holiday Monday, parking in the OXRAD car park by the entrance to the ground had normal Monday charges, which were £1 for three hours.
The light rain had stopped by the 15.00 kick-off and the temperature was around 15 degrees.
Bet365 made Oxford City 7/10 favourites, with Rushall at 29/10 and the draw at 14/5.
Rushall made five changes from the side that lost 1-2 at home to Kidderminster Harriers on Good Friday with defender Nathan Cameron, midfielders Williams, Jack Thomas & Roddy McGlinchey, and keeper Maloney returned to the side.
Oxford City made three changes from the side that lost at Brackley, with Fleet, Coyle and Alfie Potter coming into the side at the expense of Jacob Roddy, Tom Scott and the injured Josh Parker.
Rushall were wearing a Wolves like kit of gold shirts but with a black hoop across the front of the shirt, black shorts and yellow socks. Oxford City were in their usual blue and white hoops.
Match Report
Oxford City kicked off attacking the Shed End and quickly opened the scoring. Potter ran past McAlinden to reach the by-line and his ball across the 6 yard line was met by Zac McEachran, sliding in to put the ball into the empty net. 1-0 after 2 minutes.
The Hoops had started strongly and McEachran, Potter and Aaron Drewe combined to set-up Andrews, but his shot from 12 yards was at keeper Maloney, who made the low save. McEachran was looking in the mood and after a strong run he found Josh Ashby, whose lay off saw Coyle blast just over the bar.
Rushall got into the game with Hall sending a 30 yard left footed effort for McKenzie Lyle to make a low save, and in the 8th minute the same player was found in space on the edge of the Oxford City area, but the right-footed low shot went a couple of feet wide.
Oxford City were soon back on the front foot and a lovely pass from McEachran released Drewe down the right wing, but the low cross went between Fleet, Andrews and Coyle and was cleared. McEachran and Potter then combined for McEachran to play a defence splitting pass for Andrews to run onto, but the linesman’s flag was raised to end the danger.
Potter and McEachran again combined but Olympic defender Hull was able clear ahead of Andrews close to the penalty spot.
A quick throw from Drewe caught the Rushall rearguard napping, and Potter raced towards the by-line and his pull-back found Ashby who drilled home into the far corner from just inside the Olympic area. 2-0 with 20 minutes on the clock.
A rare foray from the visitors saw keeper McKenzie-Lyle make an unconvincing punch to a cross from Thomas, but The Hoops were soon back on the attack as McEachran put Potter clear down the left, who cut inside and sent a curling shot across the face of the goal, but just wide. However, had he looked up he would have seen Drewe in oceans of space at the far post.
McGlinchey then made a strong run from half-way for Olympic, but his shot was blocked and McKenzie-Lyle gathered the loose ball.
Potter was running riot against the Rushall backline, and a pass from Fleet put him clear again, but his cross hit Bradley, and the keeper was able to claim.
Drewe’s through pass then found Andrews inside the Olympic area, but under pressure from Cameron, the Hoops striker could only put his shot over the bar, but a corner was awarded. Ashby played the corner low to Andrews in front of the near post but the lay back wasn’t anticipated by the home attackers.
When Rushall looked to break, Phil Croker made a superb sliding tackle, and McEachran collected the loose ball and ran to the edge of the Olympic area, but whilst trying to put Andrews clear he was judged to have fouled Cameron, and Olympic were given a free-kick.
Shortly after, a cross-field pass into the Rushall area was superbly chest controlled by Andrews, who then ran across the face of the goal and past keeper Maloney, but with the ball running away from him and two defenders on the line, the City striker could only shoot a couple of feet wide.
With 35 minutes played, Drewe skipped past McAlinden but his low cross was cleared by Hull.
Andrews was shown the first yellow of the card of the game in the 41st minute for presumably something said to the referee, although frankly he was fortunate not to have been carded a couple of minutes earlier after petulantly kicking the ball away at a Rushall throw-in, and receiving a lengthy talking to from the man in black.
McEachran and Potter again combined, but keeper Maloney was able to get to the through pass just before Andrews could latch onto it.
