A420 derby

The A420 derby is a football match played between Oxford United and Swindon Town. It takes its name from A420 road, a primary road between both cities, which are only 30 miles (48 km) apart.

Although the clubs played friendly matches throughout the 1950s, the rivalry began when Oxford United replaced the bankrupt Accrington Stanley in the Football League. The rivalry was at its peak in the 1970s since both the teams were in the same divisions for the majority of the decade.

Occasionally, the derby has been marred by violence, especially during the 1970s, when football hooliganism was at its peak. The most notable incident occurred on 4 May 1982, when a smoke bomb was thrown onto the pitch by a Swindon Town fan with the score tied at 2–2. The match referee in confusion continued the game on a foggy pitch and Swindon scored the winning goal, the match ending 3–2 in Swindon's favour. After the final whistle, the referee was struck by a coin thrown by an Oxford fan and chaos ensued.

The teams have played 62 matches in all competitions, Swindon winning 24, Oxford 17 and remaining 21 having been drawn. Even though Swindon have won more derby matches than Oxford, the latter have an unbeaten streak of 18 years, spanning from 2002 to 2020.