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.
Although the clubs played friendly matches throughout the 1950s, the rivalry began when Oxford United replaced the bankrupt Accrington Stanley in the Football League. The rivalry was at its peak in the 1970s since both the teams were in the same divisions for the majority of the decade.
Occasionally, the derby has been marred by violence, especially during the 1970s, when football hooliganism was at its peak. 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.
The teams have played 62 matches in all competitions, Swindon winning 24, Oxford 17 and remaining 21 having been drawn. Even though Swindon have won more derby matches than Oxford, the latter have an unbeaten streak of 18 years, spanning from 2002 to 2020.
Head-to-head Statistics
CompetitionOxford United wins DrawsSwindon Town winsOxford United goalsSwindon 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
#SeasonDateCompetitionStadiumHome TeamResultAway TeamAttendanceH2H11965–66 21 August 1965Division 3 County Ground Swindon 0–0 Oxford 20,596 0229 January 1966 Manor Ground Oxford 0–3 Swindon 16,174 +131966–67 10 December 1966 Division 3 Manor Ground Oxford 0–0 Swindon 10,117 +146 May 1967 County Ground Swindon 3–0 Oxford 14,156 +251967–68 12 April 1968 Division 3 Manor Ground Oxford 0–0 Swindon 18,012 +2616 April 1968 County Ground Swindon 1–1 Oxford 16,588 +271969–70 13 September 1969 Division 2 County Ground Swindon 0–0 Oxford – +2824 September 1969 League Cup Manor Ground Oxford 1–0 Swindon – +1913 December 1969 Division 2 Manor Ground Oxford 0–0 Swindon – +1101970–71 21 November 1970 Division 2 Manor Ground Oxford 0–0 Swindon – +11120 February 1971 County Ground Swindon 3–0 Oxford – +2121971–72 6 November 1971 Division 2 Manor Ground Oxford 1–1 Swindon – +21326 February 1972 County Ground Swindon 4–0 Oxford – +3141972–73 16 December 1972 Division 2 Manor Ground Oxford 1–0 Swindon – +21524 February 1973 County Ground Swindon 1–3 Oxford – +1161973–74 20 October 1973 Division 2 County Ground Swindon 1–0 Oxford – +21717 March 1974 Manor Ground Oxford 1–1 Swindon – +2181976–77 27 December 1976Division 3 County Ground Swindon 1–0 Oxford – +3198 April 1977 Manor Ground Oxford 0–0 Swindon – +3201977–78 26 December 1977 Division 3 Manor Ground Oxford 3–3 Swindon – +32127 March 1978 County Ground Swindon 3–2 Oxford – +4221978–79 16 April 1979 Division 3 Manor Ground Oxford 0–1 Swindon – +5232 May 1979 County Ground Swindon 2–0 Oxford – +6241979–80 6 February 1980 Division 3 Manor Ground Oxford 2–2 Swindon 7,558 +6257 April 1980 County Ground Swindon 1–1 Oxford 10,342 +6261980–81 16 September 1980 Division 3 County Ground Swindon 1–0 Oxford 7,709 +7271 October 1980 Manor Ground Oxford 0–0 Swindon 6,071 +7281981–82 7 April 1982 Division 3 Manor Ground Oxford 5–0 Swindon 7,354 +6294 May 1982 County Ground Swindon 3–2 Oxford 7,880 +7301983–84 22 February 1984 League Trophy Manor Ground Oxford 1–0 Swindon 4,774 +6311988–89 5 October 1988 Division 2 Manor Ground Oxford 1–1 Swindon 9,398 +6325 February 1989 County Ground Swindon 3–0 Oxford 10,227 +7331989–90 17 October 1989 Division 2 County Ground Swindon 3–0 Oxford 10,741 +83424 March 1990 Manor Ground Oxford 2–2 Swindon 8,382 +8351990–91 22 September 1990 Division 2 Manor Ground Oxford 2–4 Swindon 7,961 +9365 March 1991 County Ground Swindon 0–0 Oxford 9,058 +9371991–92 1 October 1991 Full Members' Cup County Ground Swindon 3–3 Oxford 5,868 +93828 January 1992Division 2 County Ground Swindon 2–1 Oxford 8,926 +10397 March 1992 Manor Ground Oxford 5–3 Swindon 7,795 +9401992–93 1 September 1992 Anglo-Italian Cup Manor Ground Oxford 1–3 Swindon 4,069 +104120 September 1992Division 1 County Ground Swindon 2–2 Oxford 7,717 +10429 January 1993 Manor Ground Oxford 0–1 Swindon 9,146 +11431995–96 30 August 1995Division 2 County Ground Swindon 1–1 Oxford 13,556 +114419 March 1996 Manor Ground Oxford3–0 Swindon 8,585 +10451996–97 12 October 1996Division 1 County Ground Swindon 1–0 Oxford 11,251 +114619 April 1997 Manor Ground Oxford2–0 Swindon 8,166 +10471997–98 6 December 1997Division 1 County Ground Swindon 4–1 Oxford 11,408 +114811 April 1998 Manor Ground Oxford2–1 Swindon 8,066 +10491998–99 9 September 1998Division 1 County Ground Swindon 4–1 Oxford 8,305 +115013 February 1999 Manor Ground Oxford2–0 Swindon 8,179 +10512000–01 8 October 2000Division 2 County Ground Swindon 2–1 Oxford 7,975 +115210 March 2001 Manor Ground Oxford0–2 Swindon 7,480 +12532002–038 December 2002FA Cup Kassam Stadium Oxford1–0 Swindon 11,465 +11542011–12 21 August 2011League Two County Ground Swindon 1–2 Oxford 12,113 +10553 March 2012 Kassam Stadium Oxford2–0 Swindon 11,825 +9562012–135 September 2012League Trophy Kassam Stadium Oxford1–0 Swindon 11,465 +8572015–166 October 2015League Trophy Kassam Stadium Oxford2–0 Swindon 9,013 +7582016–17 10 September 2016 League One Kassam Stadium Oxford 2–0 Swindon 11,042 +6594 October 2016League Trophy County Ground Swindon 0–0 Oxford 2,698 +6605 February 2017League One County Ground Swindon 1–2 Oxford 10,658 +5612020–21 28 November 2020League One Kassam Stadium Oxford 1–2 Swindon 0 +6629 March 2021 County Ground Swindon 1–2 Oxford 0 +5
Statistics Records
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: Swindon Town: 20,596 – Swindon Town 0–0 Oxford United (21 August 1965, 1965–66 Third Division) Oxford United: 18,012 – Oxford United 0–0 Swindon Town (12 April 1968, 1967–68 Third Division)
Goal scoring NationPlayerClub(s)GoalsYearsSteve WhiteSwindon Town61986–1994Peter FoleyOxford United51974–1983Roy CarterSwindon Town41977–1983David MossSwindon Town401971–19781985–1986Arthur HorsfieldSwindon Town31969–1972Joey BeauchampOxford UnitedSwindon TownOxford United3001989–19941994–19951995–2002George NdahSwindon Town31997–1999Jim MagiltonOxford United31990–1994
Appearances NationPlayerClub(s)Apps.YearsJohn TrollopeSwindon Town251986–1994Colin ClarkeOxford United161965–1978Joey BeauchampOxford UnitedSwindon TownOxford United15001989–19941994–19951995–2002John ShukerOxford United151962–1977Jimmy AllanSwindon Town141971–1984Joe ButlerSwindon Town141965–1976Fraser DigbySwindon Town141986–1998Don RogersSwindon Town141962–19721976–1977Graham AtkinsonOxford United141962–1974 Crossing the divide List of players that played for both teams. PlayerOxford United careerSwindon Town careerSpanLeagueappsLeaguegoalsSpanLeagueappsLeaguegoals Owen Medlock1959–19631100195930 Ken Skeen1967–1974270401964–1967144 Jim Barron1966–197015201974–1977790 Mark Jones1979–198612971986–1990409 Alan Judge1984–19912003–2004802002002–200300 Joey Beauchamp1989–19941995–200212423820431994–1995453 Kevin Dearden198900199010 Adi Viveash2002–20031101989–19952003–2004541530 Marcus Phillips1997101992–199500 Sam Ricketts2000–2003451201590 Éric Sabin2005–20062972001–2003739 Dominic Foley200360200271 Brian Howard2014702003–2005709 Tommy Mooney2004–200545192003–20044215 Lee Holmes2012702004–20052012151011 Patrick Collins2007–2008202005130 Jamie Slabber200630200590 Alex Rhodes200940200640 Paul Evans2008–2009302006–2007153 Danny Rose20072007–20082007–20082219821062019–2020291 Ben Purkiss2010–20122302017–2018410 Mehdi Kerrouche2012402011–2012136 Cristian Montaño201292201141 Jonathan Obika2017–2019468201150 Daniel Boateng2012202012–201320 Lee Cox2012–20131402012–2014121 Canice Carroll2015–20181612019171 Wes Thomas2016–201850132015–201662 Jérémy Balmy2015002015–2016120 Jack Payne2018–20192832020–20227817
References
External links Oxford United v Swindon Town rivalry explained at bbc.com Why do Oxford and Swindon Town hate each other? at football365.com