Bishops Cleeve 3-1 OCFC

Whether or not City would have won this match if it had not occurred it is hard to say but, and this is to take nothing away from Bishops Cleeve’s performance, the inexplicable dismissal of Ray Spence after 22 minutes had an absolutely immense effect on the outcome of this cup-tie.

In between the downpours City started a little slowly with the home forwards looking the more lively, and with a loose ball bobbling around the box Corbett was the quickest to react and hooked the ball past Wilkins after 4 minutes to give the Gloucestershire team an early boost. They pressed forward in numbers looking for a second: Slack crashed a free-kick against the wall after Collins had been felled on the edge of the box, and then Curtis skimmed the top of the crossbar with a header.
City began to raise the tempo and after 17 minutes Ray Spence harried a defender into an error and took the ball on to beat Skeen with a shot low into the net. This lifted the visitors and it seemed that they were beginning to gain the upper-hand in mid-field: then came the sending-off. Following a discussion with his assistant Mr Amphlett called Spence to him and, after a moment’s discussion, produced the red-card. It was unclear to both sets of supporters, and, indeed, the players, what the reason was for the dismissal: some thought it was for an elbow; others for dissent. Suffice it to say that, whatever the reason, the incident knocked the stuffing out of the team for some time.

City gradually gathered themselves and it looked as though the rejigged formation had weathered the storm, and that they might go in at half-time all-square, when a momentary lapse at the back found Curtis with time and space to plant a firm header beyond Wilkins to restore the lead.

HALF-TIME: Bishops Cleeve 2-1 Oxford City

City increased the pressure after the break and Mark Avery shot just over after 50 minutes. With the visitors committed to pushing forward Bishops Cleeve were hitting City on the break, but a combination of hasty finishing, good tackling and goalkeeping kept the difference between the sides to the single goal.

City were still getting good possession in mid-field but the delivery of the final pass was too often inaccurate, and indeed the nearest they came to that elusive second goal was when a first-time shot by Avery from a Jones corner flashed just the wrong side of the post.
The home defence generally dealt well with all that the black-and-white stripes could throw at them, and with five minutes left were gifted a final goal when a clearance went straight to Kevin Slack who rounded Wilkins and passed the ball into the empty net.
FULL-TIME: Bishops Cleeve 3-1 Oxford City

City: Wilkins, Durrant (Burnley 78), Rendell (Stewart 45), Avery, Craker, Takriti, Williams G., Merritt, Alleyne (Keen 70), Spence, Jones.