Ross Jenkins full of pride for his Oxford Ci

Posted Sunday, November 06, 2022 by PA

Oxford City boss Ross Jenkins left Fleetwood beaten but full of pride after his side suffered a 3-1 defeat to exit the FA Cup.

The National League South side were 2-0 down at the break thanks to goals by Lewis Warrington and Paddy Lane.

Alfie Potter’s 80th-minute goal gave them hope of creating a dramatic comeback but those hopes were soon dashed by Paddy Lane’s second goal.

Jenkins, though, was proud of his players who gave a fine account of themselves at a team three divisions higher.

“I haven’t got a bad word to say about the second-half performance,” he said.

“I thought we were first class and the boys know it. The performance sometimes is greater than the result, we’ve come to a League One team that’s fit, strong and organised with a top manager and we’ve gone toe-to-toe with them.

“It’s a tough place to be when you’re 2-0 down but the shackles are off and you can open up a bit more. Our only criticism was that we didn’t start that way. When we let them in is when we started to play.

“We looked like we were waiting for something to happen rather than taking the advantage and going after them.

“We’ll learn and develop but any team could have gone under, it’s easy. I’ve been there before and it doesn’t feel good but the boys continued playing the right way and hopefully everyone can see the manner in which we play is attractive and exciting.

“We can be naïve at times, that’s down to our age, but in terms of our ability, our passion and our willingness to play football, we executed the game plan well in the second half. I’m disappointed with the result but I’m really pleased with the performance.”

Despite fine first-half strikes for the two goals, and Lane’s second direct from a corner, Fleetwood boss Scott Brown was less enthused by his players’ showing but admitted that progress to the next round was all that mattered.

“We’re proud that we’ve got through, it’s good to get through to the next round and we’ll be looking forward to the draw on Monday,” he said.

“The performance levels could always be a little bit better, we got a little bit sloppy at times, the mindset is key, thinking we were playing against a part-time side but I thought Oxford played really well today, they moved the ball around well and controlled parts of the game. They pressed us quite well and stopped us playing, which they were always going to do. It was their cup final coming here but it was on us to put a performance in to win the game.

“Work rate is key, that’s what we ask for every day and they come in work hard and they always give us 100 per cent. We have to be proud of the lads for that and we managed to score three goals today.

“Lewis’ touch and finish was exceptional for his goal and Paddy’s finish for the goal was exceptional too, he told me he meant it because he saw the goalie off his line the first time – and I believe him at this moment in time.”