A420 derby

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 both the clubs played friendly matches throughout 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 majority of the decade.

Occasionally, the derby has been marred with the violence, especially during 1970s, when football hooliganism was on its peak. The most notable incident being on 4 May 1982, when a smoke bomb thrown on the pitch from Swindon Town's fan with the score tied at 2–2, the match referee in confusion continued the game on a foggy pitch and Swindon Town scored the winning goal as the match ended 3–2 in Swindon Town's favour. After the final whistle, the referee was struck by a coin from Oxford United's fan and chaos ensued afterwards. The teams have played 62 matches in all competitions, Swindon winning 24, Oxford 17 and remaining 20 having been drawn. Even though Swindon won more derby matches than Oxford, the latter have an unbeaten streak of 18 years, spanning from 2002 to 2020.

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)

Crossing the divide
List of players that played for both teams.