Time now for our first new away day adventure of the 2024/25 season. I had earmarked Oxford United for last season, but a pesky international break had put paid to that when the club had their game against Lincoln City postponed due to national call-ups. So, it made sense to scratch that itch next and on November 23rd I and four friends made the trip to the most famous of university cities, to watch The U's take on play-off chasing Middlesbrough. Michael Carrick's team having ominously discovered the goal-scoring touch in their previous two games, by scoring nine.
I was nervous about getting tickets for a group of five, because this is the first Oxford United campaign in the second tier for twenty-five long years and demand would naturally be a little higher than before. Couple that with the oddity of the Kassam Stadium only having three stands, and I had reasons to be doubtful of my chances of getting in. However, despite all that, it turns out all of the home games this season have ended up getting to the general sale stage and so I bagged us spots close to the pitch in the 'Planet IT Stand'.
As for our transportation, the journey by train was fairly straightforward, with one change required within the hour and twenty minutes there. However, what we had failed to grasp during our planning, was that the Kassam Stadium suffers from being one of those more modern constructs that is situated far from the hustle and bustle of the area it's supposed to represent (unlike their previous home the Manor Ground). Before we got to navigating our way back out to the edge of the city though, we got acquainted with another old institution- the Turf Tavern.
Tucked away within the historic streets near Oxford University, and on the edge of the old city wall, this pub has been around in one guise or another for almost 650 years! It's got plenty of character, low wooden beams that warn you not to bump your head, and more importantly a decent range of beer and ale. The only downsides were people queuing at the bar and the feeling that some patrons were mostly there to look good on social media rather than enjoying the moment. Still, if the Kassam wasn't so far away from civilisation, I'm sure we would have stayed for more. As it was, a walk to the home of Oxford United, on the southern outskirts, would have taken as long as our train journey, but thankfully the bus set-up was fairly seamless and it took us from the high street to the stadium in a little over half an hour.
The Kassam is situated to the side of the 'Ozone Leisure Park', where a Hollywood Bowl, Vue Cinema and other entertainment facilities reside, and it's easy to see why some Yellows fans have never really taken to the controversial site. The leisure park, like the stadium, remains owned by the Firoka Group and their CEO (former Oxford United custodian) Firoz Kassam. The group also lease the local Priory Pub from the council but, rather than being an excellent ancient boozer near to the ground with a history that would appeal to Wolf Hall devotees, it has been scandalously allowed to rot over the past eleven years. The local authorities have been impotent in their efforts to force Firoka to carry out repairs, let alone restore it to former glories.
Once we were at the stadium, I slinked off to get my customary programme whilst the rest of the gang went to the Hollywood Bowl for a final pre-match pint. I found it strange that there were only two burger vans found around the whole site, as the vast majority of football grounds have a wealth of options for hungry fans. That being said, there were a selection of pies available within the stadium, which seemed to go down well with one of my mates. Once we were seated and ready for the kick-off, it took a while to adjust to the wide open space where there should be a west stand, and whilst it certainly makes the Kassam Stadium unique, it's easy to see why some away fans have taken to dismissing it as a glorified car park.
Away from the insults of rival fans, the Kassam in many ways represents unfulfilled potential, and now that Oxford United have their highest league status in a quarter of a century there is momentum building for the club to start afresh with another new home. The planned capacity is 16,000 and it would put them at the polar opposite to where they are now, on the northern tip of the city, but with better public transport links and out of the landlord clutches of Firoz Kassam.
But what about the game I hear you cry?! Well, for a start it delivered the most goals of any football away day so far, by some distance. For the opening twenty minutes it was a case of Middlesbrough looking like the better team but not being very clinical, whilst Oxford were manfully defending and offered the occasional threat on the counter. However, that all changed in the twenty-fourth minute when the home side sent in a corner to the far post that was guided back along the six yard box by the captain Elliot Moore and swept into the goal by Greg Leigh.
This seemed to give the away side the kick that they needed as they began to show a bit more aggression, and in the thirty-seventh minute they were gifted a route back into the game with a penalty. From our vantage point we thought it was a soft decision, but later replays showed that it was in fact a needless and silly way to allow Boro their equaliser. A burst of pace from Liverpool loanee, Ben Doak, saw him surge into the right side of the Oxford penalty area, but as his poke towards goal ended up in the side netting, Moore slid in and took out the man. Up stepped Emmanuel Latte Lath, who tucked it into the left corner for 1-1.
Then came the pivotal moment of the whole game. With half-time approaching The U's striker, Mark Harris, was put through on goal and looked certain to regain the lead for the hosts. Sadly, he fluffed his lines and allowed the Boro 'keeper to snuff out the danger, and the opportunity was lost. Little did we know how badly Oxford would pay for that, as Michael Carrick's team stroked the ball around and scored twice more before we even got to half-time. When a failed cross kindly rebounded to Latte Lath in the forty-second minute, he squared it to Finn Azaz who stroked the ball into the bottom left corner from the edge of the box. Middlesbrough turned the screw and made it 3-1 in the forty-fifth minute, after the Oxford defence were closed down and lost possession. Azaz got hold of it and slipped in a great through-ball for Latte Lath to just beat the offside and slip it past Jamie Cumming.
The past twenty-five minutes had been a whirlwind and it was a little confusing to work out how Oxford had ended up in the position that they now were. Unfortunately, the home side never really recovered and the second half would see Boro ruthlessly express themselves. With just forty-nine minutes on the clock the away side had effectively put the game to bed as they went 4-1 up. A long ball over the top, from Azaz, was collected by a grateful Latte Lath, just inside the penalty area, and he completed his hat-trick by guiding a shot into the bottom left corner.
Oxford then briefly, belatedly rallied. Cameron Brannigan arrowed in a great attempt across goal that skimmed the cross bar before going out. And with eighteen minutes to go, some decent control from Tyler Goodrham afforded him the space to break forward and feed the Tottenham loanee Dane Scarlett, who guided the ball under the 'keeper with aplomb. For almost eight minutes there was a faint sense that if Des Buckingham could rally his team to score another, Oxford would be on for a barnstorming finish. Alas, that bubble burst when the Boro substitute, Tommy Conway, scored following some nice individual skill that allowed him to craft an accurate strike from the edge of the box.
Finally, the visitors made it 6-2 via some more magic from Azaz, when he gathered a defensive cut-back in the eighty-third minute and with his second touch curled the ball into the bottom right corner from twenty yards. There was no doubt that we had witnessed a rout of our adopted team for the day, although there was a question of what if Harris had given Oxford the lead before half-time. On the other hand, The U's capitulation wasn't a good sign for their battle against relegation, yes Boro were rampant and displayed superb finishing but they'll need to learn their lessons quickly if they want to extend their Championship stay.
After the match, one of our group went rogue and persuaded us to go for a walk instead of trying to bus it back to the city centre, and so came to pass one of those away day mishaps! After a twenty minute wander up Grenoble Road, we happened upon the Catherine Wheel pub, a pleasant local with two friendly bar ladies wearing their Oxford United shirts. Getting hold of a taxi to take us back towards the train station would take quite a while, so in the meantime we enjoyed some beer and watched the surprising demolition of Manchester City by Spurs in the late kick-off.
In the end we made our train with twenty minutes to spare and had plenty to discuss from a lively and slightly chaotic away day. We'll certainly be hard-pressed to see more goals in our future adventures, or another stadium that looks like the builders left before finishing the job. Which is exactly why we love these journeys so much, each one is a unique experience in itself and a part of what makes football the most intoxicating sport there is.
Click this link to read about our other football away day adventures