Following a disappointing away defeat at South Shields and a well-earned weekend off, the Martyrs host Oxford City on Good Friday to begin an action-packed Easter weekend. The visitors, Oxford City, currently sit in 19th place and are fighting for survival. 'The City' head into the fixture off the back of a priceless 3-2 home victory against playoff pushing Kidderminster Harriers after coming back from 2-1 down in the first half to claim the three points.

Previous Encounters:

The Martyrs have locked horns with Oxford on 5 different occasions, with Merthyr claiming victory in 2, while Oxford have only managed to beat the Martyrs once. The most recent encounter between the two sides came on Boxing Day of this season, with the Martyrs picking up a 3-1 away win after goals from Aneurin Livermore, Lewys Twamley and Cawley Cox.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | KEY STAFF

Manager | Ross Jenkins

Manager Ross Jenkins was appointed manager of Oxford City in September 2024 as he returned to the club following a brief spell as manager of Boreham Wood. Prior to coaching, Jenkins had a solid playing career that started in the Watford FC youth ranks. Jenkins signed a two-year academy scholarship with Watford in 2007 before making his first team debut in August 2008 in League One. Ross Jenkins went on to make 81 appearances for Watford in his time there from 2008 to 2014, where he scored 2 goals. His time at Watford also saw him have loan spells at Plymouth Argyle in 2012 and Barnet in 2013. After departing Watford in 2014, Jenkins made the move to Crawley Town, where he only made 14 appearances before terminating his own contract to pursue a move to Romania as he signed for Poli Timisoara. Jenkins made 9 appearances for Poli Timisoara prior to signing a 6-month contract for Bulgarian club Pirin Blagoevgrad in February 2017. After the conclusion of his 6-month contract at Pirin Blagoevgrad, Jenkins made the move to Norway as he signed for Viking, where he made 12 appearances before being released at the end of the 2017 season. After he departed from Viking, Jenkins made the final move of his playing career to Scottish Premiership side Hamilton Academical in February 2018, where he appeared 11 times. After persistent injuries led Jenkins to retire from professional football at the age of 28, he made the move into a coaching role at Oxford City. In January 2022, First Team Manager David Oldfield departed Oxford City, and Jenkins was placed as Caretaker Manager with the club sitting in 4th place. Then, in March 2022, Jenkins was appointed as Head Coach on a permanent basis. The 2022-23 season was Jenkins' first full season as Head Coach, and he guided Oxford City to promotion to the fifth tier for the first team in the club's history as they defeated St Albans City 4-0 in the playoff final. Despite this, Oxford City suffered an immediate relegation back to the sixth tier, and in May 2024, the club confirmed the departure of Ross Jenkins. Following his departure from Oxford City, Jenkins was appointed manager of National League South side Boreham Wood but left after just 8 games in charge and rejoined Oxford City as manager in September 2024.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT- SEASON SO FAR

Oxford City have had a disappointing 2025/26 campaign so far, with Ross Jenkins' side finding themselves deeply involved in a tight battle for survival. Following the Boxing Day defeat to Merthyr, Oxford travelled to Peterborough Sports for their last game of 2025 and managed to hold the hosts to a goalless draw, picking up a solid point on the road. In their first game of 2026, Oxford managed to claim the 3 points as they defeated Buxton FC 2-1 at home after a last-minute winner from Darnell Johnson. Ross Jenkins' side couldn't continue the winning form as they were defeated 3-0 away from home at Macclesfield in their next fixture. Jenkins' Oxford managed to bounce back from their defeat at Macclesfield as they claimed a solid 1-0 victory at home against title-challenging AFC Fylde. Despite the surprising result against Fylde, the next three games proved to be tricky for 'The City' as they lost 3-1 to South Shields, 1-0 to Radcliffe, before a 0-0 draw away at Leamington. Oxford City managed to pick up another win as they won 2-1 away at Worksop, but they were once again defeated as they lost 2-0 at home against Marine, swiftly followed by a 0-0 draw against AFC Telford. In the six games before travelling to South Wales, Oxford have begun to improve their results as they have won 4 out of their last 6, while drawing once and losing just once. During this positive run of form, they have defeated King's Lynn, Southport, Chorley and most recently Kidderminster Harriers. The top goal scorers so far this season for Oxford have been Josh Ashby and Tom Scott, who have both found the back of the net for Oxford on 6 occasions.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | 2025/26 SQUAD

Goalkeepers | Max Metcalfe, Max Treml

Defenders | Aaron Harper-Bailey, Darnell Johnson, Charlie Wiggett, George Burroughs, Evan Humphries, Jacob Roddy, Geneiro Maragh, Byron Wilson

Midfielders | Josh Ashby, O'Shea Ellis, Tom Scott, Latrell Humphrey-Ewers, Brayden Daniel, Joshua McConnell, Ashley Hemmings, Jack Bearne, Matty Taylor

Attackers | Alfie Potter, Ewan Clark, Matty Taylor, Isaac Westendorf, Josh Parker, Michael Bampoh, Charlie Bacon, Zac McEachran, DJ Sturridge, Kauan Bitencourt de Oliveira

Match Details:

Date | Friday 3rd April 2026

Competition | Enterprise National League North

Time | 15:00

Stadium | Penydarren Park