City’s first game of the new season saw Eastbourne Borough travel to the RAW Charging Stadium to kick off the Vanarama National League South 22/23 campaign.

Before the whistle, the ground held a minute’s silence in the remembrance of former Vice Chairman Bob Holt. A man whose heart bled white and blue and was a key member in the regeneration of his beloved Oxford City Football Club. The silence was impeccably observed by both supporters.

A hopeful start to the league for the Hoops took an early hit as Canice Carroll handled the ball in the area, which gave the referee no chance but to point to the spot. James Hammond stepped up and planted his effort straight down the middle to gift The Sports an early lead.

Twenty minutes later, City found themselves two behind from another Borough corner. A lofted ball into the corridor of uncertainty caused a goalmouth scramble whereby the final touch from Mitchell Dickenson poked the ball underneath Ben Dudzinski to double the visitors lead.

An already rough day at the office for the Hoops took a further hit on the half hour mark. Carroll‘s attempt at finding a City player fell wayward as it landed into the path of Greg Luer, who with a free run-on goal had the time to produce a tidy finish into the top left corner and cement a strong lead.

It was not until the back end of the first-half that the Hoops finally began to give Lee Worgan something to think about. Lewis Coyle plucked the ball from an attempted Borough clearance and fired a volley towards goal which only skimmed the top of the crossbar.

Halftime: Oxford City 0 – 3 Eastbourne Borough

City came flying out the blocks after the interval and cut the deficit soon after. Klaidi Lolos’ dancing feet on the edge of the box found space to pull the trigger and his effort was perfectly placed to find the bottom right corner.

A clear swing in momentum fell the Hoops' way as they pegged back Danny Bloor’s men in the second-half. Reece Fleet’s strike from the edge of the box forced a save from Worgan as Eastbourne struggled to get the ball out of their own half.

Joe Iaciofano caught a sniff at goal as he darted into the box from the right. Cutting inside, the forward let fly from a tight angle in which Worgan matched with a nice catch.

The Sports foothold in the game grew as the chances from the boys in blue and white dwindled. In the hope of grabbing a point, Jenkins pushed Latrell Humphrey-Ewers, Jean-Baptiste Fischer, and Lewis Miccio into the fray to shake things up.

However, it was not to be for City as The Sports saw out the second half and took all three points back to Sussex.

The Hoops hope their fortune changes as they travel to the Mozzarella Fellas Stadium to take on St Albans City in their next Vanarama National League South fixture.

Full-time: Oxford City 1 – 3 Eastbourne Borough

Starting XI: Dudzinski, Ashby, Burley (Humphrey-Ewers, 82’), Rowan, Coyle (Miccio 84’), Fleet ©, Iaciofano, McEachran, Lolos, Williams-Bushell (Fischer, 84’), Carroll

Unused Subs: Harrison, Muchechetere

Attendance: 312