| Location | Southern England |
|---|---|
| Teams | Oxford United Swindon Town |
| First meeting | Swindon Town 0–0 Oxford United (21 August 1965) (1965–66 Third Division) |
| Latest meeting | Swindon Town 1–2 Oxford United (9 March 2021) (2020–21 League One) |
| Stadiums | Kassam Stadium (Oxford United) County Ground (Swindon Town) |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 62 |
| Most wins | Swindon Town (25) |
| Most player appearances | John Trollope (25) |
| Top scorer | Steve White (6) |
| All-time record | Swindon Town: 25 Draw: 20 Oxford United: 17 |
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.[1]
Although the clubs played friendly matches throughout the 1950s,[2] the rivalry began when Oxford United replaced the bankrupt Accrington Stanley in the Football League.[3] The rivalry was at its peak in the 1970s since both the teams were in the same divisions for the majority of the decade.[1][4]
Occasionally, the derby has been marred by violence, especially during the 1970s,[2] when football hooliganism was at its peak.[1] 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.[1][2]
The teams have played 62 matches in all competitions, Swindon winning 24, Oxford 17 and remaining 20 having been drawn.[5] Even though Swindon have won more derby matches than Oxford, the latter have an unbeaten streak of 18 years, spanning from 2002 to 2020.[4]