It had been 675 days since Oxford United were last awarded a penalty when the referee pointed to the spot at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday.
The last time the U’s won a spot kick, Des Buckingham was manager, Rishi Sunak was prime minister and Italy were the reigning European champions.
But Saturday’s penalty didn’t just end a run stretching back almost two years, it also meant one United fan could finally shave – having vowed he wouldn’t until his team were awarded one.
Gary Hudson, who is better known as Fred Big-Ox, had been wearing a yellow wig and blue beard to matches to raise money for The Joey Beauchamp Foundation – a mental health charity formed in honour of one of United’s greatest ever players.
