Oxford United 2009-10 Season Review

Looking back on the 2009-10 season, in which Oxford United secured their return to the Football League after four long years in the wilderness.

Conference experience was the main criteria for manager Chris Wilder when he was recruiting for his promotion charge. Rather than looking for players dropping down from higher leagues, Wilder plucked the best talent from United's rivals, including the likes of Mark Creighton (Kidderminster Harriers), Dannie Bulman (Crawley Town) and Simon Clist (Forest Green Rovers).

Wilder's U's started the season phenomenally, winning 13 of their opening 18 matches and immediately rising to the summit of the division, beating promotion rivals Luton Town and Stevenage Borough along the way. United had tasted defeat just twice before the end of 2009, but as the season began to approach its business end, they began to wobble.

The side had already snatched defeat from the jaws of victory at Luton in February, conceding twice in stoppage time to drop three points to their rivals. But the pressure was really piled on as the U's went five games without a win in March, allowing Stevenage to build a lead at the top of the table and meaning that the yellows needed to win when they visited the Hertfordshire side to keep their title hopes alive. A contentious penalty for the hosts condemned United to defeat in a bad-tempered game and focus switched from the title race to preparing for the play-offs.

Defeat to Eastbourne Borough on the final day of the season saw United leapfrogged by Luton and set up a play-off semi-final with fourth-placed Rushden & Diamonds. After a 1-1 draw at Nene Park, the U's cruised into the final at Wembley courtesy of a 2-0 Bank Holiday triumph, setting up a winner-takes-all encounter with York City in the final. More than 30,000 yellows descended on Wembley Stadium to see their side triumph 3-1 and reclaim their Football League place after four long years in the wilderness.