FIXTURE DETAILS

 Oxford City vs Ebbsfleet United

Vanarama National League

The RAW Charging Stadium | Saturday 27th January, 15:00

Referee: Aaron Jackson   Assistants: Peter Lowe & Benjamin Williamson   Fourth Official: Craig Green



RECENT FORM

Oxford City - L W L L L

It's safe to say that luck has clearly deserted the Hoops!

Will Davies' 90+2nd minute strike to steal all three points for York on Tuesday night summed up the season in a nutshell.

In a match where City came out flying after the interval, it would have been fair to say that a point would've been more than a fair result. However, after one lapse of concentration and a marginal offside call missed by the assistant referee, and Ross Jenkins' side came away with zilch.

Three points in their last five games doesn't make for pretty reading, but perhaps City are due a result?

Each of City's last five defeats have ended in a scoreline of 2-1. Now with signs of possible returns for long-term injury absentees, if the Hoops can tighten up at the back - then surely the points will start to return?

Ebbsfleet United - L L W L W

Ebbsfleet's recent form has been more akin to the Dennis Kutrieb side we've become accustomed to!

A 1-0 away win against recently relegated Rochdale was just the start to the season that the Fleet would've wanted, in order to kick-on from last season's title win.

However, since then, they've dropped into the dog-fight alongside the Hoops.

But, in their last five matches, two of their defeats have come against an impressive Bromley side gunning for promotion, and a rejuvenated Hartlepool United side. Furthermore, they've given themselves every chance of surviving this season, beating both Wealdstone & Maidenhead to haul themselves up the table.

If they can pick up another three points on Saturday, Ebbsfleet will have secured back-to-back wins for the first time this season. Furthermore, the gap between themselves & Oxford City will stretch to nine points, and would also possibly (depending on other results) put daylight between themselves and the drop zone.

THE GAFFER'S THOUGHTS - ROSS JENKINS

“It’s always a difficult game (against Ebbsfleet), we know them very well.

“It’s always been a battle, and at their place we put on a performance and scored some good goals, and in a game where I thought we thoroughly deserved the win.

“They’re going to be full of enthusiasm and they’ll know a little bit more about us than other teams because we’ve played against them many times.

“They’re not going to rollover easily. They’ve had a couple of good wins, but we’ve been playing really well and I feel we’ve been unlucky."

Read the full interview HERE.



ONE TO WATCH - Dominic Poleon

A familiar name due to his goalscoring habits of last season, Domnic Poleon’s influence at Ebbsfleet cannot be understated.

The St. Lucian international racked up an incredible 36 goals for Ebbsfleet in their title winning campaign last year, and has started this season in similar vein. Poleon missed over a month with injury, but is still his sides leading scorer this year with 8 in 12.

Poleon played youth football for Chelsea and Southend, before making a move to Leeds United in 2009.

This is where he made his first team debut, as he was brought on as an eighteen year-old by Neil Warnock against Shrewsbury Town.

Poleon went on to score three times for the Yorkshire side, before departing the club in 2014.

He then had short spells at Oldham, Wimbledon, Bradford, Crawley and Newport, before eventually finding his feet at Ebbsfleet in 2021.

He scored 17 goals in his debut season, but his Ebbsfleet side were unable to overcome Dorking in the play-off final.

In his second season in the National League South, Poleon took the division by storm. He scored 36 goals in 43 appearances, inclduing four hattricks, one of which was against the Hoops. He won the Player of the Year award at the end of the 2022/23 season.

He continued where he left off at the start of this year as well, scoring ten goals for club and country in just six games before his injury, including a hattrick in his second St. Lucia cap.



The Fleet will be hoping he can get back to this level in the next few weeks, and use his goals to steer them away from the releagtion places.

HAVE WE MET BEFORE?

How could we forget?

The last two games between the Hoops & the Fleet have been extremely memorable for both clubs.

Earlier this season, City thrashed Ebbsfleet 4-0 with goals from Cole Kpekawa, Zac McEachran, Olly Sanderson & Alex McQueen securing the points in a crazy match. Billy Clifford was also sent off for the hosts on that occasion.

Although, last season, it was Ebbsfleet who ran out as winners at the Kufflink Stadium. A Dominic Poleon hat-trick put City to the sword in National League South, a result that secured our opponents the NLS title.



THE MANAGER - Dennis Kutrieb

The only manager in the league from outside the British Isles, Kutrieb became Ebbsfleet’s main man in 2020.

His only other previous managerial roles were in the lower tiers of the German game, where, in his final season before joining Ebbsfleet, he got Tennis Borussia Berlin promoted to the fourth tier of the German game.

In Kutrieb’s first season, he was unable to keep Ebbsfleet in the National League South. However, he bounced back the next year, nearly coming straight back up, but for a loss in the play-off final.

And he went one further last year, winning the title with 103 points, and scoring 110 goals in the process. After promotion, Kutrieb signed a contract to keep him at the club till 2026.



PLAYED FOR BOTH

Both squads have a player that has featured for both sides. Omari Sterling-James joined Ebbsfleet in 2021 from Kidderminster Harriers, and played for the Hoops on loan in the 2015/16 season. In our team, Chris Haigh is currently loaned in from Ebbsfleet for the remainder of the season.

Luke Coulson and Adam Mekki are two more names that have played for both sides. Winger Coulson is now at Dartford, but made over 40 appearances for each team. He was at City in 2015/16 as well, before ending up at Ebbsfleet in 2017.

Welsh midfielder Mekki, enjoyed a short spell at City as a youngster back in 2011, scoring twice. He spent two years at Ebbsfleet much more recently, leaving them at the end of last season to join Dorking.

HOW TO FOLLOW

TICKETS:

Get your tickets in advance for this fixture and make a saving whilst doing so! You can buy your tickets by clicking HERE.

FOLLOW THE ACTION:

Stay tuned to our official Twitter page for all the build-up, regular updates and post-match action.

LIVE COMMENTARY ON BBC SOUNDS

This match will have LIVE commentary on BBC Sounds curtesy of BBC Radio Oxford. Simply tune in to BBC Radio Oxford on the BBC Sounds app, or head to the non-league commentary page HERE.