Pafos FC 2-2 AS Monaco ( att : 8,347 ) – 2025/25 UEFA Champions League

November 26, 2025

With the Champions League matches being broadcast on TNT Sports and Discovery Plus in the UK, today was an opportunity to finally add Cyprus to the number of countries covered by Fatbear !

This was the second time Monaco had featured in these diaries, after their 1-1 draw at Paris St Germain in August 2022.

https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2022/08/paris-st-germain-1-1-as-monaco-att.html?zx=ecb1cb33b059a40d 

Pafos FC

Fatbear had been to the town of Pafos and driven past their stadium whilst staying in Pissouri on holiday in Cyprus, but unfortunately no match was scheduled during that stay.

Pafos FC were founded in 2014 to represent the wider Pafos region following the merger of two local clubs, and started life in the Cypriot Second Division. Although promotion was achieved in their first season as runners-up, they were promptly relegated after their first season at the top level. However, they immediately bounced back at the first attempt, and have remained in the Cyprus First Division ever since.

Pafos won their first trophy by beating Omonia Nicosia 3-0 in the 2023/24 Cypriot Cup Final to play in Europe for the first time. After a 2-8 aggregate defeat in the Europa League to Swedish side Elfsborg, Pafos dropped down to the Europa Conference, where they got past Lithuanian side Zalgiris, Bulgarians CSKA 1948, and Romanian side CFR Cluj to reach the group stages.

Victories over Moldovan side Petrocub ( A 4-1 ), Astana from Kazakhstan ( H 1-0 ) and Slovenians Celje ( H 2-0 ) plus a 2-2 draw in Switzerland against Lugano saw Pafos finish 12^th in the Group stage despite losses to Heidenheim ( H 0-1 ) and Fiorentina ( A 2-3 ).

In the knock stages, Pafos eliminated fellow Cypriot side Omonia 3-2 on aggregate before exiting at the Round of 16, 1-3 on aggregate to Swedish side Djurgardens.

Pafos won their first Cyprus League title last season, finishing ahead of Aris Limassol by seven points at the end of the Championship Round. Their average attendance in the regular season was 4,519, and 7,300 over their 5 final round matches.

Home is the 9,300 capacity Stelios Kyriakides Stadium, but due to the limitations of the ground, Champions League matches are being played 50 miles away in Limassol.

Pafos This Season

Pafos had made a strong defence of their title, leading the First Division with an 8-1-2 record to be two points ahead of Omonia, AEK Larnaca and Aris Limassol. The two defeats were a 1-2 loss to Omonia in Nicosia, and a 0-1 reverse at home to Apollon Limassol. Last time out Pafos beat Aris Limassol 2-1 at home. Their average home attendance so far was 4,260.

Pafos had an impressive run in the UEFA Champions league qualifiers, eliminating Maccabi Tel Aviv ( 2-1 on aggregate ), Dynamo Kiev ( 3-0 ) and Red Star Belgrade ( 3-2 ) to reach the Champions League Group Stages.

Although they were thrashed 1-5 at home to Bayern Munich, their two away matches had been 0-0 draws at Olympiakos and Kairat Almaty. However, they caused a major surprise in their last match, beating a star-studded Villareal side 1-0 at home, thanks to a goal from Dutch centre-back Derrick Lukassen.

Pafos started this round of matches in 20^th place in the Champions League Table, which would take them to the knock-out stages if they could remain in the top 24. After tonight, they had games against Juventus ( A ), Chelsea ( A ) and Slavia Prague ( H ) to complete the group stage.

Pafos Squad

There are no restriction on the number of foreigners in the Cypriot league and the Pafos squad for this season contains only two locals, keeper Neoftyos Michail ( 16 caps ) and full-back Kostas Pileas ( 14 caps ), both of whom played extensively in Greece before returning to Cyprus.

There were several famous names in the Pafos squad, including ex-Chelsea, Arsenal, Paris St Germain and Benfica Brazilian centre back David Luiz ( 57 caps ), and Croatian midfield play-maker Mislav Orsic ( 27 caps ), who famously scored a hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur and a winning goal against Chelsea for Dinamo in Zagreb in European games.

Portuguese midfielder Domingos Quina had played in England for Watford, Fulham, Barnsley and Rotherham, Romanian midfielder Vlad Dragomir ( 3 caps ) had played in Italy for Perugia, and Bosnian midfielder Ivan Sunjic ( 6 caps ) had played for Birmingham City and Hertha Berlin.

Cape Verde defender Joao Correia ( 4 caps ) had played in Portugal for Chaves, Portuguese midfielder Pepe Rodrigues had played for Vitoria Guimares and Familicao in his home country as well as for Olympakos, midfielder Ken Sema ( 31 caps ) played 160 times for Watford, and Brazilian right-back Bruno Felipe had played for Olympiakos, Sheriff Tiraspol and Aris Salonica.

Brazilian striker Anderson Silva had played in China, Turkey, Portugal, in addition to Cyprus and his homeland, and Dutch centre-back Derrick Lukassen had played for AZ Alkmaar, PSV, Hertha Berlin, Anderlecht and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Dragomir and Quina were the top scorers this season with 4 goals, followed by Anderson Silva with 3 goals.

AS Monaco

Although the Principality of Monaco is a separate country, its football side play in the French League structure, and play as a French side when they qualify for Europe.

Monaco has a population of just under 40,000 and with an area of barely 2 sq km, is the second smallest country in the world after The Vatican. It is a tax haven and it is estimated that 30% of its residents are millionaires. There is no border with France, and on previous holidays to Nice we drove into Monte Carlo, drove around the Grand Prix circuit and out again !

Its football team were founded in 1924 and play at the 16,360 capacity Stade Louis II. Their home colours are red and white diagonal halved shirts with white shorts and red socks, and their nicknames include The Monagasques and the Red and Whites.

Monaco have won the French title on 8 occasions, the most recent being in 2016, and were runners-up in the 2003/04 Champions League, losing 0-3 to Porto after eliminating Chelsea and Real Madrid. They were also runners-up in the 1991/92 European Cup Winners Cup, losing 0-2 to Werder Bremen, having earlier knocked out Feyenoord, Roma and Swansea City.

