PREVIEW Oxford United v Hartlepool United

A full guide to Saturday's FA Cup game at the Kassam Stadium

3 January 2020

Oxford United welcome Hartlepool United to the Kassam Stadium in the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday

TEAM NEWS
Sam Long steps up at right back after the departure of Chris Cadden while Jordan Archer stands by for the last game of his time with the U's. Simon Eastwood is back in training and should be available next week when the U's welcome second placed Rotherham United in Sky Bet League 1.

Cameron Brannagan should also be available for that game while Jamie Hanson is not far behind in his recovery from a hamstring injury.

THE OPPOSITION
Hartlepool are currently in 16th place in the National league and will be without Luke James and Luke Williams through injury while loanees Mark Shelton and Gary Liddle are cup-tied.

“Saturday will be a game all the lads want to play in and there’s going to be some who are disappointed but that’s what you get with a competitive squad" Manager Dave Challinor said

“But there’s not many who can say they’ve been really unlucky not to have played. They’ve got to put themselves in our thoughts and everyone will be involved with the seven subs so if the opportunity comes from the bench then all of a sudden you have the chance to be a hero.

“The lads who start have got to go and fly the flag for us as a club and hopefully they’ll do a good job.”

The Quiz

The Programme

Match Information

TICKETS
Prices have been reduced for this game to:

Adult	£10
Over 65	£5
Young Adult 18-21	£5
Under 18	£5
Under13	£5
Under 7*	£1

*Accompanied by an Adult

MGroup 1893 Club

£22- Adult

£17- Under 18 and Over 65

£10 – Under 13

Tickets are on sale online from oufctickets.co.uk and from the Ticket Office to personal and telephone callers 01865 337533 as well as on the day.

Areas available are the South Upper (other than the end blocks), South East lower (other than the end block), East (not end blocks), the MGroup 1893 Club and Executive boxes. The North Stand is closed to home fans for this game and Season Ticket holders’ seats are not reserved.

Executive Boxes: £250 + VAT Email commercial@oufc.co.uk or call 01865 337503 or 337513 for details regarding boxes

MINUTE'S SILENCE
All of this weekend's FA Cup games will kick off one minute late to allow fans a minute to reflect on Mental well-being. That minute will also allow us to pay our respects to the Oxford United fans and former players and manager who sadly passed away in 2019, including John Shuker. Supporters are also asked to join in a minute's applause in the 77th minute for John, the club's record appearance holder, whose family will be our guests on Saturday.

FAMILY

The Family Room is NOT open for this game due to the North Stand not being open but we have a full Family Guide to games available here: OUFCFamily.pdf

PARKING
There are circa 2,000 free parking spaces at the stadium.

Away fans- Please park in the West car park - the one closest to the cinema and bowling complex at the fence end of the ground.

BUSES
Buses to the ground are the

Oxford Bus Company

Service 3A and 5

Stagecoach
1, 3, 3A, 12, 16 and 16A

The 1 and 5 routes operate every four minutes from the rail station and city centre to Spindlebury Close and Knights Road, which is just a five minute walk away.

The OX2, OX3 and OX7 buses are not in operation as they only run for league matches.

AWAY GUIDE

If you are a Hartlepool fan travelling to the game then a full Supporters Guide is available here: OUFCAwayDayInfo.pdf

CLUB SHOP

The Club Shop is open and has plenty of ways to help you show your colours in the new year

COVERAGE

You can follow the whole game on twitter through @OUFCOfficial, or here in our Match Centre, and hear the game in iFollow if you are in the UK or see it if you are abroad.

Match Previews

Match Reports

REPORT Oxford United 4 Hartlepool United 1

Four second half goals send United through in the FA Cup

4 January 2020

Four second half goals helped Oxford United overcome a brave Hartlepool side and progress through to Monday night's draw for the fourth round of the FA Cup. Trailing to an early Mark Kitching goal, United showed patience and belief and two superb finishes from Rob Hall and Shandon Baptiste and late strikes from Tariqe Fosu and Matty Taylor were enough to send them through.

Hartlepool were fantastic at the back all afternoon and will feel aggrieved by the scoreline, with former U’s defender Michael Raynes organising and encouraging those around him, and in any cup game you are always going to get a chance.

On nine minutes they took full advantage of some very uncharacteristic Oxford defending to take the lead and raise hopes of an upset. Rob Dickie's back pass was underhit but could still have been cleared, but instead Jordan Archer and Elliott Moore admired it, Kitching seized the initiative and ran through to poke it past the stranded keeper to spark wild scenes from the excellent 779 away fans who had made the long journey south.

United didn’t panic and dominated possession but couldn’t convert either a string of corners in the opening period or a number of half chances around the box; Hall pinged one wide on 26, Raynes blocked from Dickie, keeper Beeney threw himself on a Baptiste effort on 34 minutes and every time United threatened the goal a Pools player stubbornly threw themselves in front of it in a frustrating first 45 minutes.

The second half was a different story though. It was always going to be either a touch of class or a stroke of luck that got United back into the game and seven minutes into the second half Hall provided the former with a clever finish to draw his side level. Good work from Mark Sykes left Hall in space on the edge of the box and he used a defender as a shield to curl a perfectly placed effort into the bottom left corner with Beeney helpless.

United then spent a long time camped around the Hartlepool penalty area as they tried to find the winner. Baptiste did all he could from midfield, Hall pushed and teased, Long swung in crosses and United continued to turn the screw as Hartlepool dropped deeper and deeper to try and cling on for a replay.

We told you about brilliance as a method of breaking down a stubborn back line? The second goal was a wonderful example. Baptiste had no right to get past two men on the edge of the box, even less to squirm past another two, stay on his feet, commit the keeper and then roll the ball home. It was a magnificent effort and deservedly put United in front while also entering the fierce competition to find United's Goal of the Season.

Could Hartlepool respond? Well they tried. They sent men forward but in the end that was their undoing. First sub Fabio Lopes scuffed a shot across goal and Fosu, captain for the day, was at the back post to tap home for 3-1. Then Fosu backheeled, Sykes was tripped and Taylor finally ended the visitors' resistance with a thunderous penalty that booked United's place in the next round.

A fine display, four more goals and a place in the fourth round. United are having a terrific season and now have two big home league games in a row against Rotherham and Ipswich Town. Come and join us...

Att: 6,240

Away: 779

Report by Chris Williams. Pictures by Steve Daniels, stats by OPTA

Match Reports

Standings

The Quiz

The Programme

Match Information