BOTH Oxford United and Oxford City were well pleased with the draw for the first round of the FA Cup.

Struggling United landed a home tie against non-League Morecambe, but most interest will be on Oxford City's plum draw away to old adversaries Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday, October 30.

And the tie at Adams Park pits former City striker Jermaine McSporran, sold by City to Wycombe for around £100,000 last season, against his old mates.

Ironically, City manager Paul Lee went out for a Chinese meal with McSporran on Friday night!

Lee said: "We joked about the possibility of the two clubs being drawn together. Now it's happened it's just brilliant."

City beat Salisbury 2-1 in a classic cup tie at Court Place Farm to earn their place in the first round for the first time since the 1970-71 season. Chairman Mick Woodley said: "It's a brilliant draw and reward for all the effort and hard work that has been put in by the club. It's the draw that I wanted."

Meanwhile, there was as much relief as joy in the reaction of under-pressure Oxford United manager Malcolm Shotton's voice when he heard that the draw had been kind to him on Saturday.

Shotton, who along with the team was beating a hasty retreat from Griffin Park after a 2-0 defeat by Brentford said, when the news was broken to him of the Cup draw: "That's all you can hope for - a home tie. We are quite happy with that."

United went down to their third successive defeat as they crashed to two second-half goals at in-form Brentford. They slipped to 18th in Division 2, and Shotton admits he may have to change his team around to find a way for them to score goals.

Strikers Steve Antrobus and Derek Lilley again failed to hit the target, and the pair have managed only six goals between them in United's 17 matches this season. Anthrobus missed a gilt-edged chance to head an equalising goal which might just have brought Oxford a point, and Shotton reflected: "It was a great ball in from Joey Beauchamp. Steve only had to connect properly and it was in the back of the net.

"We have to look to change it somehow to get goals," the manager said. "We didn't commit their keeper to many saves and didn't get many crosses in.

"That was the most experienced side I could have put out, but they have got to be experienced enough to come away with a point," Shotton said.

"For most of the game we looked solid, defensively, and it was one long ball through the middle between Les Robinson and Steve Davis which cost us the first goal. And after that heads just dropped."

The United fans, who had chanted their "Come On Oxford" ditty for long periods to give the visitors great vocal backing, again left the ground very disgruntled. Shotton admitted: "I do feel the pressure a bit and I understand the fans' point of view

"In the position we're in, every game now is a big game and we've got to make sure we start winning."

United travel to fellow strugglers Scunthorpe tomorrow night and if they can't win there they will face the very real threat of becoming embroiled in a second successive relegation battle.

At least the FA Cup should provide some light relief from the league.

Shotton said: "I played at Morecambe when I was at Hull. They were a hard-working side then and we won 2-0 with two late goals.

"I'm certainly glad we're playing at the Manor rather than at their place."

Story date: Monday 18 October

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