OXFORD Under 11s seven-a-side footballers are on the glory trail again.
The city association, who went all the way to Wembley in the ESFA Adidas Predator Premier Trophy, have done it again.
Oxford, who shared the trophy beneath the Twin Towers with Chester-le-Street last March, booked their place in this year's national final by triumphing in the south west regional final at Poole on Saturday.
Unfortunately, this year's crop of seven-a-side stars won't get the chance to step out on Wembley's hallowed turf with the stadium closed for redvelopment.
But they can look forward to playing at one of the country's top grounds with the most likely venue Manchester United's Old Trafford.
Oxford triumphed with an emphatic 3-0 win over Gosport and Fareham in the final with goals from Mark Bell, Elliott Osborne-Ricketts and Billy Young.
However, it had proved much tougher in the semi-final as they beat South Gloucester 3-2 with a golden goal in extra time.
Amazingly, the result was a repeat of their semi-final 12 months ago when a golden goal also gave Oxford victory.
This time, the hero was Osborne-Ricketts, who fired a shot into the top corner, with penalties looming.
It capped a dramatic victory for Oxford after they had twice trailed in normal time.
John Rixon struck at the death with a clinical finish to take the game into extra time after Bell had provided Oxford's first equaliser following a neat move.
Earlier, Oxford had swept aside the opposition in their group games, beating Portsmouth 5-0, Cornwall 4-0, Swindon 2-1 and Jersey 1-0.
Team manager Gerard Murphy felt Oxford deserved their place in the final.
He said: "It's great when passing teams get success that's the way football should be played. I am certain they'll enjoy their day out wherever it is."
TEMPLE Cowley's under 12 girls bowed out of the Wagon Wheels National Cup in the regional final at the Aston Villa Leisure Centre on Tuesday.
They won two of their games in the five-a-side competition, but lost the other two to finish third in their group, missing out on a place in the semi-finals.
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