Darlington v Oxford City Match Preview

Quakers look to start the Craig Elliott era with a win at home

⚽ Matchday 16

Darlington🆚 Oxford City

📅 Tuesday, 10th November, 7.45 pm

🏟️ Blackwell Meadows

🎟https://yourclub.darlingtonfc.co.uk/match-tickets

🔥 Match Preview

Darlo return home after two away games on the bounce as they welcome Oxford City to Blackwell Meadows.

The Quakers come into this game after a 3-2 loss away at Spalding, with Jacob Hazel and Mark Beck scoring, and are looking to replicate their last home performance after a 10-day break.

On Friday, Craig Elliott was appointed new manager of Darlington and will oversee his first game on Tuesday night.

At Blackwell Meadows so far, the Quakers have had a slow start, but the most recent home performance saw the Quakers pick up their first home three points as Darlo won 3-0 thanks to a Dylan Stephenson hat-trick against local rivals Spennymoor Town.

Darlington’s opponents, Oxford City, have had a big summer window, bringing in strong players, which has reflected in their league form as they currently sit 3rd in the table with 27 points after 14 league games.

The Hoops come into this match after a big fixture in the first round of the FA Cup as they played former Premier League Champions Leicester City and put in a spirited performance, losing 4-2.

Away from home, Oxford have been nearly perfect, sitting top of the away form table with five wins and one draw in seven away games, scoring 13 goals and conceding three for a total of 16 points.

The two sides have met a few times over the years, with the most recent fixture seeing Oxford City winning 3-1 at Blackwell Meadows on the final day of last season, with the sole Darlo goal coming from Toby Lees.

📰TEAM NEWS

Max Howells had a setback in training and will be out for at least a month.

Brad Walker is working his way back to fitness and is nearing a return.

Dylan Wilkinson is out due to a metatarsal break sustained in training but is recovering well.

Ben Hedley has had some hamstring issues and will have a fitness test.

Scott Barrow remains out with a heart condition but is receiving positive signs.

👤 Player Spotlight

Tyrone Marsh is Oxford’s top goalscorer with nine goals in the league this season. Marsh set the league alight last season with Bedford Town, where he scored 26 goals, helping the Eagles stay up. He has been a huge part of Oxford’s success this season and their impressive cup run.

Scott Pollock is a midfielder to be wary of, with him having seven league goals already. He scored in their big FA Cup game against Leicester, where he scored directly from a corner. Pollock has visited Blackwell Meadows once before, where he scored a brace for Boston; however, Darlington ran out 3-2 winners on the day, with Jacob Hazel and Mark Beck scoring alongside Jake Lawlor.

📈 Recent results

🏁 Darlington