Match Preview | Darlington v Oxford City
City Look to Maintain Strong Away Form with Darlington Trip.
Oxford City return to Enterprise National League North action on Tuesday evening, as they make the lengthy journey up north to take on a struggling Darlington side.
It was against Darlington last campaign that the Hoops retained their NLN status, with two goals from Matty Taylor and the other from Ewan Clark securing a 3-1 victory at Blackwell Meadows. That triumph also confirmed the league double over the Quakers, a positive sign for the Hoops ahead of Tuesday’s travels.
Jenkins’ side is currently flying high in the division, sitting third with a game in hand over those above. Darlington, however, are sitting third from bottom, with a rocky start to the season seeing their tally at 11 points.
They do, however, have a new face in the dugout, with Craig Elliot recently appointed First Team manager. That presents an unknown for the Hoops, as Elliot attempts to influence his side back to winning ways. Indeed, Darlington’s league position at this point in the campaign may come as a surprise, with the Quakers finishing just outside the play-offs last campaign.
Now, both sides will be determined to tally three points, City as they look to maintain pressure on the top spot, and Darlington as they look to climb out of the drop zone.
MATCH DETAILS
Darlington vs Oxford City
Tuesday 10th November | Enterprise National League North | 7:45pm
FORM
DARLINGTON - D L W L L
Darlington have had a rocky start to the campaign, having won three, drawn two, and lost their remaining ten league games, leaving them in the division’s bottom four. That started with an opening day loss against Worksop Town, with the form that followed seeing them win just one of their first five clashes.
That has continued for much of the season for Darlo, with October seeing them exit the Emirates FA Cup in the third qualifying round, and register just one league win, that being against a struggling Spennymoor Town.
With a rare weekend off due to City’s cup commitments, Darlington have had plenty of time to prepare for this one, their last clash being back on Halloween. They will now hope for an upturn in home form, with five out of a possible 21 points so far as the home side perhaps indicating that they have struggled to master the home advantage. Indeed, that victory against Spennymoor Town was their first home league win of the season, which ended a run which saw their last victory on home turf registered back in March.
OXFORD CITY - W D W L L
When looking solely at the form guide, the simple assumption is that City’s recent form has been mixed. Of their last ten games, however, they have been beaten only by top-of-the-table South Shields and Sky Bet League One’s Leicester City. The latter of the two saw a really strong performance from the Hoops, as they scored twice in an impressive Emirates FA Cup display.
They can certainly hold their heads high after that account, and will be hoping to return to winning ways on Tuesday evening, as they look to maintain the momentum that sees them sit top of the away form table.
Unlike Maxted, who will be in search of his tenth clean sheet of the season come Tuesday evening, Darlo have conceded in every clash bar two this season. A positive sign for those in goal-scoring form for the Hoops, with Pollock netting his tenth of the season last time out, joining Marsh in double figures, and the likes of Ashby, Francillette, and Brown becoming increasingly common names on the scoresheet.
ONE TO WATCH - DYLAN STEPHENSON
A regular in hitting the back of the net for the Quakers, Stephenson joined Darlo on a one-year deal over the summer, his most recent contribution in a Darlington shirt being his hat-trick against Spennymoor Town on October 24th.
Stephenson began his career rising through the ranks of Newcastle's academy, signing his first professional contract in the summer of 2021, and going on to score his first goal under Eddie Howe in a 5-0 win against Al Hilal in December 2022.
Since then, he enjoyed loan moves at Scottish Championship side Hamilton Academical and South Shields, before officially leaving the Magpies at the end of the 2023/24 season, joining Dagenham and Redbridge.
The 23-year-old, therefore, joined Darlington with plenty of experience at both step 6 level and higher, with Dagenham a step 5 side when he joined, and, with plenty involvement so far in the Quakers’ attack, he is one who is set to be key as Darlington attempt to rise out of the bottom four.
THE MANAGER - CRAIG ELLIOT
A new face in the dugout, Elliot was appointed manager of Darlington on November 6th, following the departure of Steve Watson last month. The interim period saw Terry Mitchell in a brief spell in charge, with the club confirming that he will operate alongside Elliot as assistant manager.
Boasting over 900 games in charge of numerous clubs, Elliot joins from an in-form Bradford Park Avenue side which he had, upon his departure, led to a record-breaking start to the campaign, as they registered an ongoing 16-game unbeaten league run.
He is also one who is no stranger to promotions, leading Glasshoughton Welfare and Shaw Lane to a combined five promotions. He also boasts taking Boston United to the 2019/20 NLN play-offs, where they lost out to Altrincham in the final, as well as guiding a near-bottom Buxton to a point off the play-off places in the 2022/23 season.
Clearly a leader who plays at the top of the pack, he brings the experience needed to guide the Quakers out of the bottom four, and perhaps even compete closer to the play-off positions. He hasn’t had much time at the helm, but he will certainly hope that narrative begins on Tuesday evening, as he’s paid a visit by the Hoops.
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