In recent years Monaco had finished 6^th, 2^nd and 3^rd in Ligue 1 and last season had an average attendance of 9,355.

Monaco This Season

Monaco came in to the game in 8th place in Ligue 1, with a 6-2-5, record but had lost their last three games, going down 0-1 at home to Paris FC, 1-4 at home to Lens and 1-4 at Rennes.

Monaco had started the season with four wins and a 0-1 loss at Lille, before losing 1-3 at Lorient. Two draws and then two wins followed before the current run of three losses. Swiss coach Adi Hutter was sacked early in October and replace by Belgian Sebastien Pocognoli, who led Union St Gilloise to an historic Belgian title last season. As a player, Pocognoli represented West Bromwich Albion, Brighton and Hove Albion, Genk, Standard Liege and Hannover.

Monaco’s average attendance so far this season was 8,900, the lowest in the division.

Monaco’s Champions League campaign got off to a disastrous start, losing 1-4 at Club Brugge, after which they needed a 90^th minute penalty from Eric Dier to grab a 2-2 home draw with Manchester City, and were then held 0-0 at home by Tottenham Hotspur. A much need victory was finally achieved by a 1-0 win against Bodo/Glimt in Norway to take Monaco level on points with Pafos but one place above them on goal difference.

After tonight, Monaco still had to play Galatasaray ( H ), Real Madrid ( A ) and Juventus ( H ).

Monaco Squad

Of the team that played PSG in August 2020 Malian midfielder Mohamed Camara ( 35 caps ) is now with Qatar side Al Sadd, defenders Axel Disasi ( 5 caps ) and Benoit Badiashile ( 2 caps ) are Chelsea players although Disasi is on loan to Aston Villa, keeper Alexander Nubel is with VFB Stuttgart, forward Kevin Volland is now with German third tier side 1860 Munich after a spell with Union Berlin.

Midfielder Youssef Fofana ( 25 caps ) has joined AC Milan, Swiss striker Breel Embolo ( 83 caps ) is now playing for Rennes and striker Wissam Ben Yeddar ( 19 caps ) now plies his trade in Turkey with Sakaryaspor.

Only Russian midfielder Alexsandr Golovin ( 50 caps ), ex-Liverpool and Southampton Japanese midfielder Takumi Minamino ( 91 caps ), Brazilian left-back Caio Henrique ( 5 caps ) and winger Maghnes Akliouche ( 5 caps ) were still with the club.

In addition to Minamino, the current Monaco squad contained many players who had played in England. Ex-Sporting, Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich centre-back/defensive midfielder Eric Dier had won 49 caps for England but is out at the moment with a calf injury, ex-Manchester United and Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba was a World Cup winner for France and won 91 caps, whilst Spanish winger Ansu Fati ( 10 caps ) is on loan from Barcelona after having a loan spell at Brighton and Hove Albion.

Ghanaian centre-back Mohammed Salisu ( 22 caps ) had played for Southampton and Valladolid, German defender Thilo Kehrer ( 28 caps ) had played for West Ham United, Schalke and Paris St Germain, Swiss defensive midfielder Denis Lakaria ( 61 caps ) had a short loan at Chelsea and also played for Borussia Moenchengladbach and Juventus. USA striker Florian Balogun ( 2 caps ) started his career at Arsenal and had a loan spell at Middlesborough

Finnish keeper Lukas Hradecky ( 102 caps ) had played for Brondby, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen, and PSV Eindhoven Dutch defender Jordan Teze had 4 caps. Senegalese winger Krepin Diatta ( 52 caps ) was previously with Club Brugge and Nigerian forward George Ilenikhena joined from Antwerp.

Fati was the top scorer with 5 goals followed by Balogun on 4 and Akliouche with 3 goals.

Watching Monaco

Fatbear has seen Monaco in action in the flesh on one occasion, when they drew 2-2 with Valencia in Arsenal’s pre-season Emirates Cup competition in August 2014.  

The Monaco squad that day was packed with well-known names, including ex-Chelsea and Real Madrid Portuguese centre-back Ricardo Carvalho ( 89 caps ), ex-Manchester United, Tottenham, Fulham and Bayer Leverkusen Bulgarian forward Dimitar Berbatov ( 78 caps, 48 goals ). Ex-Porto and Atletico Madrid Colombian striker Radamel Falcao ( 104 caps, 36 goals) went on to play for Manchester United and Chelsea, Portuguese midfielder Joao Moutinho ( 146 caps ) who later played for Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Argentinian winger Lucas Ocampos, who later made his name at Sevilla.

Monaco opened the scoring with an own goal but Carvalho levelled things up by half-time with a goal of his own. Paco Alcacer gave Valencia the lead mid-way through the second-half, but Ocampos equalised 10 minutes from the end.

The following game saw Arsenal beat Benfica 5-1 with Yaya Sanogo scoring four times. Sanogo went on to play for Crystal Palace, Ajax, Charlton Athletic, Huddersfield Town, Toulouse and appeared in these diaries with Armenian side Urartu. Costa Rican Joel Campbell got the other goal, and went on to win 150 caps for his country, but was loaned out by Arsenal on 7 occasions, including two spells each at Real Betis and Lorient, as well as Olympiakos, Villareal and Sporting in Lisbon.

The Emirates Cup was very popular with Arsenal fans, the two matches cost just £39 in the Club Level with a limited level of Corporate Hospitality extra but reasonably priced !

 

Matchday Information

The weather at the 19.45 local kick-off time ( 17.45 UK ) was dry and 19 degrees.

Bet365 made Monaco 9/20 favourites to win the match, with Pafos at 11/2 and the draw at 15/4.

Monaco made six changes from the side that was hammered at Rennes with the return of Caio Henrique, Brazilian defender Vanderson ( 5 caps ), Senegelese midfielder Lamine Camara ( 34 caps ) Balogun, Golovin and Minamino. Dropping out were Ilenikhena, Fati, Kehrer Diatta, Manadou Coulibaly and Kassoum Ouattata, all of whom except Diatta were on the bench, along with Pogba.

