It’s the FA Cup fourth round this weekend, and United’s reward for scraping past MK Franchise in the previous round is a home tie against Premier League Sunderland.

Oxford fans may remember the last time we played the Rokerites as it ended in a 2-0 win for the U’s last season that confirmed we would not be relegated. How nice it seems in retrospect. Central defenders Ben Nelson and Michał Helik were on target for United that day.

That was Oxford’s first win over Sunderland since 26th April 1994, exactly 31 years earlier to the day, That match was played on Wearside and it was two goals from Paul Moody and one from Chris Allen that saw United to a 3-2 win in the second tier.

Three years earlier, in December 1991, Oxford secured a 3-0 win over the Black Cats, with the damage being done by Trevor Aylott, John Durnin, and Joey Beauchamp. Joey, who died on 19th February 2022, is to be paid tribute at the game this Sunday.

The sides have met before in the FA Cup. In January 1989, Richard Hill scored Oxford’s goal at Roker Park as the third round tie finished 1-1. The replay (remember them) at the Manor was also Hill’s game as he scored both United goals in a 2-0 win. The game featured in a Channel 4 thriller called The Real Eddie English, worth watching for the scene of a house exploding in Waltonwell Road.

The teams also met in the fourth round, in February 1992. Goals from David Penney and Paul Simpson weren’t enough, as Sunderland won the tie 3-2.

On This Date

Sunday’s game will be the 12th occasion that the U’s have played on 15th February, with six of the previous 11 games ending in United victories, with two matches drawn.

The first time Oxford had a game on this date turned out to be one of the most famous matches in the side’s history, as Fourth Division United welcomed top-flight Blackburn Rovers to the Manor in the 5th round in 1964. A record crowd of 21,700 saw the U’s beat second-placed Rovers 3-1 thanks to two goals from Tony Jones and one from Mick Calder, with Oxford thus becoming the first Division Four side to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Five years later, Oxford were in their second season in Division Two (Championship equivalent) and beating Huddersfield Town 3-0 at the Manor. Ken Skeen scored twice and David Sloan once.

A 1-0 defeat at Bristol Rovers in 1975 was followed in 1984 by a 2-0 win over Wimbledon. An own goal and a Bobby McDonald goal helped Oxford on their way to the Third Division title that season.

United had been up to the First and back down to the Second Division by the time they visited Brighton in 1992, where they won 2-1 thanks to a Simpson brace.

Oxford beat Oldham Athletic 3-1 on this date in 1997 and draw with Macclesfield Town at the Kassam Stadium in 2006 and Stevenage away in 2011 before beating Mansfield Town 3-0 in 2014 with goals from Nicky Wroe, Deane Smalley, and David Connolly.

United’s last two fixtures on 15th February both ended in home defeats. Sunday’s visitors Sunderland won 1-0 in 2020, while last season Portsmouth won 2-0 in the Championship.

The Game

The FA Cup – also called the Greatest Cup Competition in the World by the FA – is being greeted with little enthusiasm in Oxfordshire. Fans regard Sunderland as too frequent opponents recently (they’ve met 11 times since September 2018) while many believe that the cup is a distraction from United’s main purpose: avoiding relegation again.

However, we do not expect Matt Bloomfield or the United staff and players to treat the game with any disdain. While there may be some tinkering to the starting XI (when isn’t there?) we hope to see a side selected with the aim of winning the game and progressing to the fifth round.

What that selection will be remains, as ever, intriguing. We sincerely hope that Bloomfield has learned his lesson from Tuesday’s ridiculous line up that saw four centre backs starting across the back four, with Norwich picking the back line apart with sumptuous ease to cruise to a 3-0 win. Play a back four (especially at home) by all means, but don’t then sabotage the line up by playing players out of position.

The selection questions go right through the side. Goalkeeper Matt Ingram started in the previous round against MK and may well be preferred again this weekend, giving Jamie Cumming a rest. If there is to be a back four, then we would hope to see Brodie Spencer and Jack Currie (if fit) in the full-back positions, with Ben Davies or Ciaron Brown on the left of centre and Christ Makosso or Helik on the right. If a back five (or back three, however you want to call it) is preferred, then let’s see Currie or Roosken on the left, Spencer or Stan Mills on the right, and three of the above four central defenders between them.

The main problem with wingbacks is that it only really allows for two central midfielders, and that has allowed opposition midfields to basically stroll through Oxford’s. There is definitely the personnel in the squad for a midfield three, even with Brian De Keersmaecker’s absence. Cameron Brannagan has linked up well with Jamie McDonnell, while Will Vaulks and Yunus Konak have also done well in the more defensive role. Meanwhile, Jamie Donley is apparently fit to return to the squad after picking up an injury at MK, although we’d be surprised if he started.

If United play a back four with wingers, that gives either Mills or the permanently perplexing Przsemysłav Płacheta scope to maraud down the right, while on the left there’s Aidomo Emakhu or Jeon Jin-Woo, who showed great promise on his debut on Tuesday. Myles Peart-Harris has also been played there to decent effect recently.

Up top there can only really be one option. Will Lankshear missed Tuesday’s game due to suspension, so should hopefully be full of running and energy. While Mark Harris showed plenty of endeavour against Norwich, he was far from effective and could have few complaints if he was not selected. We would also like to see a place on the bench for Gatlin O’Donkor, fresh from scoring in the Oxfordshire Senior Cup against Oxford City on Tuesday.

Whatever side is chosen, they’re going to have their work cut out to match a Sunderland side that is 11th in the Premier League. They lost 1-0 at home to Liverpool on Wednesday, having been gubbed 3-0 by Arsenal at the weekend. This could lead to them taking the game seriously and playing a strong line-up as they look to return to winning ways.

You have to go back to 25th October to find the last time Sunderland won an away game (they got through on penalties at Everton in the third round), which is a record I’m sure Regis Le Bris will want to rectify. And with no midweek game coming up to distract them, I’d be very surprised if the Mackems were to field a particularly weakened side.

Omar Alderete could be rested after picking up a knock against Liverpool, while January signing Jocelin could be in contention to make his debut. Le Bris has stated his intention to field a strong line-up, so this could be a difficult afternoon for United unless they’ve managed to wipe the Norwich game from their minds and the manager keeps it simple and gets the boys fired up for this one.

There is an opportunity here for Oxford to progress, although it might be more realistic to do so via a penalty shoot out. However, as fans let’s just enjoy the respite from the league and keep backing the boys.

UTFO