Oxford City striker Charlie Bacon recently completed a loan move to Kidlington FC and has made an instant impact.
Bacon will remain with the Greens until the end of the season, as City continues to monitor the progress of the youngster.
Bacon made his First Team debut in April 2023 in the Senior Cup. Although this was not a game to remember for City, who lost 4-1 to Thame United, Bacon scored City’s only goal of the night.
This not only meant that he scored on his debut, which he later described as an “amazing experience”, but it also made him City’s youngest goalscorer since records began, aged just 16 years and 40 days.
The previous holder of this record was right winger Garath McCleary, who has held the record since August 25th, 2004. His goal against Egham aged 17 years and 102 days earned him the honour, which he held for nearly 19 years.
McCleary joined Wycombe Wanderers in November 2020, where the Jamaican international continues to play today.
Having only joined City last season, Bacon has undergone huge developments in a very short space of time, playing as a striker in the Junior Premier League with the U16s.
He has since been putting in top performances for City’s U19s National League team, as well as the development squad.
Jordan Piper, the Head of Youth Development at City described this move as the “right step” in Bacon’s development, as he becomes the 6th player to go out on loan from the Velocity Programme this season.
So far, Bacon has had a huge impact as a Green, and it was reported on April 5th that he had already tallied a total of 6 goal contributions for his loan side.
He scored his first, and then second, goal in the Kidlington shirt the day before this, in a 3-1 win against Aylesbury United. His 51st-minute goal saw the ball squared to the youngster, who was able to slot into an empty net to double his side's lead.
His second goal came at a crucial time in the fixture, in the closing stages after Ayelsbury had got a goal back. His excellent performance on the night earned him a well-deserved player-of-the-match.
Therefore, it is clear to see that Bacon is already a valued player with the Greens, and his drive to continue to progress this season will play a huge part in his future career.