Oxford City made Leicester work for it. The sixth-tier hosts trailed twice, equalised once and even pulled one back to make it 2-3 with half an hour left, but League One Leicester City finally found enough quality to win 4-2 and book a place in the FA Cup second round.
Page opens the scoring, Pollock answers from a corner
Leicester went ahead on 16 minutes through Page, who hit what BBC commentary called a stunning strike. Oxford City, second in the National League North and two points off leaders South Shields, did not panic. Just after the half-hour, Pollock, a Leicester supporter himself, levelled with a goal direct from a corner. It was 1-1 at the break, and the home crowd had every reason to believe.
The Howell substitution changes the tie
Russell Martin made a change at half-time, bringing on Harry Howell, and it paid off within eight minutes. Howell took the ball on the right, drove at the defence and chipped a cross to the far post, where Emil Riis headed in from a couple of yards. "It was near enough impossible for Emil Riis to miss," said former Leicester defender Matt Heath on BBC Radio Leicester. Kamari Doyle then used the outside of his left boot to guide a low finish into the far corner for 3-1, and Leicester had some breathing space.
It did not last long. Josh Ashby scored for Oxford City on 62 minutes, and for a spell the hosts had hope. Their goalkeeper Jonathan Maxted also made a brilliant quick-reaction save to keep out a Tommy Watson volley from a Howell cross.
Watson settles it
Watson, on for Bobby De Cordova-Reid, did eventually get his goal. On 82 minutes he checked onto his left foot on the left of the box and fired across goal into the bottom corner to make it 4-2. That was the end of the contest. Ross Jenkins, who has managed Oxford City in more than 200 games, will be proud of how his side played.
For Leicester, it is a decent night's work after a mixed start to the season under Martin. They sit within touching distance of the League One top six after 13 games, and they had lost to Luton and drawn 2-2 with Stevenage in their previous five. Elsewhere in the competition on Friday, Bristol Rovers beat Cambridge United 2-0 through Reiss-Alexander Russell-Denny and Fabrizio Cavegn to end a winless run of seven games. The second-round draw takes place on Monday night.
Match facts: Oxford City 2-4 Leicester City, FA Cup first round, Friday 6 November 2026. Oxford City goals: Pollock (31), Josh Ashby (62). Leicester goals: Page (16), Emil Riis (53), Kamari Doyle (59), Tommy Watson (82). Half-time: 1-1. Second-round draw: Monday night.
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