Spirited Hoops Beaten By Leicester.

Oxford City 2

Scott Pollock 31'

Josh Ashby 62'

Leicester City 4

Louis Page 16'

Emil Riis 53'

Kamari Doyle 59'

Tom Watson 82'

Oxford City netted twice against Leicester City in the Emirates FA Cup First Round, in front of a record crowd of 3,462 at the MGroup Stadium, with four goals from the visitors seeing the Foxes’ through. 

Both teams came out as spirited sides, with Pollock and Brown looking bright on the right side as the clash got underway, and Leicetser testing the City defence from the get-go. The most crucial intervention came from Crowther, on his City debut, as the Foxes attempted to deliver a low ball through the goalmouth, with City’s new man sliding in to cut out any threat. 

Nothing could stop Leicester’s opener however, with Louis Page striking from range, picking out the top corner with a moment of quality on 16 minutes. 

City responded well, and for the moments following the restart, they created the better of the chances. It was Francillette who could not believe he hadn’t scored on 20 minutes, with a close-range header seeing Ravizzoli adjust well to claim. 

The Hoops continued to push on, standing strong in their defensive duties, and causing the Foxes problems in attack. It looked inevitable that the Hoops were going to net, and who else to level than Pollock? His fourth in the Emirates FA Cup this season, he directed straight in from a corner in the 31st minute, netting against his boyhood club to level the scoreline. 

With 15 of the half still to play, both sides continued to threaten, both determined for the half-time advantage. Nothing but strength was shown by the Hoops’ defence, ensuring no way through for the Foxes, who gave it attempt after attempt to break the backline down. The Hoops looked to do the same, stringing together quick moves forward, and putting dangerous balls through the box as the half came to a close, but when the half-time whistle came, there was nothing to separate the sides. 

Half-time: Oxford City 1-1 Leicester City

The second half started with the Hoops causing Leicester issues, winning the ball back high and pushing on for that lead. The Foxes, however, proved the more clinical side, as Emil Riis turned a delivery into the net from the goalmouth on 51 minutes, re-taking his sides’ lead. 

Just before the hour mark, the Foxes added a third, with Kamari Doyle slotting in from the edge of the area to give the visitors a two-goal cushion. 

Nothing seemed to dampen the Hoops’ spirits, however, with Ashby halving his sides’ deficit just minutes later. It was a 62nd-minute ball over the top that fell for the skipper, with it a difficult task to keep that effort down, but he made it look easy, firing beyond Ravizzoli to put the Hoops right back in it. 

The next big chance went the way of Leicester, with Maxted in fine action to deny, as the Foxes attempted to pick out the top corner, with our diving number one in their way. A period then followed where City had to soak up the pressure from the Foxes, with Leicester’s determination to get another an indication that they could not sit comfortably with a one-goal lead, a testament to the strength of the Hoops’ attack. Leicester did regain that cushion, however, as Tom Watson slotted into the far corner on 82 minutes. 

As with their other set-backs, the Oxford mentality saw their spirits remain high, as they continued to search for the back of the net long into the closing stages. As did Leicester, with Maxted forced into one more near-post save, before an injury-time effort hit the crossbar. Neither team were destined to add to the scoreline, however, with the following full-time whistle confirming Leicester’s progression. 

A really positive performance out there nevertheless, and plenty to be proud of! 

City XI: Maxted, Humphries, Ashby ©, Francillette, Pollock, Tetek (Westendorf 80’), Marsh, McEachran (Bateman 67’), Brown, Nelson (Forestieri 80’), Crowther

Subs unused: Bloom, Smith, Taylor, Potter, Carroll, Daniel.