Oxford United weren’t in league action this week after their clash at Sunderland was postponed, but it was still a busy week for the club, which ended in a memorial match for former player and assistant manager, Mickey Lewis.
Oxford United Weekly Round-Up: Player News and ‘One for the Road’
Whyte Ruled Out and Illness in the Squad
Gavin Whyte did not travel with the Northern Ireland squad for their World Cup qualifiers in Switzerland and will miss the visit to Bulgaria after testing positive for COVID-19.
The winger, and fellow midfielder Marcus McGuane, both missed Saturday’s win at Sheffield Wednesday after returning positive tests while Mark Sykes missed out having been in close contact with the pair.
Sam Winnall and Billy Bodin both suffered an illness before the trip to Hillsborough and missed out, and although James Henry also suffered the same illness, he travelled and scored a last-minute winner.
Goodrham Loan Extended
Young midfielder Tyler Goodrham has seen his loan spell at Hayes & Yeading United extended by a further month.
The 18-year-old has impressed during his time with the Southern League Premier South leaders and is gaining valuable first-team football.
Oxford United Lose Again in Football League Trophy
Oxford all-but bowed out of the Papa John’s Trophy on Tuesday night with a 2-1 loss at home to Stevenage.
A strong U’s side took the lead through Dan Agyei but the visitors netted twice late on to secure the win.
It was a second defeat from two in the competition for Karl Robinson’s side who look unlikely to progress from the first round for the first time since the 2014/15 season.
Ben Davis Called-Up by Thailand
Oxford youngster Ben Davis has been called up for the Thailand national senior side for the first time when they face Mongolia later this month.
The 20-year-old, who joined the U’s from Fulham on deadline day and made his first-team debut against Stevenage in the Football League Trophy, represented Singapore at U16 and U19 level before turning out for Thailand U23s, where he has made two appearances.
Five-Star Performance From Oxford United Women
Sunday brought two matches to the city of Oxford with the women taking to the field in a midday kick-off in the FA Women’s National League Cup against rivals, Swindon Town.
Sophie Baker gave the U’s a 3-0 lead with a first-half hat-trick before Beth Lumsden added a brace after the restart to send Oxford through to the next round.
Tribute Match for Mickey Lewis
Later that day, the city of Oxford united in memory of the late Mickey Lewis. Lewis joined the U’s in 1988 and turned out over 300 times for the club. He was Chris Wilder’s assistant when Oxford gained promotion from the Conference League and also spent time with Oxford City and the University during his time in the city.
The match, dubbed ‘one for the road’, between Oxford United legends, a 2010 Reunion side and teams from Oxford City and Oxford University made up the event with over 3000 fans turning out to pay their respects.
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