OXFORD City were beaten late on against Rochdale in their first Vanarama National League game on home soil.

Veteran striker Ian Henderson, 38, scored the only goal of the match with less than 20 minutes to go.

The Hoops started brightly though, with Aaron Williams-Bushell and Josh Parker both seeing efforts blocked by the Dale defence.

At the other end, Henderson thought he had given his side the lead when he poked the ball past Chris Haigh, however he was denied by the offside flag.

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City continued to get forward though, with Josh Ashby dragging a shot wide and Parker seeing a powerful effort hit straight at Wolves loanee Louie Moulden in the Dale goal.

Henderson continued to be a thorn in the Hoops backline, and after this time beating the offside trap and nudging the ball past Haigh, he was denied by a brilliant goal line block from Andre Burley.

Just three minutes into the second period, Haigh made a fine save from point-blank range to thwart Kairo Mitchell’s effort from inside the six-yard box.

The visitors, relegated from Sky Bet League Two in April to end their 102-year stay in the Football League, grabbed the only goal of the game when Tyrese Sinclair squared for Jimmy Keohane, who picked out Henderson to make no mistake from the edge of the six-yard box.

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