2015–16 Oxford United F.C. season
# 2015–16 Oxford United F.C. season

The 2015–16 season was Oxford United's sixth consecutive season in League Two and 122nd year in existence. As well as competing in League Two, the club also participated in the FA Cup, League Cup and League Trophy. The season covers the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016.

After spending most of the season in the top three, Oxford finally confirmed automatic promotion to League One on the last day of the regular season, with a 3–0 home victory over Wycombe Wanderers. The Us finished in second place with 86 points, 13 behind runaway leaders Northampton Town. Oxford's 14 away wins in the league set a new club record for a single season. Midfielder Kemar Roofe was the club's leading scorer, with 18 league goals and 26 in all competitions.

United beat higher-division opposition in all three senior cup competitions and reached the final of the League Trophy at Wembley Stadium, only the club's third appearance at the national stadium. In the opening round of the League Cup they eliminated Brentford of the Championship with a 4–0 away win, before losing 1–0 to another Championship side, Sheffield Wednesday, in the second round. They reached the fourth round of the FA Cup, recording a notable 3–2 victory over Premier League side Swansea City in the third round, but were knocked out of the competition by Blackburn Rovers in the next round. In their run to the final of the League Trophy, they beat local rivals Swindon Town of League One in the second round, and Millwall, also of League One, over two legs in the area semi-final, before losing 3–2 to Barnsley in the final. United won the Oxfordshire Senior Cup, beating Oxford City 6–1 in the final, three days after securing their league promotion.

## Transfers

### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 July 2015 | AM | Kemar Roofe | West Bromwich Albion | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2015 | CM | Liam Sercombe | Exeter City | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | GK | Sam Slocombe | Scunthorpe United | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | CF | Ryan Taylor | Portsmouth | Free transfer |
| 13 August 2015 | CM | John Lundstram | Everton | Free transfer |
| 4 September 2015 | GK | Benjamin Büchel | AFC Bournemouth | Free transfer |
| 21 September 2015 | LW | Jonny Giles | Free agent | Free transfer |
| 6 November 2015 | DF | Cameron Gayle | Free agent | Free transfer |
| 22 January 2016 | FW | Jordan Bowery | Rotherham United | Free transfer |
| 1 February 2016 | FW | Chris Maguire | Rotherham United | Free transfer |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 July 2015 | CF | Jeremy Balmy | Swindon Town | Released |
| 1 July 2015 | CB | Matt Bevans | Wealdstone | Released |
| 1 July 2015 | CF | John Campbell | Free Agent | Released |
| 1 July 2015 | CF | Will Hoskins | Exeter City | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | LB | Jonathan Meades | AFC Wimbledon | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2015 | RW | Josh Shama | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2015 | RB | Andy Whing | Retired | — |
| 2 July 2015 | GK | Ryan Clarke | Northampton Town | Free transfer |
| 7 January 2016 | MF | Michael Collins | Bengaluru FC | Released |
| 1 February 2016 | MF | Danny Rose | Northampton Town | Released |
| 7 March 2016 | MF | Aidan Hawtin | Valdres FK | Released |
| 7 March 2016 | MF | Sam Humphreys | Valdres FK | Released |
| 31 May 2016 | DF | Johnny Mullins | Luton Town | Released |
| 31 May 2016 | DF | Danny Hylton | Luton Town | Released |

* ↑ Following Balmy's release he joined Swindon Town.
* ↑ Following Bevans' release he joined Wealdstone.
* ↑ Following Hoskins' release he joined Exeter City.
* ↑ Following Meades' release he joined AFC Wimbledon.
* ↑ Following Clarke's release he joined Northampton Town.
* ↑ Following Collins' release he joined Bengaluru.
* ↑ Following Rose's release he joined Northampton Town.

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Date until |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 July 2015 | RB | George Baldock | Milton Keynes Dons | 28 January 2016 |
| 28 September 2015 | RW | Jordan Graham | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 27 October 2015 |
| 26 November 2015 | DF | Jordan Evans | Fulham | May 2016 |
| 26 November 2015 | FW | Chris Maguire | Rotherham United | 17 January 2016 |
| 27 January 2016 | DF | Jonjoe Kenny | Everton | May 2016 |
| 1 February 2016 | MF | Zeli Ismail | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2 March 2016 |
| 23 February 2016 | FW | George Waring | Stoke City | May 2016 |

* ↑ Baldock's loan was initially for the whole season, but a recall clause was exercised by his parent club.
* ↑ Graham's initial one-month loan was extended for a further two months, but he was recalled by his parent club.
* ↑ Evans' loan was twice extended.
* ↑ Maguire was released by Rotherham and signed a permanent contract with Oxford on 1 February.
* ↑ Kenny's loan was twice extended.

