Oxford City boss Mark Jones hails side after FA Cup giant-killing

Matt Paterson’s second-half header earned a 1-0 win at Colchester United on Saturday and their place in tonight’s second-round draw.

The Vanarama National League South strugglers were forced to dig deep to keep their hosts at bay late on.

But the final whistle was met with joyous celebrations from the part-timers as they shocked the Sky Bet League Two club.

Boss Jones, who revealed he was going to celebrate ‘with half a pint down the local’, was in awe of his side’s performance as they reached the second round for the first time since 1969-70.

He said: “It’s just absolutely tremendous and I can’t praise the players enough. We’re absolutely buzzing.

“We’ve been up against it in recent weeks, because we haven’t got the points we’ve needed in the league.

“I think we’ve won more games in the FA Cup, but my emotions are just one of delight and it was great to see the lads celebrating with the fans.

“It’s probably one of the best days I’ve had in football, so it’s brilliant.”

City’s goal arrived in the 46th minute and they had to survive a barrage of pressure in the second half.

Goalkeeper Jack Stevens produced one fine save, while Lee Henderson and Freddie Grant made last-ditch blocks in the area.

Jones admitted he could not wait for the full-time whistle.

He said: “You look at the clock a hell of a lot and as a manager you just want it to fast forward.

“When it got into the final minutes, Colchester were putting a lot of balls into our box and you are just hoping you can see the game out.

“But I thought we defended resolutely and most people might agree we deserved it.”

City earned £18,000 in beating Colchester, boosting their FA Cup pot to £42,500 after progressing from the second qualifying round.

Jones added: “We’ll take it one game at a time, but if we can get into the third round and draw one of the Premier League clubs it can actually sustain the club for many, many years.”