The A420 derby is a football match played between Oxford United and Swindon Town. It takes its name from A420 road, a primary road between both cities, which are only 30 miles (48 km) apart.[1]

A420 derby
LocationSouthern England
TeamsOxford United
Swindon Town
First meetingSwindon Town 0–0 Oxford United
(21 August 1965)
(1965–66 Third Division)
Latest meetingSwindon Town 1–2 Oxford United
(9 March 2021)
(2020–21 League One)
StadiumsKassam Stadium (Oxford United)
County Ground (Swindon Town)
Statistics
Meetings total62
Most winsSwindon Town (25)
Most player appearancesJohn Trollope (25)
Top scorerSteve White (6)
All-time recordSwindon Town: 25
Draw: 20
Oxford United: 17

Although the clubs played friendly matches throughout the 1950s,[2] the rivalry began when Oxford United replaced the bankrupt Accrington Stanley in the Football League.[3] The rivalry was at its peak in the 1970s since both the teams were in the same divisions for the majority of the decade.[1][4]

Occasionally, the derby has been marred by violence, especially during the 1970s,[2] when football hooliganism was at its peak.[1] The most notable incident occurred on 4 May 1982, when a smoke bomb was thrown onto the pitch by a Swindon Town fan with the score tied at 2–2. The match referee in confusion continued the game on a foggy pitch and Swindon scored the winning goal, the match ending 3–2 in Swindon's favour. After the final whistle, the referee was struck by a coin thrown by an Oxford fan and chaos ensued.[1][2]

The teams have played 62 matches in all competitions, Swindon winning 24, Oxford 17 and remaining 20 having been drawn.[5] Even though Swindon have won more derby matches than Oxford, the latter have an unbeaten streak of 18 years, spanning from 2002 to 2020.[4]

Head-to-head

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Statistics

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As of 26 April 2024[3][5][6]
Competition Oxford United wins Draws Swindon Town wins Oxford United goals Swindon Town goals
League 13 19 22 53 69
FA Cup 1 0 0 1 0
League Cup 1 0 0 1 0
Football League Trophy 2 1 1 4 3
Anglo-Italian Cup 0 0 1 1 3
Total 17 20 24 60 75

