Tomorrow is destiny day. By the evening Oxford United will know whether they will be a Football League team again or a non-league side still. After all the build-up, all the anticipation, over 30,000 tickets sold to Oxford fans, United's future will come down to 90 or 120 minutes of football in north London.
This is Oxford's first visit to the new Wembley and just their second trip to the home of English football. Some of Oxford's players have experienced the venue before, notably James Constable who scored twice there in 2007, his then Kidderminster Harriers team-mate Mark Creighton, Anthony Tonkin who played twice there with Yeovil Town and Cambridge United, Chris Hargreaves who won last season's play-off final with Torquay United, and Matt Green who was an unused substitute in that match.
With the exception of Adam Murray, Chris Wilder has a completely fit squad from which to choose. It is likely that he will keep the side that started both of the play-off semi-finals against Rushden & Diamonds, although he may bring in the experienced Chris Hargreaves for a place on the bench. There has been some doubt over Adam Chapman's inclusion following the news that he has pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at a recent court hearing, although the case was adjourned until 4 June. However, Wilder would be reluctant to lose Chapman because, in Murray's absence, he is United's most creative midfielder and the best taker of set-pieces.
York City have been in the Conference for two seasons longer than Oxford, and reached the play-offs last time in the same season that United reached them, in 2007, losing to eventual winners Morecambe. This season they finished eight points adrift of the Yellows, who took four points from them. In a nice piece of symmetry, tomorrow's game is a repeat of the first match of the season, when two late goals from Matt Green and Creighton saw United come from a goal down to beat York at Grenoble Road. The same result tomorrow would go down a treat, although if Oxford can wrap it up a bit earlier that would be much better for the nerves. [@opponent]york city[/@opponent] [@connection]york city[/@connection]
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another fine mash from ox9encoding