After hitting a relatively rough patch of form in the league of late (at least by our high standards this season), the FA Cup fourth round came as a welcome distraction and a tie against Oxford would hopefully give us the chance to notch a rare win on the road.
This blog has taken an unplanned hiatus in recent weeks, with motivation to write about the two defeats in the capital largely non-existent.
Suffice to say, the West Ham game was just as dreadful as everyone said, but the trip to Arsenal saw
a much better performance during which we ultimately fell short against the best side in the league. No great shame and it’s certainly time to put those two in the proverbial bin and move on.
The jaunt to Oxford would’ve taken place on the only consistently bright, sunny day of the year so far on Saturday, but thanks to TNT Sports it was shunted back into the seemingly perpetual 2026 downpour that resumed on Sunday. There’s an almost hilarious contrast between England in the sun and in the rain — even the beautiful architecture of Oxford took on a melancholic feel.
Speaking of melancholy, the only public house open for the early arrivals at Oxford was the local Wetherspoons, which had drawn in a sizable contingent of Sunderland fans seeking shelter from the rain. After another solidly unremarkable away day breakfast, we filtered across to The Grapes, where a resident Manchester United fan told us we were the last leg he needed for his FA Cup accumulator.
We hoped he had better luck than that moppy-haired lad in Spain. The Lamb and Flag, one of the best pubs in Oxford, was full of studious academic-types diligently hammering their laptops and sipping their lattes, occasionally glancing up to cast a disapproving look at our lot supping our pre-match pints. Variety is the spice of life, at the end of the day!
The starting eleven was out as we pulled up at The George Inn — one of the only pubs anywhere in the vague vicinity of the ground.
We’d expected to see Melker Ellborg in for Robin Roefs but the fact the Dutchman kept his place is perhaps an indicator of how seriously we’re taking the cup competitions this year. A few of last year’s stalwarts in Luke O’Nien and Dennis Cirkin were given starts, and their extensive experience against EFL bruisers would doubtless come in handy. It would’ve been nice to have seen Chris Rigg feature too, but again, the team selection hinted at a serious tilt for a cup run this year, so we could have few complaints, all in all.
The rain persisted as we once again found ourselves enjoying the stunning juxtaposed views of the pitch and car park at the Kassam.
The atmosphere had echoes of the League One era, with Oxford doing their best on and off the pitch to create the sense of plucky underdogs against the entitled ‘Big Boys’, but thankfully we now have a squad that genuinely is levels above this kind of opposition, and they largely struggled to lay a glove on us despite a relatively low-key performance from Sunderland.
As soon as Habib Diarra calmly stroked home the penalty (which came after what looked like a clear foul from the opposite end of the ground, so Christ knows what the TNT commentators were watching), you felt that we would have enough to see this one home.
In terms of performances, the defence was solid, there were some promising flashes from Jocelin Ta Bi (normally I’m loathe to address players by their first name as if they’re a close mate, but the Ta Bi/Talbi combo could be a nightmare for both commentators and writers alike), and Romaine Mundle was lively all game without any real end product.
Oxford’s number four seemed keen to embrace a pantomime villain role, but his only memorable contribution other than whinging was a series of futile long throws, which Roefs and our defence dealt with comfortably. As the sun finally broke through the clouds, the referee blew his whistle and we could show our appreciation for a professional job well done.
The fifth-round draw against either Port Vale or Bristol City is a logistical nightmare for fans, but at least we avoided any of the Premier League heavyweights and can look to extend what’s been an enjoyable cup run so far.