List of matches

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As of 26 April 2024[3][5][6]
# Season Date Competition Stadium Home Team Result Away Team Attendance H2H
1 1965–66 21 August 1965 Division 3 County Ground Swindon 0–0 Oxford 20,596 0
2 29 January 1966 Manor Ground Oxford 0–3 Swindon 16,174 +1
3 1966–67 10 December 1966 Division 3 Manor Ground Oxford 0–0 Swindon 10,117 +1
4 6 May 1967 County Ground Swindon 3–0 Oxford 14,156 +2
5 1967–68 12 April 1968 Division 3 Manor Ground Oxford 0–0 Swindon 18,012 +2
6 16 April 1968 County Ground Swindon 1–1 Oxford 16,588 +2
7 1969–70 13 September 1969 Division 2 County Ground Swindon 0–0 Oxford +2
8 24 September 1969 League Cup Manor Ground Oxford 1–0 Swindon +1
9 13 December 1969 Division 2 Manor Ground Oxford 0–0 Swindon +1
10 1970–71 21 November 1970 Division 2 Manor Ground Oxford 0–0 Swindon +1
11 20 February 1971 County Ground Swindon 3–0 Oxford +2
12 1971–72 6 November 1971 Division 2 Manor Ground Oxford 1–1 Swindon +2
13 26 February 1972 County Ground Swindon 4–0 Oxford +3
14 1972–73 16 December 1972 Division 2 Manor Ground Oxford 1–0 Swindon +2
15 24 February 1973 County Ground Swindon 1–3 Oxford +1
16 1973–74 20 October 1973 Division 2 County Ground Swindon 1–0 Oxford +2
17 17 March 1974 Manor Ground Oxford 1–1 Swindon +2
18 1976–77 27 December 1976 Division 3 County Ground Swindon 1–0 Oxford +3
19 8 April 1977 Manor Ground Oxford 0–0 Swindon +3
20 1977–78 26 December 1977 Division 3 Manor Ground Oxford 3–3 Swindon +3
21 27 March 1978 County Ground Swindon 3–2 Oxford +4
22 1978–79 16 April 1979 Division 3 Manor Ground Oxford 0–1 Swindon +5
23 2 May 1979 County Ground Swindon 2–0 Oxford +6
24 1979–80 6 February 1980 Division 3 Manor Ground Oxford 2–2 Swindon 7,558 +6
25 7 April 1980 County Ground Swindon 1–1 Oxford 10,342 +6
26 1980–81 16 September 1980 Division 3 County Ground Swindon 1–0 Oxford 7,709 +7
27 1 October 1980 Manor Ground Oxford 0–0 Swindon 6,071 +7
28 1981–82 7 April 1982 Division 3 Manor Ground Oxford 5–0 Swindon 7,354 +6
29 4 May 1982 County Ground Swindon 3–2 Oxford 7,880 +7
30 1983–84 22 February 1984 League Trophy Manor Ground Oxford 1–0 Swindon 4,774 +6
31 1988–89 5 October 1988 Division 2 Manor Ground Oxford 1–1 Swindon 9,398 +6
32 5 February 1989 County Ground Swindon 3–0 Oxford 10,227 +7
33 1989–90 17 October 1989 Division 2 County Ground Swindon 3–0 Oxford 10,741 +8
34 24 March 1990 Manor Ground Oxford 2–2 Swindon 8,382 +8
35 1990–91 22 September 1990 Division 2 Manor Ground Oxford 2–4 Swindon 7,961 +9
36 5 March 1991 County Ground Swindon 0–0 Oxford 9,058 +9
37 1991–92 1 October 1991 Full Members' Cup County Ground Swindon 3–3 Oxford 5,868 +9
38 28 January 1992 Division 2 County Ground Swindon 2–1 Oxford 8,926 +10
39 7 March 1992 Manor Ground Oxford 5–3 Swindon 7,795 +9
40 1992–93 1 September 1992 Anglo-Italian Cup Manor Ground Oxford 1–3 Oxford 4,069 +10
41 20 September 1992 Division 1 County Ground Swindon 2–2 Oxford 7,717 +10
42 9 January 1993 Manor Ground Oxford 0–1 Swindon 9,146 +11
43 1995–96 30 August 1995 Division 2 County Ground Swindon 1–1 Oxford 13,556 +11
44 19 March 1996 Manor Ground Oxford 3–0 Swindon 8,585 +10
45 1996–97 12 October 1996 Division 1 County Ground Swindon 1–0 Oxford 11,251 +11
46 19 April 1997 Manor Ground Oxford 2–0 Swindon 8,166 +10
47 1997–98 6 December 1997 Division 1 County Ground Swindon 4–1 Oxford 11,408 +11
48 11 April 1998 Manor Ground Oxford 2–1 Swindon 8,066 +10
49 1998–99 9 September 1998 Division 1 County Ground Swindon 4–1 Oxford 8,305 +11
50 13 February 1999 Manor Ground Oxford 2–0 Swindon 8,179 +10
51 2000–01 8 October 2000 Division 2 County Ground Swindon 2–1 Oxford 7,975 +11
52 10 March 2001 Manor Ground Oxford 0–2 Swindon 7,480 +12
53 2002–03 8 December 2002 FA Cup Kassam Stadium Oxford 1–0 Swindon 11,465 +11
54 2011–12 21 August 2011 League Two County Ground Swindon 1–2 Oxford 12,113 +10
55 3 March 2012 Kassam Stadium Oxford 2–0 Swindon 11,825 +9
56 2012–13 5 September 2012 League Trophy Kassam Stadium Oxford 1–0 Swindon 11,465 +8
57 2015–16 6 October 2015 League Trophy Kassam Stadium Oxford 2–0 Swindon 9,013 +7
58 2016–17 10 September 2016 League One Kassam Stadium Oxford 2–0 Swindon 11,042 +6
59 4 October 2016 League Trophy County Ground Swindon 0–0 Oxford 2,698 +6
60 5 February 2017 League One County Ground Swindon 1–2 Oxford 10,658 +5
61 2020–21 28 November 2020 League One Kassam Stadium Oxford 1–2 Swindon 0[a] +6
62 9 March 2021 County Ground Swindon 1–2 Oxford 0[b] +5
  1. ^ Played behind closed doors due to COVID-19 restrictions.
  2. ^ Played behind closed doors due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Statistics

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Records

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  • Widest winning margin: 5 goals – Oxford United 5–0 Swindon Town (7 April 1982, 1981–82 Third Division)
  • Highest scoring match: 8 goals – Oxford United 5–3 Swindon Town (7 March 1992, 1991–92 Second Division)
  • Longest winning streak: 6 matches – Oxford United (8 December 2002 – 10 September 2016)
  • Longest unbeaten streak: 12 matches – Swindon Town (20 October 1973 – 1 October 1980)
  • Highest attendance:

