Early next month, Oxford United head back to St James’ Park to face Exeter City in the third round of the Emirates FA Cup – a tie which will bring back fond memories for all Us supporters.

It was against the Grecians that Des Buckingham’s side emerged 2-1 winners on the final day of the 2023/24 season to secure a place in the League 1 play-offs. The rest, as they say, is history, as United found their way to the Championship following an unforgettable 2-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers in the final at Wembley.

We wish Des and the team the best of luck in the next stage of their FA Cup journey and hope history can repeat itself in Exeter.

However, on the subject of history and the FA Cup, 2024 marks a significant anniversary of a piece of Oxfordshire football history.

150 years ago, an Oxfordshire team would go on to WIN the 1874 FA Cup Final, as Oxford University beat Royal Engineers 2-0 at The Oval.

Going into the final, Major Marindin’s Engineers, from Chatham, were the best team in the country during the initial four years of the FA Cup. All of their cup ties were against the leading teams in the country, including the Wanderers and the University sides. During that four-year period, the Engineers scored an incredible 244 goals and conceded just 21. Only three of their 86 cup fixtures ended in defeat, including the 1874 final.

Oxford had been one of the Engineers’ most challenging opponents, with many of the games between the two sides closely contested fixtures. Having suffered defeat in the 1873 final, Oxford swept their way through to the 1874 final, who dominated the Engineers in the final.

Mackarness opened the scoring for Oxford following a corner, and despite the Engineers continuing to threaten at the other end, Ottaway, Chappell-Maddison, and Vidal broke away, before Patton scored Oxford’s second goal.

At that time, both teams were obliged to change ends after every goal scored. The Engineers were required to defend for long periods of the game. They came close to scoring through Renny-Tailyour’s shot which hit a post, but it wasn’t to be as Oxford held on to secure a 2-0 victory.

The game has changed remarkably since that FA Cup Final; however, it provides an important reminder of the incredibly rich history of the oldest cup competition in the world, and the heritage that exists within the game in Oxfordshire.