Oxfordshire Senior Cup Second Round
Eynsham Park, North Leigh
Admission: Free
Programme: None
Attendance: 82
This game caught my eye early in the week, providing an opportunity to tick off one of four remaining grounda for me in the Southern League Division One Central free of charge - a welcome bonus considering the fairly expensive jounrey to get there - around £30. The usual admission charge is a very reasonable £8.00 however, and I made sure that I ate and drank at the ground today rather than elsewhere. This game also had the added bonus of being quite an interesting looking cup game with the potential for a big giant killing. I did think twice as the weekend approached, when Storm Arwen was forecast to batter the UK with strong winds and wintry conditions overnight and into this morning, affecting the country worse the further north one went. But with a 1.30 kick off conducive to rerouting to several back-ups games I had in case of a mid morning postponement, I stuck with my plan to head up to Oxfordshire, and to my relief, North Leigh helpfully tweeted mid morning that it was “game on”.
Eynsham Park is about three miles westwards from Hanborough train station, with a half hourly bus service plying the route. A fixture board is located next to the lane leading from the passing main road through a short woodland area, around junior pitches, and ending in an area for parking just in front of the ground. The usual turnstile block in one corner was logically not in use today, given that this match was free admission for all, instead visitors today entered through an open gate behind one end, next to a covered area with three terrace steps and an attractive club mural along the back wall. The clubhouse is located beyond the covered area, and is easy on the eye from the outside with its gable roof and brightly decorated and comfortably laid out inside with a good range of drinks and home made filled rolls available, along with several screens to watch a televised game on. Hot food is available for a hatch just outside, an uncovered area with picnic tables is located to the side - but out of view from the pitch, and a large tent has been erected from the corner flag stretching towards the half way line, but seems to have barely been used recently, perhaps unsurprisingly now we’re in the colder months and is also presumably a legacy from the stricter Covid times. A fairly large modern metallic all seater stand straddles the half way line, with just hard standing available around the rest of the ground. There is a very noticeable downward slope from the clubhouse end, and the ground has a pleasantly rural and peaceful backdrop, with plenty of surrounding trees, a hedgerow making up the perimeter boundary behind the bottom end, and the Eynsham Hall mansion makes for an unusual sight at a football ground. North Leigh usually produce a decent online programme for their Southern League fixtures, but for today, there was just a thorough preview of the game featured as a news item on the club's website.
There was no doubting that today's fixture would be a very tough assignment indeed for the visitors, with three pyramid steps separating the two clubs. North Leigh are doing very well in the Southern League Division One Central, up in third place following ten wins and four draws from 18 league games, although they have played more games than all clubs around them. Scoring hasn't been a problem for them, scoring 11 goals in their last three games, including a 6-1 win in their last home game. Today would be North Leigh's first game in this competition this season. Yarnton are mid table in the Oxfordshire Senior League Premier Division, in seventh place following four wins and four defeats in their eight league games so far. They too have not been shy in finding the back of the net, scoring 30 goals in their last seven games in all competitions. In the previous round of this competition, Yarnton won 2-0 at home to fellow Oxfordshire Senior League Premier Division side Marston Saints.
On a bitterly cold and breezy afternoon, probably feeling all the more arctic given the hitherto very mild autumn this year, but at least it was mercifully dry, the first half saw North Leigh unsurprisingly dominate proceedings as the underdogs struggled to keep possession in the rare times then gained it, but the hosts only had one goal to show for their dominance, coming on 26 minutes, when Ezra Anthonio-Forde crossed the ball low from the left, evading several players in front of goal, finding its way to Scott Isherwood who was all alone and had time to fire the ball in off the far post. North Leigh had other chances, though Yarnton also managed to get forward themselves without really threatening. But trailing by just a goal at the break, they were still very much in the game to cause an upset, although they would be playing up the slope in the second half.
However, it didn't take the hosts too long to wrap the game up after the restart. After an outstretched toe by Jamal Branker sent the ball looping over the keeper and off the woodwork a minute after the break, they doubled their lead on 47 minutes when a cross shot from outside the area whipped the ball in off the far post, with the keeper rooted. On 54 minutes Jordan Thomas saw his shot from a central position at the end of the area skim the top of the crossbar, before they made it 3-0 on 59 minutes when, following a corner, the ball landed at the feet of Thomas, and he had time and space to get his shot away and although a defender got his boot to the ball, it squirmed over the line. Yarnton then had their best spell of the game, keeping possession a little better and getting forward a little more, but North Leigh scored their fourth on 79 minutes, when Lance Williams struck a shot on the turn and with the keeper possibly unsighted and virtually motionless, the ball bobbled in, just inside the far post. And the hosts made it five on 87 minutes, when Aaron McCreadie surged into the area, playing a one two with Williams, before his shot at goal just about made its way through a couple of defenders and over the line. And five nil was how it ended, a convincing scoreline reflecting a convincing performance to earn their progression to the next round. Yarnton certainly didn't disgrace themselves, they simply came up against a much stronger outfit but will still no doubt have enjoyed testing themselves against a Southern League outfit as well as their day out at facilities far superior to those usually encountered in the Oxfordshire Senior League.