A minute before half-time a flowing move from the home side featuring a number of first-time passes saw Andrews and Ashby have shots blocked by Olympic defenders throwing their bodies on the line.
At the interval, Oxford City deservedly led, and could easily have been a few more goals ahead. The visitors made one change at the break with Aaron Forde replacing the injured McAlinden, with Green moving to left-back.
The visitors started the second period well as Thomas shot a couple of feet wide from 20 yards after Andrews’ poor control inside the Rushall half had given Olympic the chance to break quickly. McGlinchey’s promising looking cross from the right-hand touchline was then well claimed low down by McKenzie-Lyle.
The home side were still playing some irrepressible football, and another length of the field one-touch move ended with Coyle winning a corner.
In the 55th minute Fleet drilled a shot goalwards but was denied by a good block by Maloney, and when the rebound was reworked back to Potter, his effort struck the base of the post.
Out of the blue, Bradley won possession in midfield for Olympic and played an accurate pass to put Williams clear, and after showing good pace to run past Willcox, the Rushall midfielder shot across goal and his effort hit the far post and bounced into the net. 2-1 after 57 minutes.
Several times this season Oxford City had dominated the first half of games but had failed to convert their dominance into goals and ultimately had gone on to lose or draw games that they should have comfortably won. Was another instance on the cards ?
However, almost immediately from the restart, McEachran burst into the Rushall area but rather than go for goal, he passed to substitute Jaiden Putnam, but the QPR loanee saw his shot blocked by Maloney, and when the ball was reworked to Ashby, the overworked Rushall shot-stopper saved with an outstretched foot.
The Hoops’ Canice Carroll was shown a yellow card in the 60th minute for a trip on Hall after the Olympic forward had run past him
Putnam was looking lively and ran into the Rushall area and squared the ball to Andrews, who turned, ran past his marker but his shot from a narrow angle produced another fine save from Maloney.
Centre-back Phil Croker then ran into the Olympic area but after being tackled, McEachran latched onto the loose ball and gave a return pass to Croker, but his shot was deflected over the bar for a corner. Ashby’s set-piece was met by Croker on the edge of the Rushall area, but his powerful header went inches over the bar.
Putnam then got past Green to get to the by-line and his square ball found Andrews, who unselfishly teed up Coyle to smash home in his last game at Court Place Farm. With 65 minutes played it was now 3-1.
With a goal to his name, Coyle was substituted shortly after to warm applause from the Hoops faithful as he made his way around the pitch.
Rushall nearly hit back in the 72nd minute when Williams’ right-wing cross was met by substitute Benbow, but the glancing header sailed a foot over the bar.
The game was now drifting to its inevitable conclusion, and Bradley’s header from a Rushall corner went closer to the corner flag than the goal, although Arthur’s shot from the left-hand channel took a deflection and McKenzie-Lyle needed to make a good reaction save low at his near post to push the ball off for a corner. Green then shot from 20 yards, but it was straight at McKenzie-Lyle, who made a routine save.
With the clock ticking down, Hull was shown a yellow card for a trip on Carbon, and then Jacob Roddy ran away from Forde from close to the Oxford City area to run deep into the Rushall half, but his pass to Carbon saw the substitute’s 20 yard effort go a couple of feet wide.
With full-time just about up, Fleet left the field to a public ovation to be replaced by Tom Scott.
With three added minutes being played, Rushall’s Williams sent a shot out of the ground, and the final play of the game saw Scott and Andrews combine to try and put Carbon clear, but Maloney was off his line to bravely dive at the ball as Carbon was about to shoot, and the referee awarded a goal-kick.
The final whistle was blown shortly after, to bring the curtain down on the season at Marsh Lane. Oxford City had moved up to 18th, but Rushall remained in 22nd.
Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuZP3aZEwko
Oxford City : McKenzie-Lyle – Croker, Carroll ( Jones ), Willcox – Drewe ( Putnam ), Ashby, Fleet ( Scott ), Coyle ( Roddy ) – McEachran ( Carbon ), Andrews
Rushall Olympic : Maloney– Green, Hull, Cameron, McAlinden ( Forde ) – Williams, Bradley, Thomas, McGlinchey – Hall ( Benbow ), Arthur
