Match Preview | Oxford City v Spennymoor Town
Looking ahead to our BIG Festive matchday main event.
After picking up a very solid point on the road at Darlington, Oxford City will be looking forward to their homely comforts as they bid to sign off their 2024 home campaign with victory over Spennymoor Town.
This will be the first ever meeting between the two teams, but the away side will pose a tough test.
Town come into this match unbeaten in their last eight league matches. Five of those have been draws, but perhaps more impressive are wins against high-flying Scunthorpe United and Alfreton Town (FA Trophy).
The table is tight, and three points for Spennymoor would take them closer to the play-off places. A win for City would be a big boost and could put real daylight between the Hoops and the bottom four.
FIXTURE DETAILS
Oxford City v Spennymoor Town
The MGroup Stadium – Saturday 21st December – 15:00
Vanarama National League North
Referee: Declan Brown | Assitant Referees: Minesh Gupta & Jeffrey Aldous | Fourth Official: Adam Gregory
FORM
OXFORD CITY - L L W W D
It seems like the Hoops have come through the other side of their winless run in November.
Last time out in the league, a 4-1 thrashing of Farsley Celtic brought that run to an end, but since then they've booked their place in the Fourth Round of the FA Trophy with a 2-1 win over Hadley.
Perhaps the 1-1 draw away at Darlington was even more pleasing though. The Hoops had to dig deep and produce a gritty and determined performance to travel back from the North East with a point, against a Darlo team who have made their home into a fortress this season.
Corie Andrews has been in scintillating form for City with a goal in each of his last three matches.
Ross Jenkins won't be happy with the league table as it stands, three points on Saturday would make for better reading.
SPENNYMOOR TOWN - D D D W W
Spennymoor may come into this match in mid-table, but their aspirations will be for the play-offs.
The problem is turning one point into three. Town have had the most draws in National League North with nine ties already this season (alongside Warrington & Darlington).
To put that into perspective, just three of those draws swinging in their favour would have put them into the play-off places.
They come into this fixture unbeaten in nine matches in all competitions. However, you have to go back to October to find their last win on the road in VNLN. That was a 1-0 win away at Alfreton, which is no mean feat.
Maybe take that stat with a pinch of salt though, because they won their last away match in the FA Trophy. Funnily enough, it was a 1-0 win away at Alfreton...
ONE TO WATCH - Aidan Rutledge
Signing on loan from Gateshead until the end of the season, Rutledge has made an instant impact at Spennymoor.
He grabbed important goals in Town's draws against Marine and Buxton in the league, and adds real firepower to the squad.
The Gateshead-born talent joined his hometown club in the summer of 2023 after catching the eye during a remarkable 2022/23 in the colours of Birtley Town.
Rutledge helped himself to an astonishing 61 goals in just 43 appearances and also chipped in with 15 assists, helping Birtley to secure promotion and earning the BBC Newcastle Player of the Year at the Northern League awards night.
During his debut season at The International Stadium, he made 14 appearances for The Heed Army and also enjoyed successful loan spells with Darlington and Scarborough Athletic during which he netted 11 times tin 29 appearances.
The 24-year-old spent the first half of the current campaign on loan with South Shields but was recalled on Friday to pave the way for his switch to The Brewery Field.
THE MANAGER - Graeme Lee
Graeme Lee was appointed as the new First Team Manager of Spennymoor Town in January 2024 after stepping down from his previous role in charge of Marske United.
Born in Middlesbrough into a football family, Graeme Lee went on to carve out a successful playing career in the Football League during
which he made over 500 senior appearances.
A stylish centre-back, he came through the ranks at Hartlepool United where he made a debut in 1995 at the age of just 17 when
appearing as a substitute against Arsenal in the League Cup.
Unfazed by coming up against the likes of Ian Wright and Dennis Bergkamp, Lee quickly established himself in the Pools back four and was a core part of the team as they reached the League Two play-offs three seasons
in a row.
Lee recovered from a serious knee injury to be a virtual ever-present in the heart of the defence as Pools finally clinched automatic
promotion when they finished runners-up in 2002/03.
His dominant and classy performances meant that Pools boss Chris Turner took him to Sheffield Wednesday when he was appointed boss at Hillsborough and Lee was Player of the Year in his debut campaign.
The Owls bounced back from relegation to win promotion with a Play-Off Final win in 2004/05 – ironically beating Lee’s former side
Hartlepool at The Millennium Stadium – though missed the game through injury.
He moved onto Doncaster Rovers in 2006 and he clinched a place in the Club’s history books when he captained the side to the EFL Trophy
Final in 2007 and scored the winning goal to land the silverware.
Loans at Hartlepool and Shrewsbury Town followed before Lee made a permanent switch to Bradford City in 2008 and then Notts County in 2009 where he went on to win another promotion.
In 2011 he agreed a deal to join Darlington, but financial problems soon beset The Quakers and he left in January 2012 to play the remainder of the season at Celtic Nation before retirement.
Hometown club Middlesbrough offered him the opportunity to cut his teeth in coaching with a position in their much-celebrated Academy and Lee never looked back.
He spent over a decade working in various roles within the Boro set-up before being unveiled as Lead Coach for the club’s Under-23s in
2019.
However, ambition burned deeply inside Lee and when the opportunity arose for him to take up the challenge as Manager of Hartlepool
United in 2021, he could not turn down a return to his former club.
Filling the shoes of promotion-winning boss Dave Challinor was a tough ask, Lee got stuck in and led the team to the semi-finals of the
EFL Trophy as well as a memorable to the FA Cup Fourth Round where almost 5,000 travelling fans saw them beaten at Premier League Crystal Palace.
Fans were surprised when Lee parted company with the club after less than six months in charge but his appetite to prove himself was
undiminished and he reemerged in charge of Marske United last summer.
Financial problems at Mount Pleasant made the job a tricky one but Lee persevered and gave the club’s supporters something to smile about over Christmas as victories over Ashton United and Guiseley helped lift them out of the danger zone.
Lee’s appointment as boss at The Brewery Field means he is following in the footsteps of his legendary father Tony, who was manager of
Spennymoor United in the early-2000s.
HOW TO FOLLOW
FOLLOW THE ACTION:
As per usual, we will be following the game via our Social Channels, including our new WhatsApp Channel where you can read minute-by-minute action as the LIVE event occurs! You can sign up for free HERE.
There's also LIVE commentary on BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website via BBC Radio Oxford.
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