Pafos made two changes to the side that started at the weekend with Spanish centre-back David Goldar and Anderson Silva replacing Correia and ex-Anderlecht, VFL Wolfsburg, Espanyol, NEC Nijmegen and Samsunspor Belgian forward Landry Dimata. Correia, who scored both goals in the win at the weekend was suspended following a red card against Kairat Almaty, whilst Dimata was amongst the substitutes.

Pafos were playing in blue shirts, white shorts and blue socks whilst Monaco were in their usual red and white diagonal shirts.

The referee and his assistants were from Slovakia.

Match Report

Monaco made a fast start with Akliouche twice in the action in the first minute, first making a break down the right wing but no-one was on the end of his low cross. When Monaco reworked possession, Akliouche’s fierce 20-yard drive was pushed away by the diving Pafos keeper.

Minamino was also looking lively and was free on right hand side of area but he steered a bouncing ball a couple of yards wide of the far post. However, we didn’t have to wait for the first goal, and Akliouche played a neat pass for Minamino to run onto, and the Japanese midfielder toe-poked the ball across the goal and into far corner. 0-1 after 5 minutes.

Pafos nearly immediately struck back but after a lay-off by Dragomir, Anderson Silvas’ left-footed effort from edge of area looped over the keeper and crashed back from the crossbar. A minute later, an Orsic free-kick was swung to beyond far post and turned back by Anderson Silva, but it hit Luckasson and rolled off for a goal kick with the Monaco defence scrambling.

Bruno released Luckassen for a run down the right-wing and after his cross was partially cleared, Bruno’s shot from the 18 yard line was deflected wide for a corner for Pafos. Orsic’s delivery was met by David Luiz, who made a good run to evade his marker, and his bullet header flew into the top corner. 1-1 with 18 minutes played.

Three minutes later, Bruno fell theatrically to the floor when trying to stop Camara taking a quick free-kick. The replay showed his was pushed in face, and Camara was perhaps fortunate to see only a yellow card.

Disaster struck shortly after for Pafos. Keeper Michail played a terrible pass straight to Balogun, who took a touch and then fired into the net left-footed from 16 yards. Perhaps the face mask Michail was wearing obscured his vision ? Anyway it was 1-2 with 26 minutes on the clock.

Golovin then saw yellow for a kick on Felip and was very lucky not to see a second card a minute later when he leapt to block a cross from Orsic and the ball struck his outstretched arm. Orsic sent the free-kick to the centre of the goalmouth where Goldar made contact. It looked like the ball may have hit an arm of a Monaco defender, and Lukassen was unable to bundle the ball over the line, but the linesman’s flag was raised for offside.

Pafos were being sloppy with their passing in defence but Monaco couldn’t take advantage. The home fans must have been having kittens every time the ball was at the feet of Michail.

Monaco were looking more likely to score the next goal. Balogun was found on edge of area, turned, but shot well over the bar, then Minamino went on a strong run but his shot was high and wide, with the corner flag in more danger than the goal !

Michail made another ropey clearance but David Luiz and Lukassen were able to crowd out the Monaco attackers.

Balogun got past Orsic close to left-hand corner flag, but his dangerous looking ball was cleared by David Luiz at the near post ahead of Golovin. A diagonal ball then found Vanderson free unmarked on the right-hand side of the Pafos areas, but the shot from a tightish angle was saved by legs of Michail, and after some difficulty Pafos eventually cleared the loose ball.

As the first half headed into added on time, a good run Camara by saw him find Minamino on right wing, but low ball into the area was too far ahead of Balogun.

The last action of the half saw a yellow card shown to Goldar for a foul on Akliouche, which was  probably for an accumulation of offences.

Monaco were good value for their lead at the interval and looked good going forward, and the Pafos defence looked shaky. However, the home side had had their moments when they attacked.

Pafos made one change at the break, with Mozambique left-back Bruno Langa ( 38 caps ) replacing Goldar.

The Monagasques came close to extending their lead three minutes in to the second period. Minamino puts Balogun clear but the angle was tight, and the shot was too close to the keeper, who blocked with his legs.

Zakaria made a powerful run down the left-hand channel but his ball across goalmouth went ahead of Minamino.

It was now Monaco’s turn to be sloppy in possession in defence as they started to repeatedly give the ball away.

In the 52^nd minute the ball was slipped through for Anderson Silva, but his shot across the goal was pushed away one handed by Hradecky.

The game went through a spell when neither side was able to create any clear-cut changes. Dragomir’s header was comfortably saved by Hradecky and at the other end Zakaria’s header was an easy save for Michail. Balogun turned just inside the Pafos area but shot over the bar.

The Pafos keeper again gave the ball straight to a Monaco player, but the Monagasques over-elaborated and lost possession.

With 18 minutes left to play, Orsic went on a good run and saw his shot blocked. Sunjic’ shot from rebound was blocked, and the follow-up blocked for a corner. Pafos substitute Jaja then won a corner off Minamino, but Orsic’s corner was punched away under pressure by Hradecky.

At the other end, a Monaco free-kick hit Sunjic and bounced through to Michail.

As the game entered its final ten minutes, Jaja cut in from left and shot left-footed, but his effort was bravely blocked by Salisu.

Orisc then played a through pass to Bassouamina, who made a great turn and laid off to Dimata, who crashed to the floor when trying to run into the Monaco area, but it was no foul.

Pafos were piling on the pressure as they searched for the equaliser. Orsic’s cross was headed by Salisu only as far as Jaja, whose shot was blocked for a corner by Caio Henriques. A long throw bounced across the Monaco area to Orsic, who tried to carefully place his shot low into the far corner, but Hradecky produced a great save to push away for a corner.

Orsic’s corner was cleared straight back to him, enabling him to cross into the 6-yard box. Sunjic’s header hit the bar and struck the unfortunately Salisu at close range, who had no chance of getting out of the way, and the ball bobbled into the net. 2-2 after 88 minutes

As the game moved into added time, Orsic hooked the ball forward and Bassouamina ran after it, only to be cynically brought down by Salisu, who received a yellow card for hit efforts. Orsic’s free-kick was headed away, but Orsic collected the loose ball to cross again, but Hradecky confidently claimed the cross.

It was end-to-end as both sides push forward to try and win the game, and for Monaco, Teze’s teasing cross was punched away by Michail, which had come after Orsic had tracked back to make an important tackle to stop a Monaco counter attack.

