Oxford United’s FA Cup adventure came to a damp, controversial end today as Sunderland squeezed out a 1-0 win at the Kassam Stadium, with Habib Diarra’s first-half penalty proving the only goal in a tie played in relentless rain and decided by one moment that split the ground.
Sunderland progressed to the fifth round for the first time since 2015, but they didn’t so much sparkle as grind, managing the game professionally after taking the lead and then riding out Oxford’s late push.
The match had an uneven rhythm from the start, with both managers rotating heavily and the conditions immediately shaping the contest into something more physical than fluent. Oxford tried to make it a scrap—long throws, direct balls, and early pressure—while Sunderland, despite seeing more of the ball, played at a controlled tempo and looked to pick moments rather than force them.
Oxford’s brightest early warning came when Jamie Donley, on loan and eager to make an impression, found space to hit a left-footed effort that forced Robin Roefs into a punch away, lifting the home crowd and hinting that Sunderland couldn’t sleepwalk through this. At the other end, Sunderland had an early chance when a cross found Wilson Isidor, but he couldn’t sort his feet out and the opening fizzled.
The decisive incident arrived just after the half-hour and instantly became the game’s talking point. Dennis Cirkin drove into the box and went down under a challenge from Christ Makosso; with no VAR to check the contact, referee Thomas Kirk pointed straight to the spot amid loud protests. Diarra stepped up and rolled his penalty into the corner to put Sunderland 1-0 ahead, and the reaction inside the stadium told you everything—Oxford supporters booing the officials, Sunderland players celebrating the sort of break you take gladly in the cup, and the tie suddenly becoming an uphill chase for the hosts.
Oxford didn’t fold, though, and their best periods came when they leaned into what they could control: duels, territory, and set-piece chaos. A Will Vaulks long throw caused a first-half scramble that nearly brought an equaliser, and Makosso later came close to making amends with a header that drifted wide.
Sunderland, meanwhile, had moments where they should have put the tie to bed—especially around the hour—when a flurry of chances forced Matt Ingram into a sequence of sharp saves, including stops from Romaine Mundle and Chemsdine Talbi, plus another effort smothered at the near post. It was the phase where the game threatened to slip away from Oxford completely, yet Ingram’s keeping kept the one-goal gap alive and kept the crowd believing something could still happen.
That “something” almost arrived on 70 minutes when the ball dropped kindly inside the area for substitute Jamie McDonnell. It was the kind of chance that decides these ties—bodies everywhere, a split second to pick your spot—but he side-footed over the bar, and you could feel Oxford’s momentum deflate with it.
Oxford threw what they had left into the closing stages, forcing Sunderland to defend crosses and long throws under pressure, but Sunderland’s centre-backs and midfield screen held their shape and Roefs was rarely forced into a second major moment. The final whistle brought relief for the visitors and a sense of grievance for the home side, who felt the key decision had gone against them.
Afterwards, Sunderland boss Régis Le Bris struck the tone you’d expect from a coach who knows cup ties are about outcomes, not aesthetics. He was pleased with the discipline and the clean sheet on a difficult surface, and he leaned on the idea that his side managed the contest well once they were in front—limiting Oxford’s clear chances and creating enough themselves to have finished the job earlier. At the same time, there was an acknowledgement that it became tense because Sunderland didn’t find that second goal during their best spell, which allowed Oxford to keep believing right to the end.
Oxford manager Matt Bloomfield’s view was inevitably shaped by the penalty. His frustration was clear: he felt the contact looked soft, he pointed to the absence of VAR as a major factor in a game decided by one call, and he believed his side showed enough fight and structure to deserve at least the chance to take the tie deeper. He also highlighted the moments Oxford did have—Donley’s early strike, the set-piece openings, and McDonnell’s big opportunity—because that was the other sting in the defeat: even if you feel hard done by, you still need to take at least one of the chances you’re given.
For Oxford, it became a familiar cup story of fine margins, but for Sunderland it was a reminder that progress sometimes comes through patience, a key decision, and then doing the unglamorous work to protect it.
