Frome caused a significant upset in the Second Qualifying Round of the FA Cup by beating Oxford City of the National League South at Badgers Hill on Saturday afternoon.
First half goals from James Ollis and Joe O’Loughlin set the Robins up for victory, and a dogged defensive performance in the second half restricted the visitors to just a single goal in return.
Oxford City began the game strongly, controlling possession for long spells, and they were unfortunate not to go in front when an effort from Joe Iaciofano was adjudged to have been scored from an offside position by the referee’s assistant.
It was midway through the half that Frome struck. O’Loughlin intelligently headed a cross-field pass into the path of Ollis and the forward did brilliantly to escape his marker and slot a shot into the bottom corner of the net.
The Robins made the most of their good spell, doubling the lead before half-time arrived. This time O’Loughlin found himself on the end of a Rex Mannings pass and thundered a shot beyond goalkeeper Ben Dudzinski.
Oxford City understandably came on strong in the second half, but the Robins had a number of chances to extend their lead on the counter-attack.
Mannings blasted a shot into the side netting from a tight angle, and Jon Davies looked destined to score only for Zico Asare to clear his effort off his own goal-line.
The away side did eventually find a breakthrough when substitute Elliot Benyon rose at the backpost to head past James Carey.
Although Oxford City threw bodies forward in search of an equaliser, heroic defending from the home side stopped them in their tracks, and Carey was rarely called upon to keep the lead intact.
We now await the draw for the Third Qualifying Round on Monday.
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