The last action of the match saw Zakaria slide in to intercept a Pafos cross from the left, and the ball struck him on the arm as he lay on the floor. The final whistle was blown to end the game, but although VAR can award penalties after the match has finished, there was no VAR review and it remained 2-2.

On balance a draw was probably a fair result, which left the two sides in the last two qualifying places.

Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USUnV4BvjJA 

Pafos FC : Michail – Luckassen, David Luiz, Goldar ( Langa ) - Bruno, Sunjic, Pepe, Dragonmir ( Dimata ) – Quina ( Jaja ), Orsic, Anderson Silva ( Bassouamina )

AS Monaco : Hradecky – Caio Henrique, Vanderson ( Kehrer ), Salisu -– Teze, Camara ( Michal ), Zakaria, Minamino ( Fati ) -– Akliouche, Balogun ( Biereth ), Golovin ( Caulibaly )

 

 

 

 

Oxford City 1-2 Peterborough Sports ( att : 412 ) – 2025/26 FA Trophy

November 15, 2025

This weekend, two sides at the wrong end of National League North table could take their minds off their struggles in the league, as Oxford City and Peterborough Sports met in the FA Trophy.

These diaries reported on Oxford City last Saturday, when a 2-0 home victory over Worksop Town took The Hoops up to 22^nd in the table, leapfrogging Sports, who fell to 23^rd place.

Oxford City would be hoping to go on a similar run to last year in the FA Trophy, when they reached the quarter-finals, equalling their best ever performance in the competition. Wins were registered over Sporting Khalsa ( H 5-0 ), Hadley ( H 2-1 ), Biggleswade Town ( A 3-0 ), Forest Green Rovers ( H 1-0 ), who were top of the National League at the time, before being eliminated by National League Woking. The game was a 2-2 draw, with Woking equalising in added on time, after which a comically bizarre penalty shoot-out ensued, with at one point seven consecutive attempts missed. Unfortunately for Oxford City, they missed four of them, and lost the shoot-out 1-2.

Last year Peterborough Sports got past National League South Chelmsford City ( H 2-0 ) but then went out 1-2 at National League North Southport.

Peterborough Sports FC

Peterborough Sports were founded in 1908 as Brotherhoods Engineering Works, the works team of the company of the same name, who designed and manufactured steam turbine engines, from which the club still has the nickname The Turbines.

The name Peterborough Sports was adopted in 2001 when the club were still playing in the Peterborough and District League. Promotion to the United Counties League was achieved following the 2012/13 season, and they became Champions of Division One in 2015/16 to go up to the UCL Premier Division.

Another promotion followed in the next season as Sports won the Premier Division to move up to the step 4 Northern Premier League Division One South. After one season Sports were levelled transferred to the Southern League Division One Central and immediately won the title to rise to the step 3 Southern League Premier Division.

Sports finished runners-up in 2021/22 and won the play-off by beating Alvechurch and Coalville Town to be promoted to step 2 and the National League North.

In their three seasons at step 2, Sports had finished 14^th, 15^th, and 12^th.

Home is the 2,300 capacity Lincoln Road and the home colours are orange shirts with black shorts and socks

Peterborough Sports Squad

Probably the most well-known member of the Sports squad was ex-Western United and Adelaide United Australian left-back Josh Cavallo, who came out in 2021 to become one of the few openly gay professional footballers. I’ve no idea how he ended up in Peterborough !

There were three Internationals in the Sports squad. Gambian winger Mustapha Carayol ( 7 caps ) had a long career with Crawley Town, Lincoln City, Bristol Rovers, Leeds United, Middlesborough, Brighton and Hove Albion, Ipswich Town, Gillingham and Burton Albion to name just a few !

Ex-Barnsley striker Josiah Dyer had 5 caps for Montserrat, whilst ex-Swansea City and Kidderminster winger Maliq Cadogan had 3 caps for Guyana.

Midfielder Luca Miller was previously with Kettering, midfielder Sam Straughan-Brown was on loan from Doncaster Rovers, midfielder Elliot Whitehouse was on loan from Macclesfield, and ex-Fleetwood Town striker Theo Williams was on loan from King’s Lynn.

Journeyman striker Shaq Coulthirst appeared in these diaries for Braintree Town at Oxford City in January 2022 and numbers Leyton Orient, Torquay United, Peterborough United, Mansfield Town, Barnet and Ebbsfleet United to name but a few amongst his former clubs.

Forward Ben Beresford signed from Alfreton Town, having earlier played for Gloucester City, Banbury United and Kidderminster, and midfielder Dan Jarvis had a loan spell at Bedford Town as a youngster. Left-back/winger Connor Wood had played over 100 times for Bradford City, as well as playing for Leyton Orient, Colchester and Tranmere Rovers.

Defender Marcel Oakley stared at Birmingham City with loans to Arbroath and Queens Park before joining Solihull Moors, and keeper Peter Crook was previously with Harrogate Town and Boston United.

Peterborough Sports This Season

Peterborough Sports came into today’s game second from bottom in the NLN with a 4-2-10 record, and were 2-0-6 away from home.

The Turbines lost four of first five league games, with just one point coming from a 0-0 home draw with Leamington. The first victory came with a 1-0 win at Marine, but the next two games were lost before Kidderminster Harriers were then beaten 2-1 and Alfreton held 1-1, both at home.

Their last 6 games had followed a pattern of two defeats, two wins, then two defeats. The wins came at Southport ( 2-1 ) and Chorley ( 2-1 at home ). Last time out, Sports were beaten 0-1 at Spennymoor Town.

Only two sides had scored fewer than Sports’ 16 goals, and only two had conceded more than the 30 goals they had let in.

Peterborough Sports progressed through one round of the FA Cup, eliminating step 2 Hornchurch from NLS 2-1, but were then embarrassed with a 1-4 exit at step 3 Harborough Town.

The consequence of the Cup exit was the sacking of joint managers Luke Steele and Colin Gash, and the appointment of Phil Brown, who ironically recorded his first victory against Kidderminster, who had sacked him in the summer after failing to winning promotion by finishing second on the last day of last season, and then losing in the promotion play-offs.

