Match Preview: St Albans City vs Oxford City
An in-form Oxford City travel to Clarence Park on Tuesday to take on fellow promotion hopefuls St Albans in Vanarama National League South.
However, the Hoops face a tough test against the relegation battling Angels who have produced strong performances in recent weeks and continue their fight to remain in the VNLS.
Happy Hoops
The Hoops ran riot at the Velocity Stadium on Saturday as they put five goals past ten-man Tonbridge Angels. Two goals from Josh Ashby were followed by a debut goal from Oxford United loanee Gatlin O'Donkor, Joe Iaciofano and Ewan Clark's first career goal to comfortably grab all three points.
Caretaker duo Andy Ballard and Ross Jenkins have an abundance of talent to choose from in their squad. However, they'll be without Harvey Bradbury who serves the third game of his four-game suspension.
City sit in 3rd place in VNLS with four wins in their last five and their threat in front of goal is evident with the Hoops scoring the second most number of goals in the division.
The Saints look to bounce back
The Saints’ form has been mixed in recent weeks, picking up seven points from their last five games. However, despite suffering a 1-0 defeat to Eastbourne Borough in their last fixture, they still remain inside the play off positions.
Ian Allison’s side currently sit in 7th in VNLS and have the opportunity to rise to 5th place if they collect three points.
The Saints aren't to be taken lightly with a strong group of players, with a high number amassing over thirty starts for St Albans this season.
Head to head
27th November 2021: Oxford City 1-4 St Albans (FA Trophy)
8th December 2020: Oxford City 0-0 St Albans
15th February 2020: St Albans 0-0 Oxford City
17th December 2019: Oxford City 3-3 St Albans
5th January 2019: St Albans 1-0 Oxford City
18th August 2018: Oxford City 2-1 St Albans
Ones to watch:
Josh Ashby
The midfielder has been in the goals as of late, grabbing three from his last two games. On Saturday Ashby netted two superb free kicks and against Chelmsford he scored his first ever goal from a header in competitive football.
As an established member of the City starting XI, the hard battling set piece specialist is a core component both going forward and in defence.
Shaun Jeffers
It goes without saying that Shaun Jeffers is one of Vanarama National League South's hottest talents.
The forward has amassed 29 goals from 36 starts in all competitions for the Saints with 22 of these coming in the league. Jeffers has been on red-hot form this season for the Saints and is at the top of the VNLS scoring charts.
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