Goal scoring

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Nation Player Club(s) Goals[3] Years
  Steve White Swindon Town 6 1986–1994
  Peter Foley Oxford United 5 1974–1983
  Roy Carter Swindon Town 4 1977–1983
  David Moss Swindon Town 4
0
1971–1978
1985–1986
  Arthur Horsfield Swindon Town 3 1969–1972
  Joey Beauchamp Oxford United
Swindon Town
Oxford United
3
0
0
1989–1994
1994–1995
1995–2002
  George Ndah Swindon Town 3 1997–1999
  Jim Magilton Oxford United 3 1990–1994

Appearances

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Nation Player Club(s) Apps.[3] Years
  John Trollope Swindon Town 25 1986–1994
  Colin Clarke Oxford United 16 1965–1978
  Joey Beauchamp Oxford United
Swindon Town
Oxford United
15
0
0
1989–1994
1994–1995
1995–2002
  John Shuker Oxford United 15 1962–1977
  Jimmy Allan Swindon Town 14 1971–1984
  Joe Butler Swindon Town 14 1965–1976
  Fraser Digby Swindon Town 14 1986–1998
  Don Rogers Swindon Town 14 1962–1972
1976–1977
  Graham Atkinson Oxford United 14 1962–1974

Crossing the divide

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List of players that played for both teams.[3]

Player Oxford United career Swindon Town career
Span League
apps
League
goals
Span League
apps
League
goals
  Owen Medlock 1959–1963 110 0 1959 3 0
  Ken Skeen 1967–1974 270 40 1964–1967 14 4
  Jim Barron 1966–1970 152 0 1974–1977 79 0
  Mark Jones 1979–1986 129 7 1986–1990 40 9
  Alan Judge 1984–1991
2003–2004
80
2
0
0
2002–2003 0 0
  Joey Beauchamp 1989–1994
1995–2002
124
238
20
43
1994–1995 45 3
  Kevin Dearden 1989 0 0 1990 1 0
  Adi Viveash 2002–2003 11 0 1989–1995
2003–2004
54
15
3
0
  Marcus Phillips 1997 1 0 1992–1995 0 0
  Sam Ricketts 2000–2003 45 1 2015 9 0
  Éric Sabin 2005–2006 29 7 2001–2003 73 9
  Dominic Foley 2003 6 0 2002 7 1
  Brian Howard 2014 7 0 2003–2005 70 9
  Tommy Mooney 2004–2005 45 19 2003–2004 42 15
  Lee Holmes 2012 7 0 2004–2005
2012
15
10
1
1
  Patrick Collins 2007–2008 2 0 2005 13 0
  Jamie Slabber 2006 3 0 2005 9 0
  Alex Rhodes 2009 4 0 2006 4 0
  Paul Evans 2008–2009 3 0 2006–2007 15 3
  Danny Rose 2007
2007–2008
2007–2008
22
19
82
1
0
6
2019–2020 29 1
  Ben Purkiss 2010–2012 23 0 2017–2018 41 0
  Mehdi Kerrouche 2012 4 0 2011–2012 13 6
  Cristian Montaño 2012 9 2 2011 4 1
  Jonathan Obika 2017–2019 46 8 2011 5 0
  Daniel Boateng 2012 2 0 2012–2013 2 0
  Lee Cox 2012–2013 14 0 2012–2014 12 1
  Canice Carroll 2015–2018 16 1 2019 17 1
  Wes Thomas 2016–2018 50 13 2015–2016 6 2
  Jérémy Balmy 2015 0 0 2015–2016 12 0
  Jack Payne 2018–2019 28 3 2020–2022 78 17

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Spafford, Nathan (2 December 2021). "Why do Oxford and Swindon Town hate each other?". football365.com. Football365. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Hassan, Nabil; Lee, Sam (2 March 2012). "Oxford United v Swindon Town rivalry explained". bbc.com. BBC. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "OXFORD UNITED". swindon-town-fc.co.uk. Swindon Town FC. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Ventham, Dale (23 October 2020). "Oxford United And Swindon Town – The A420 Derby". lastwordonsports.com. Last Word on Sports. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Oxford United / Swindon Town Derby Games". englishfootballleaguetables.co.uk. English Football League Tables. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Oxford United football club: record v Swindon Town". 11v11.com. 11v11. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
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