Brown famously took Hull City into the Premier League, and were joint top after 9 games following victories at Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. However, reality soon set in and Hull were in a relegation battle, but finally finished 17^th. However, relegation and sacking followed in the following season. Brown subsequently managed Preston North End, Southend ( twice ), Swindon, had a spell in India, then Barrow, before pitching up at Kidderminster.

The average attendance so far this season was 343, the lowest in the division, with the highest being 423 for the visit of Kidderminster.

Miller was the top scorer with 3 goals, followed by Dyer, Jarvis and Beresford on 2.

Previous Meetings

Peterborough Sports did the double over Oxford City last season, winning 2-1 at home and 3-1 at Court Place Farm.

If Hoops fans were looking for an omen, their side had won the only meeting in the FA Trophy, winning 2-0 in February 2021.

Matchday Information

According to AA Route Planner, the journey from Peterborough to Oxford is 88 miles down the A45 and M40 and should normally take around 2 hours. It looked like around 25 Turbines fans had made the journey.

Tickets for today’s game were at a reduced price of £10 for adults online and £14 at the turnstile. For Over 65s it was £6 online and £10 on the gate. An online programme was available and a cup of tea cost £2.50.

It was a grey winters day at the 15.00 kick-off but with a damp feeling in the air, and there was a chance of some light rain during the game. The temperature was around 10 degrees.

Bet365 made Oxford City 6/5 favourites, with Peterborough Sports at 13/8 and the draw 13/5.

Sports were playing in their usual kit of orange shirts, with black shorts and socks. Oxford City were in their traditional blue and white hoops.

Peterborough Sports made eight changes from the side that lost as Spennymoor as manager Brown decided to give his fringe players a chance. Irish/Nigerian centre-back Kevin Joshua was making his debut after signing in midweek as a free agent having previously played for Peterhead, Macclesfield and York City and keeper Sam Edwards, who had 10 caps for the England Deaf team was also making his first start after signing in the summer.

Only Aaron Powell, Straughan-Brown and Whitehouse kept their places, although Crook, Oakley, Carayol, Miller and Beresford were on the substitutes’ bench. There was no place in the squad for Cavallo

Oxford City made four changes to the side that beat Worksop last Saturday. Keeper Sam Lewis was injured during the mid-week Town vs Gown fixture so Max Treml came for his debut, whilst Josh Parker, Darnell Johnson and Ewan Clark returned to the side.

Matchday Report

Peterborough Sports made a fast start with a long throw being headed off for a corner, which then may have struck a post before being partially cleared. When the ball was crossed back into the area by Straughan-Brown, Joshua’s mis-kicked volley from 10 yards looped up for Treml to take an easy catch.

Oxford City’s response was swift. Firstly, a ball in from the left wing was headed on by Parker for Edwards to make a comfortable save, then Ashby ran onto a long ball as Sports looked for an offside flag, but a poor first touch took him wide but as the keeper approached, Ashby blasted the ball across the goalmouth but the unmarked Parker at the back post could only react and head over the bar. Any half decent cross would have given Parker a simple chance into the empty net, so it was a golden opportunity squandered.

Sports then won two corners but the home defence stood firm, after which Tom Scott showed a good touch to control a pass from Jacob Roddy and ran past two static defenders, but his low cross into the area was put out for a corner by Joshua. Ashby’s delivery struck Chris Francis at the back post and rolled through to the keeper.

With 13 minutes played Alfie Potter beat Powell on the left but as he shaped to shoot after running into the Sports area, Powell recovered to make an excellent sliding tackle.

Clark then sent an optimistic 25 yarder harmlessly over the bar after which ex-Brackley and Darlington right winger Kaine Felix showed good speed but his cross was poor.

Wood then played a nice ball down the left-hand channel for Max Booth to latch onto but his low ball towards the 6-yard line was cut-out by Charlie Wiggett. Sports reworked possession and when a cross came in from the right, Treml’s punch was weak, but City were spared by the referee’s whistle. It wasn’t clear what the offence was as it didn’t look like a foul on the keeper, so maybe there was an offside. It was to be the first in a series of puzzling decisions from the man in black ( who actually was in black today ! ).

Oxford City should have opened the scoring in the 19^th minute. Parker dummied a through ball which left Potter with a 1 vs 1 with the keeper, but Potter’s shot was too close to the keeper, who dived to his right to push the ball away.

Sports were quickly down the other end but Francis made an excellent tackle to dispossess Coulthirst but not longer afterwards, Sports had taken the lead. Wood picked up a loose ball and with no home defender closing his down, the wing-back took a couple of steps forward and shot left-footed from 25 yards and the ball found the top corner. Keeper Treml though would have been disappointed by his effort to make the save, with his attempted push not being strong enough. It was 0-1 after 23 minute.

Two minutes later keeper Edwards tried to grab a long ball but as he slid the ball slipped through his hands. Scott managed to keep the ball in play and passed to Roddy, who crossed towards the far post where Potter’s pass was to no-one and Sports cleared the danger.

Treml’s nervy start continued as he fumbled a low ball in from the right but recovered to gather, but he did much better in the 32^nd minute when Coulthirst shot left-footed from the edge of the area and Treml saved at his near post.

Parker thumped a 20-yard effort a couple of feet over the Sports crossbar then Phil Brown was irate with the officials when they failed to award a couple of free-kicks in favour of the Peterborough side. Ashby was then bundled over by a Sports played and fell on the ball, and when he picked the ball up expecting the obvious free-kick to be given, the decision was handball !

Two Sports players were left rolling around on the (astro)turf and the referee showed a yellow card to Clark for a wild challenge on Straughan-Brown. Chants of “You’re ******* useless” rang around the ground at the referee, and probably from both benches as well.

Powell then went down as if badly hurt after an innocuous challenge from Potter and the referee awarded a very soft free-kick. Brown’s comments to the official could be heard very clearly from the other side of the pitch to the dug-outs, and “calm and measured” were not the words that sprang to mind.

City then fashioned a nice looking move which was butchered by a terrible pass by Johnson, kicking the ball off for a goal-kick rather than to Roddy in space on the right

Italian Benjamin Mensah played a ball over The Hoops backline which Coulthirst ran on to but his left-footed shot was blocked, and an offside flag was belatedly raised.

