Johnstone's Paint Trophy Southern Section Quarter-Final: Oxford United v Southend United

Headington had no regular home until 1913, when they were able to purchase Wootten's Field on London Road, but this was redeveloped in 1920.A permanent home was finally found in 1926, when they purchased the Manor Ground site on London Road.

The facility was used as a cricket pitch in the summer, and a football pitch in the winter, until the cricketers moved out during the 1940s.

In 1899, six years after their formation, Headington United joined the Oxfordshire District League Second Division, where they competed until the outbreak of the First World War; the Second Division was renamed the Oxfordshire Junior League after the resumption of football in 1919.

In 1921 the club was admitted into the Oxon Senior League.The first season included a 9-0 victory, with 8 goals coming from P. Drewitt. This remains a record for the highest number of goals scored by an Oxford player in a first-team match.

A move into professional football was first considered during the second season. Vic Couling, the president at the time, had applied for Headington to become a member of a new Second Division in the Southern League.Other teams that applied included Weymouth, Kettering Town and future league side Cambridge United.

Despite the plans being postponed, the First Division was going to be expanded by two clubs; Weymouth and Headington were elected. It was later discovered that Llanelli had just one fewer vote than Headington.

They played their first season in the Southern League in 1949, the same year they turned professional.Former First Division forward Harry Thompson was hired as manager.

The club installed floodlights in 1950, the first professional club in Britain to do so,and the first floodlit game was held on 18 December against Banbury Spencer.

Headington United initially played in orange and blue shirts, but changed to yellow home shirts for the 1957-58 season.The reason for the change is unknown. In 1960, Headington United was renamed Oxford United, to give the club a higher profile.

Oxford United finished eighteenth in the 1985-86 First Division campaign,avoiding relegation on the last day of the season.

They also won the Football League Cup, known at the time as the Milk Cup under a sponsorship deal, beating Queens Park Rangers 3-0 in the final at Wembley. They would have qualified for the UEFA Cup the following season, had it not been for the ban on English teams that had resulted from the previous year's Heysel Stadium disaster.

After beating fellow First Division side Aston Villa in the semi-final 4-3 on aggregate,Oxford faced Queens Park Rangers in the final, which was held at Wembley Stadium on 20 April 1986. The final result was 3-0 with goals from Trevor Hebberd, Ray Houghton and Jeremy Charles.

After the match, manager Maurice Evans asked long-serving physiotherapist, 72-year-old Ken Fish, to collect a winner's medal instead of himself.It was the last time the League Cup was played under the name "Milk Cup".

1986-87 saw Oxford United survive another relegation battle and stay in the First Division. Robert Maxwell resigned as chairman in May 1987 to take over at Derby County, handing the club to his son Kevin. Maurice Evans was sacked in March 1988 with Oxford bottom of the First Division and destined for relegation after three years in the top flight.

They remain the only cub to have played in the top flight to end up in the Conference.

Now managed by former Halifax Town boss Chris Wilder.Wilder's arrival for the 2008/09 Blue Square Premier season lead to 15 wins from the next 21.A 5-point deduction for fielding an unregistered player resulted in a seventh-place finish, four points and two places short of the play-offs.

Oxford led the table for most of the first half of the 2009-10 season but dropped into the playoff places by the end of the season, finishing third. They beat Rushden & Diamonds over two legs to advance to the playoff final against York City, the club's second-ever visit to Wembley Stadium and their first to the new stadium.

On May 16, 2010, Oxford won the Conference National play-off Final against York City, beating them 3-1 to return to the Football League for the 2010-11 season.The attendance was over 33,000,notably large for a non-League club.

Oxford's first game in the return to the Football League was away to Burton, which finished in a 0-0 draw. Oxford got their first win back in the Football League on September 4th against Morecambe at the Kassam Stadium, winning 4-0, thanks to a James Constable hat-trick.

Last Season

(For a more comprehensive history of the club, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_United.)