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Date until |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 7 August 2015 | RB | Aidan Hawtin | Hayes & Yeading United | 4 September 2015 |
| 7 August 2015 | LB | Miles Welch-Hayes | North Leigh | 4 September 2015 |
| 18 September 2015 | GK | Max Crocombe | Barnet | 18 October 2015 |
| 29 September 2015 | CM | Josh Ashby | AFC Telford United | 25 October 2015 |
| 29 September 2015 | FW | James Roberts | Chester | 3 December 2015 |
| 30 September 2015 | MF | Aidan Hawtin | Brackley Town | 3 December 2015 |
| 2 October 2015 | MF | Michael Collins | York City | one month |
| 13 October 2015 | DF | Freddie Grant | Farnborough | November 2015 |
| 16 October 2015 | GK | Max Crocombe | Southport | January 2016 |
| 24 November 2015 | DF | Cameron Gayle | Cambridge United | 24 January 2016 |
| 4 December 2015 | MF | Josh Ashby | Brackley Town | 4 January 2016 |
| 29 January 2016 | FW | James Roberts | Oxford City | February 2016 |
| 29 January 2016 | FW | Jonny Giles | Southport | February 2016 |
| 1 February 2016 | FW | Patrick Hoban | Stevenage | March 2016 |
| 29 February 2016 | FW | Patrick Hoban | Grimsby Town | May 2016 |
| 29 February 2016 | FW | James Roberts | Barnet | March 2016 |

## Competitions

### Pre-season friendlies

On 18 May 2015, Oxford United announced four pre-season friendlies against Didcot Town, Woking, Eastleigh and Coventry City. On 29 May 2015, Oxford United announced a trip to Austria for a week-long stay, which included a friendly against SC Wiener Neustadt.

### League Two

**League table**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Northampton Town (C, P) | 46 | 29 | 12 | 5 | 82 | 46 | +36 | 99 | Promotion to Football League One |
| 2 | Oxford United (P) | 46 | 24 | 14 | 8 | 84 | 41 | +43 | 86 | Promotion to Football League One |
| 3 | Bristol Rovers (P) | 46 | 26 | 7 | 13 | 77 | 46 | +31 | 85 | Promotion to Football League One |
| 4 | Accrington Stanley | 46 | 24 | 13 | 9 | 74 | 48 | +26 | 85 | Qualification for League Two play-offs |
| 5 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 24 | 9 | 13 | 72 | 46 | +26 | 81 | Qualification for League Two play-offs |

* ↑ Four teams play for one spot and promotion to Football League One.

**Matches**

On 17 June 2015, the fixtures for the forthcoming season were announced.

**Results summary**

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

Last updated: 7 May 2016. Source: BBC Sport

**Results by round**

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | D | D | W | D | W | W | L | D | D | W | W | W | D | W | L | W | W | W | D | W | D | L | W | D | W | L | W | D | W | L | L | W | W | W | D | L | W | W | D | D | W | L | D | W | W | W |
| Position | 15 | 16 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |

### FA Cup

The draw for the first round was made live on BBC Two on Monday 26 October 2015, with Oxford drawn away to Braintree Town.

### League Cup

On 16 June 2015, the first round draw was made, Oxford United were drawn away against Brentford. In the second round, Oxford United drew another Championship side away from home, Sheffield Wednesday.

### Football League Trophy

On 5 September 2015, the second round draw was shown live on Soccer AM and drawn by Charlie Austin and Ed Skrein. Oxford were drawn at home to Swindon Town. Having beaten their local rivals 2–0, Oxford were drawn away to fellow League Two side Dagenham & Redbridge in the Area Quarter-Final, a match that also ended in a 2–0 victory. Oxford beat Yeovil Town of League Two 3–2 in the Area Semi-final to meet Millwall of League One in the two-legged Area Final. Oxford won the first leg at The Den, leading scorer Kemar Roofe netting both the goals and, despite losing the second leg at the Kassam Stadium, reached the Wembley final 2–1 on aggregate.