Coulthirst’s elbow then struck Roddy in the face but no free-kick was awarded. Instead, play was eventually stopped, and after treatment play resumed with a drop ball to the home side.

Ashby drilled a 20-yard effort a couple of feet wide after a good chest trap by Parker, and the final action of the half saw Powell winning a free-kick decision from the referee after slipping as Potter closed him down. At the interval, Peterborough Sports led 1-0 having taking their chance and City missing theirs.

The second half started in a similar fashion to the end of the first half, with Whitehouse throwing himself to the ground and appealing for a foul as Parker came to challenge him but this time the referee wasn’t conned and allowed play to continue. Remarkably, Whitehouse got to his feet very quickly !

The first chance of the second period fell to Sports, as Booth picked up a loose ball and ran into the Oxford City area, but he blasted over from a reasonably tight angle. Clark then won a corner for The Hoops on the left, but Wiggett’s header was cleared off the line by Mensah standing at his back post.

Wiggett was called into action at the other end, producing an important slide to prevent a pass putting Booth clear. The subsequent throw-in was played short, and after a cross from Powell was partially cleared, Whitehouse sent a shot out of the stadium.

With 53 minutes on the clock, Felix went on another rapid run down the right-wing but again there was no end product, this time sending the ball high over the heads of his attackers.

The home side missed another great chance two minutes later. Cadogan’s air-kick midway inside the Oxford City half enabled Ashby to take possession and play a splendid ball to put Parker clear. However, the touch from the veteran Antiguan took him a little wide and with an angle tighter than it could have been, the blasted shot struck the body of the keeper as he spread himself

Scott was then fouled as he played a forward pass close to the half-way and Parker grappled with Joshua before eventually breaking free to bare down on goal. The referee decided to bring back play for the foul on Scott as the Oxford City players screamed that an advantage should be played, but the referee took the view that Parker had fouled Joshua. The referee probably got that one right.

In the 58^th minute Coulthirst wriggled his way into the Oxford City area, but his effort was blocked by Francis, and the ball rolled through for Treml to pick up.

A minute later Lattrell Humphrey-Ewers shot from distance after being teed up by Parker, by Edwards made the catch above his head.

The officials then gave a throw, then a corner to Sports, which led to an embarrassing petulant display of amateur theatrics from City’s Clark in protest at two very good decisions. Clearly, the youngster needs to grow up.

City defender Johnson was the next player to be shown a yellow card, after a bad foul on Coulthirst. The free-kick was 25 yards out on the left but Whitehouse sent the kick straight into the arms of Treml.

Humphrey-Ewers again tried his luck from distance and this time Edwards failed to hold on. Roddy was the quickest to react but could only blast again the prone body of Edwards from close range. It was another good chance missed by the home side but also a brave save by the keeper.

Whitehouse was the next to see yellow, after a late tackle on Ashby, who got up to take the free-kick to the edge of the Sports area, where a City head made contact to direct towards the far post but Isaac Westendorf’s header lacked power and Edwards made a routine catch above his head.

Two City players stopped and appealed for a handball against Oakley and Straughan-Brown took advantage to play on and send a curling effort narrowly wide of the far post. Just because the ball strikes an arm doesn’t automatically mean it is handball. Again, I thought the referee got this one right, and City were guilty of not abiding to the old adage of “play to the whistle”.

With 15 minutes remaining, Scott sent a left-footed shot just over the bar after a chip into the Sports area had been headed out. Two minutes later Westendorf was wrestled to the floor by Wood but surprisingly the referee didn’t see it as a penalty.

Sports were now showing their expertise in game management, slowing the game down at every opportunity, and ignoring the referee’s efforts to make them play without any sanction.

Straughan-Brown was the next to be shown a yellow card after a high foot made contact with the head of Ashby, although it didn’t look malicious. When the ball was played forward, a great defensive block denied Scott, and the ball flew over the bar for a corner.

The set-piece was glanced on at the near post by Parker, and Westendorf was on hand to bundle the ball over the line for the equaliser. 1-1 after 85 minutes.

With their tails up and roared on by the home crowd, Westendorf made a surging run down the left and into the Sports area and looked up to pass to Scott. As the City midfielder lined up a shot, his legs were taken away from under him by Carayol. The referee took a long, hard look and after some time awarded the penalty. City had the chance to turn the tie around with two goals in two minutes.

Oxford City have had a terrible record from the spot in recent years, but Ashby, who was the one player to score in the shoot-out fiasco against Woking, stepped up to take responsibility. Unfortunately for the home side, he sent the ball wide of the keeper’s left-hand post to add to the catalogue of missed chances.

Almost immediately after, Sports raided down the left and Carayol delivered an in-perfect left-footed cross where substitute Beresford was unmarked and powered home a header from 6 yards giving the keeper no chance. 1-2 with 88 minutes played.

Four added minutes were to be played and it was The Turbines who nearly added a third goal, but Cadogan’s effort across goal heading for the far corner was pushed away by the diving Treml.

City forced a corner, but Edwards, with a crowd of players around him, was able to punch away. The final whistle blew shortly after and Peterborough Sports progressed to the next round. They had taken two of their chances, whereas Oxford City had wasted several good chances, and on that basis had only themselves to blame.

Highlights :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCBtzw9nb4U

Oxford City : Treml – Johnson ( Wilson ), Wiggett, Francis - Roddy, Ashby, Humphrey-Ewers ( Westendorf ), Scott, Potter, Clark – Parker, Potter

Peterborough Sports :  Edwards – Powell, Joshua ( Oakley ), Wood – Felix, Straughan-Brown, Whitehouse, Cadogan, Mensah ( Carayol ) – Coulthirst ( Miller ), Booth ( Beresford )

 

Chinnor 22-20 London Scottish ( att : 1,628 ) – 2025/26 English Champ

November 14, 2025

Tonight saw Chinnor’s third home match of the season and the first under Friday Night Lights with the visit of London Scottish. Two weeks ago, these diaries covered Chinnor’s hard fought 17-10 home win over Ampthill, then last week they recorded arguably their best ever result in their history with a tight 23-21 victory at full-time professional Doncaster Knights.

