OXFORD City are facing a goalkeeping crisis on an unprecedented scale for their visit to Croydon in Ryman League Division 1 tonight - leaving them set to field an outfield player between the sticks.

City's five registered keepers are all either suspended or badly injured.

And as the transfer deadline has passed, manager Paul Lee is not allowed to sign an emergency keeper.

The goalkeeping tale of woe reads:

Colin Fleet - starting three-match ban

Mickey Torres - serving 35-day ban

Darren Cross - sidelined after hand operation

Paul Tassell - recovering from broken arm

Dave Summers - out with damaged knee ligaments

City appealed to the league for special dispensation to sign another keeper and also contacted the FA in an attempt to appeal against Fleet's ban.

But in both instances their desperate pleas have fallen on stony ground.

Lee said: "All the years I have been in football I have never known anything like it. I thought I had covered all avenues by having five signed on."

And when asked who was going to don the No 1 jersey, he admitted: "I have not got a clue. I will have to play an outfield player in goal."

League chairman Alan Turvey explained that they had rejected City's plea because it didn't fall within the management committee's guidelines.

Oxford City: from Smart, Smith, Cooper, Dark, Fontaine, Whitehead, Lee, Fontaine, Concannon, McCleary, M Jones, Strong, Wallbridge, Potter, Alexis.

Story date: Wednesday 14 April

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.