In the final against Barnsley, United led 1–0 at half-time through a goal from Callum O'Dowda. An own-goal by Chey Dunkley early in the second half was followed by goals from Ashley Fletcher and Adam Hammill to give Barnsley a two-goal cushion. A header from Danny Hylton in the 76th minute reduced the deficit, but United were unable to find an equaliser in the remaining minutes and suffered defeat at Wembley for the first time in their history.

## Squad statistics

### Appearances and goals

    As of 7 May 2016

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | League Two | League Two | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | FL Trophy | FL Trophy |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Sam Slocombe | 28 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | ENG | George Baldock | 35 | 2 | 27 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Joe Skarz | 51 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Kemar Roofe | 49 | 26 | 39+1 | 18 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Johnny Mullins | 51 | 1 | 39+1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Jake Wright | 36 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Danny Rose | 19 | 0 | 11+2 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | ENG | George Waring | 15 | 1 | 3+11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Liam Sercombe | 58 | 17 | 45 | 14 | 4+1 | 2 | 1+1 | 1 | 5+1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | EIR | Patrick Hoban | 33 | 5 | 2+21 | 2 | 3+1 | 2 | 1+1 | 0 | 2+2 | 1 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Danny Hylton | 52 | 14 | 34+7 | 12 | 1+3 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 | 4+1 | 1 |
| 11 | MF | SCO | Alex MacDonald | 52 | 6 | 35+5 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5+1 | 1 |
| 13 | GK | LIE | Benjamin Büchel | 31 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Josh Ruffels | 22 | 0 | 8+8 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | IRL | Callum O'Dowda | 50 | 10 | 18+20 | 8 | 4+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 4+1 | 2 |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Jordan Graham | 7 | 0 | 4+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Jonjoe Kenny | 19 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ENG | John Lundstram | 47 | 3 | 33+4 | 3 | 4+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Zeli Ismail | 6 | 0 | 0+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | ENG | Ryan Taylor | 26 | 4 | 15+6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | GK | NZL | Max Crocombe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Sam Long | 3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Cameron Gayle | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Josh Ashby | 4 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Freddie Grant | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Robbie Cundy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | ATG | AJ George | 4 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | SCO | Chris Maguire | 25 | 5 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 |
| 29 | FW | ENG | Jordan Bowery | 20 | 7 | 9+8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | ENG | Sam Humphreys | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 31 | FW | ENG | James Roberts | 4 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | ENG | Aidan Hawtin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | ENG | Chey Dunkley | 35 | 4 | 26+3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 36 | DF | WAL | Jordan Evans | 14 | 1 | 4+5 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |

* Source:

### Top scorers

    As of 7 May 2016

| Place | Position | Nation | Number | Name | League Two | FA Cup | League Cup | FL Trophy | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | MF | | 4 | Kemar Roofe | 18 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 26 |
| 2 | MF | | 8 | Liam Sercombe | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| 3 | FW | | 10 | Danny Hylton | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| 4 | FW | | 15 | Callum O'Dowda | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 5 | FW | | 29 | Jordan Bowery | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 6 | MF | | 11 | Alex MacDonald | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 7 | FW | | 9 | Patrick Hoban | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 7 | FW | | 28 | Chris Maguire | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 9 | FW | | 20 | Ryan Taylor | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | DF | | 33 | Chey Dunkley | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 11 | MF | | 18 | John Lundstram | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 | DF | | 2 | George Baldock | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | DF | | 5 | Johnny Mullins | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | FW | | 7 | George Waring | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | DF | | 36 | Jordan Evans | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 79 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 100 |

### Disciplinary record

    As of 7 May 2016

| Number | Nation | Position | Name | League Two | League Two | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | FL Trophy | FL Trophy | Total | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | | GK | Sam Slocombe | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | | DF | George Baldock | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 3 | | DF | Joe Skarz | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | | MF | Kemar Roofe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | | MF | Johnny Mullins | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 6 | | DF | Jake Wright | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 7 | | MF | Danny Rose | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | | MF | Liam Sercombe | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 10 | | FW | Danny Hylton | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 11 | | MF | Alex MacDonald | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 14 | | MF | Josh Ruffels | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | | FW | Callum O'Dowda | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | | MF | Jordan Graham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 16 | | DF | Jonjoe Kenny | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | | MF | John Lundstram | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 20 | | FW | Ryan Taylor | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 28 | | FW | Chris Maguire | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 31 | | FW | James Roberts | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | | DF | Chey Dunkley | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 59 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 73 | 4 |