Chinnor had lost every match they had played against The Exiles so they would be hoping to break their duck tonight. Last season London Scottish were victorious 26-15 at the Richmond Athletic Ground in a meeting between these two sides during the Christmas holidays, when the Scottish squad that day included twelve Harlequins players. Scottish also won the return at Chinnor in May, holding on win 24-19 with seven Harlequins in their team.

London Scottish Update

London Scottish came in to today’s fixture second from bottom in the table with one win and five losses from their 6 matches. The victory was achieved at Cambridge by a comfortable margin of 38-15.

Their season started with a 10-26 loss at Caldy after leading 10-7 at the interval, but were well beaten at home to Nottingham ( 7-26 ) and Cornish Pirates ( 10-38 ), and then at Worcester Warriors ( 19-52 ).

Last time out they fell to a 7-26 at home to Bedford Blues after being level at 7-7 at half-time. Indeed, there had appeared to be a pattern of Scottish being competitive in the first half before falling away in the second half.

As Harlequins have been playing in the Premiership Cup during the Autum Internationals, no Quins were made available for The Exiles last two matches, which was unusual, as last season a small number still lined up for Scottish when Quins were engaged in Premiership Cup matches. Consequently, all the players taking to the field were bona-fide London Scottish players.

Average home league attendances for London Scottish were 896, with the highest being the 962 who saw the game against Bedford.

The highest points scorer for London Scottish this season was ex-Bury St Edmunds, Plymouth Albion, Redruth and Rams fly-half Fraser Honey with 17 points, whilst ex-Henley and Wallingford wing Murray Bellis had scored three tries.

Matchday Information

According to AA route planner, the journey from Richmond to Thame is 50 miles and should normally take around an hour.

There had been heavy rain over night and throughout the day but Storm Claudia relented close to the 19.45 kick-off, and the temperature was 12 degrees. The infamous Chinnor breeze was absent.

Adult tickets purchased online were £16. For over 65s it was £14 but an extra £5 was being charged to sit in the new covered stand behind the goal at the ring-road end. Prices at the gate were £20 for adults.

An online programme had been produced in advance of today’s game.

With the member’s 10% discount, a pint of Brooklyn IPA was £5.38

London Scottish made two changes to the XV that started against Bedford, with Matt Wilkinson coming into the back row and Dan Nutton at scrum half. For the third week running there were no Harlequins players involved, although ex-Chinnor prop Ben Wilkinson, brother of Matt, had been brought in as injury cover, and was currently playing for Oxford Harlequins !

Chinnor made eight changes to the side that won in Doncaster, most notably with the return of South African winger Kieran Goss for his 200^th appearance for Chinnor. Full-back Joe Brock, signed from Leicester Lions in the summer, was making his debut.

London Scottish were in a change kit of red shorts with blue shorts and red socks, whilst Chinnor were in their usual black and white hoops

Match Report

Brock made a nervy start, dropping a high ball after Scottish kicked back the Chinnor kick-off, to give the visitors a scrum.

Scottish started strongly, although a penalty aimed for the corner failed to find touch, and Chinnor cleared for a lineout inside their 22.

Ex-London Irish, Wasps and Northampton lock Luka Vukasinovic was winning the early line-outs for The Exiles and when Chinnor strayed offside at a ruck, Scottish opted to take the points. Fly-half Tom Wilstead stepped up to stroke his kick through the posts. 0-3 after 6 minutes.

Brock’s unimpressive start continued as he dropped a pass from Goss after the winger had fielded a high kick.

In the 9^th minute, Scottish scrum-half Nutton sent a bouncing kick in to touch inside the Chinnor 22. From the line-out Wilstead kicked high, and although Brock made the catch, the ball appeared to go forward in the tackle, although the scrum was awarded to Chinnor.

Rafferty picked up at the base of the scrum and made yards, and as Chinnor drove forward, Scottish were penalised, and Worboys kicked Chinnor to just outside the Scottish 22.

Chinnor won the lineout and released the ball to their backs, with wing Grant Hughes breaching the gain line, and after being tackled, Chinnor reworked possession and won a penalty, which was kicked to 5 metres. Chinnor’s rolling maul was stopped short of the line but they drove several times for the try. Eventually they crashed over, with possibly prop Ramaz Rukhadze being the one to touch down. Worboys added the extras as Chinnor took a 7-3 lead with 15 minutes played.

Scottish won a penalty shortly after the restart on the Chinnor 10 metre line and again chose to go for the posts rather than the corner flag, but this time Wilstead’s attempt drifted wide of the uprights.

Chinnor scrum-half Luke Carter kicked out on the full but Chinnor won a free-kick at the subsequent scrum. The ball was sent into orbit and was knocked on twice, and Scottish had the put in at the scrum.

Scottish were starting to apply some pressure. Carter knocked on at a ruck, and Scottish attacked from the scrum, but a long pass went straight into touch. After Chinnor won the lineout and Goss ran down the touchline, prop Rob Hardwick dropped the inside pass. Scottish kicked long but Hughes was covering back and called for the mark, but his kick didn’t go very far.

Scottish attacked but again a pass went astray and into touch, but they were playing with a penalty advantage, which this time, they kicked to 5 metres. The rolling maul slowly went forward until illegally stopped, and Scottish had another 5-metre lineout. Chinnor stole the lineout, and although Carter’s attempted clearing kick was charged down, the ball fell kindly for Chinnor to keep possession, and they eventually cleared.

Scottish won their line-out and inched forward, until Wilstead attempted an ambitious cross-field kick which was too high for wing Noah Ferdinand and went dead to give Chinnor a line-out on their 22. After hooker Alun Walker made a break, Chinnor tried to play wide but the impressive pressing from Scottish forced them into blind alleys then backwards. Being forced to kick, Scottish knocked on, and after Chinnor regained possession, a kick bounced into touch 10 metres from the Scottish line despite the valiant efforts of Ferdinand to keep it in play. Geordie Irvine won the lineout for Chinnor but Carter knocked on. From the scrum, Nutton sent a good clearing kick to half-way.

Irvine again won the lineout, and Chinnor broke through the centre of the Scottish defence, but again they kicked, and Scottish claimed, and cleared.

