6 weeks ago Oxford travelled to Durham and despite dominating for large parts of the match, they lost 3-0 with goals coming from Amelia Pereira, Becky Beech and teenager Courtney Corrie.
This Sunday sees the reverse fixture at Northcourt Road and Oxford will hope to seek revenge. That early season defeat was the first of three successive losses for United as they slipped to the wrong end of the table.
However confidence was restored last time out when they held title chasers Reading to a 2-2 draw away from home. Kayleigh Hines scored both Oxford goals in that game and the midfielder is hopeful her side can earn their second win of the season this weekend.
“We were delighted with the result against Reading, it was really promising off the back of a disappointing match against Aston Villa,” she said.
“But a win against Durham would almost be more important because we lost against them 3-0 last time we played each other so it’s a bit of a chance to redeem ourselves.”
Durham have exceeded expectations this year and followed up the win over Oxford by thrashing London Bees 4-0 before earning a credible goalless draw at Millwall.
Another victory for the Wildcats this weekend could see them climb above Yeovil and Everton into 3rd position.
Despite the 3-goal margin in the reverse fixture, Durham captain Sarah Wilson is warning her team against complacency.
“Even though we beat them 3-0 last time, in this league there’s really no guarantees. The game against Millwall was an excellent defensive display, we were really solid at the back.”
“You do have teams at the top who are playing really well but in and around the middle it’s so tight, teams are taking a lot of points off each other so every game requires 100 per cent focus.”
The match kicks off at 12pm at Abingdon United FC, Northcourt Road. Oxford are at home for their next 3 league meetings, playing host to London Bees and Everton before the international break.
