Oxford City vs Leicester City FA Cup first round, Digi Mart USA News: A non-league football club is preparing for one of the biggest days in its history as it prepares to host 2021 FA Cup winners Leicester City in the first round of the competition.
Oxford City will welcome the Foxes to the MGroup Stadium at Court Place Farm, hoping to add to the list of great FA Cup upsets on Friday night. The Hoops currently sit second in National League North, while their opponents are 10th in League One, a difference of 64 places in the English football pyramid.
Justin Merritt, Oxford City’s chief executive, said the club was “loving our bit in the limelight.” He said staff behind the scenes had been “working tirelessly” to prepare the ground, which is about a tenth the size of Leicester’s home stadium.
“We’ve brought in extra stands and all sorts of things like pop-up hospitality areas, bars. Hosting three and a half thousand people is not the norm for us,” Merritt said.
The Hoops have had a strong start to their National League North campaign, winning eight and drawing three of their first 14 games. Merritt said the players were “really up for” Friday night’s cup tie and that the club was ready to “give a fantastic account of themselves.”
“Eight times out of 10 you’d expect a team three leagues above to win with a strong squad, but there’s always those two times,” he said. “We’ll be giving it every single thing we can, and we’re really hoping to show what a great club we are and what a great set of players we have.”
Among those players is midfielder Scott Pollock, who scored the winning goal in the final qualifying round to send the Hoops into the first round proper. Pollock is a boyhood Leicester City fan and said Friday’s tie “just felt like it was meant to be.”
“Obviously as a Leicester fan myself, I knew there was an option for us to get them in the next round,” he said. “I think at home we’ve got a good chance of going through.”
The 25-year-old had unsuccessful trials at his boyhood club as a teenager and instead found his way into the game through the Hashtag United YouTube team. He is now ready to get one back on the team he still supports.
“A lot of my dad’s side are from Leicester so they’re all supporting them,” he explained. “It’ll be quite funny when they’re watching it on TV supporting me but then also supporting Leicester.”
Full match commentary of Oxford City vs Leicester City will be available on BBC Radio Oxford, with kick-off at 19:45 GMT.