Chinnor again won their lineout ball, and at the following ruck, a London Scottish forward was clearly offside as he took out Rukhadze for an obvious penalty, and Worboys kicked to 10 metres from the Scottish line. Lock Jamie Campbell won the lineout and the Chinnor pack rumbled over the line, with Walker getting the credit for the try. Worboy’s conversion went wide but Chinnor led 12-3 as the half-time whistle blew.

The first half had been very even but Chinnor’s late score gave them a slightly flattering lead.

London Scottish substitute full-back Jack Leslie made an eye-catching introduction, breaking through several flimsy tackles, and when Wilstead went aerial, Ferdinand beat Brock in the air, but with a penalty advantage the Scottish attack came to nothing. With a kick in a central position around 25 yards from the posts, Scottish opted to take the points and Wilstead duly obliged. 12-6 after 42 minutes.

Chinnor quickly hit back and were awarded a penalty after a scrum wheeled, and Worboys kicked them back to 5 metres from the Scottish line. Chinnor’s rolling maul was heading for the line but when they were halted, the referee awarded a penalty try and showed a yellow card to Wilkinson. It was now 19-6 with 47 minutes.

With a man advantage, it looked like Chinnor would run away with the game, and Carter sent a great kick into the Scottish 22, but Leslie was back to gather and skipped past Brock’s attempted tackle, but unfortunately for him sliced his kick into touch for a Chinnor lineout midway inside the Scottish half.

Chinnor took a short throw to the front of the lineout and Walker made progress into the Scottish 22, but The Exiles forced a turnover and cleared.

The Scottish defence was working overtime and they won the put in at a scrum after Carter knocked on at a ruck. Scottish cleared their lines with a kick into Chinnor’s 22 which Goss attempted to play with his feet. The referee awarded a penalty to Scottish on the Chinnor 22, although I had no idea why ! The penalty was kicked to 5 metres and the Scottish rolling maul was illegally stopped, and for the second time in the match the referee awarded a penalty try, and showed a yellow card, this time to Walker. The score was now 19-13 with 55 minutes played and it was game on !

Wilstead tried another cross-field kick which Goss fielded with a superb catch and then offloaded to Carter, who kicked. When Scottish returned the kick, Worboys sent a bouncing kick deep into the Scottish 22.

The tap from Scottish was messy, but they gathered and cleared. Chinnor won their lineout and pressed close to the tryline, but just when it looked like they must score, they lost possession and Scottish were able to clear into the Chinnor half, and when The Exiles secured the ball, Nutton sent a kick bouncing into touch inside the Chinnor 22. Again, the referee made a strange decision after consulting with his assistant, taking play back for a penalty to Scottish on halfway rather than a lineout inside the Chinnor 22. It didn’t matter though as Wilstead kicked to within 10 metres.

Scottish won their lineout and drove for the line. Despite Ferdinand being in acres of space out wide, the Scottish forwards ignored him as they continued to drive for the Chinnor line, and after umpteen attempts, flanker Jack Ingall crossed the whitewash close to the posts, and Wilstead added the extras. Scottish now led 19-20 with 67 minutes on the clock.

Play became scrappy as both sides adopted the aerial bombardment approach, but the Scottish back three seemed to handle it better than their Chinnor counterparts. Scrums now seemed to take an age with resets, injuries and perhaps some fuzzy refereeing. Chinnor’s frustrations led to a free-kick after an early engagement at a scrum.

Nutton sent a grubber kick deep into the Chinnor 22 but Brock did well to gather, make some yards then find Carter, who cleared to midway inside the Chinnor half. At this stage it felt like Scottish were in control and edging towards victory as Chinnor persisted with kicking away their possession.

To huge cheers, Chinnor won a Scottish lineout, and substitute scrum-half Callum Pascoe kicked into the Scottish 22 where the catch was made but poorly kicked to touch.

Chinnor centre Tom Watson made a good break into the Scottish 22 but the visitors won a turnover at the ruck and cleared, but Chinnor had been playing with a penalty advantage.

The penalty was on the Scottish 10 metre line, and it was Chinnor’s turn to point to the posts. Worboys impressively sent his kick through the uprights to give Chinnor the lead. It was now 22-20 with 78 minutes on the clock.

The referee though indicated there were 8 minutes still to be played. Chinnor were looking to keep play in the Scottish half, and a good shove at a scrum gave them a penalty, which they took quickly, and Hughes went on a mazy run into the Scottish 22. However, the referee again took play back for an earlier offence, probably offside when the quick tap was taken, and Chinnor had a penalty on the Scottish 10 metre line.

Rather than take another three points, needing another try for the bonus point, Worboys attempted to kick to the corner but failed to find touch, and Scottish attempted to run out of their 22. However, the Chinnor tackling was good, forcing Scottish to kick, and Goss made the catch. From the ruck, Pascoe kicked to take play back into the Scottish 22, although after the mark, it was back to a lineout on halfway.

At this point the tension from the Chinnor supporters was audible, but Chinnor threw long and Scott Hall made the catch and charged forward. After several drives around the Scottish 22, Chinnor spread play but again Scottish won a turnover and kicked high to clear. Scottish regained possession and kicked high again, but knocked on in their efforts to win the ball.

Chinnor were able to take play back into the Scottish 22, and Campbell won the lineout for Chinnor. They released the ball to their backs rather than sticking it up the jumper, and were pinged for not releasing in the tackle.

Scottish were able to clear to their 10-metre line, and although it looked suspiciously as if they had knocked on at the lineout, the referee deemed the ball had not gone forward, and Scottish won a penalty after trying to go wide. However, the kick was shanked and only took play back to the half-way line. Although Scottish tapped the lineout, when they tried to run another knock-on ensued, and the referee blew to end the game.

Chinnor took four points from the match to keep their 100% home record. This was probably a game they would have lost last season, but in the past two weeks they have kicked late penalties to take the lead and then had the nouse to hold onto the lead.

London Scottish will feel disappointed to come away with only one point from this tight encounter, but they way they responded in the second half to come back and take the lead when they could have fallen apart should hold them in good stead for the rest of the season. Personally, they seem to be better off without their Harlequins !

Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_fmyEN8d9k