Chelmsford City FC V Bath City FC, National League South, EMJ Community Stadium, Saturday 7th September 2024, 3pm kick-off.
Chelmsford City return to action at the EMJ Community Stadium this weekend when they welcome Bath City to Essex on Saturday afternoon.
Robbie Simpson’s Clarets are looking to record back-to-back National League South wins for the first time in 2024-25, after defeating Maidstone United 5-1 on Tuesday night to record the club’s first league victory of the season.
Jerry Gill’s men will arrive in Essex hoping to build on their own midweek success; the Romans’ 1-0 win over Truro City at Twerton Park marked their third win of the campaign.
Here’s all that Clarets supporters need to know ahead of the game…
Team & match stats:
- All three of Bath City’s league wins this season have come in home games. Gill’s side have only picked up one point out of a possible nine from the three away games which they have played so far in 2024-25.
- The Clarets are on a three match winless run at home this season in the National League South. All three league games played at the EMJ Community Stadium have ended in 1-1 draws (vs Hampton & Richmond, Tonbridge Angels and Chippenham Town).
- There has been a winner in each of the previous six games played between Chelmsford City and Bath City at the EMJ Community Stadium (4 Chelmsford City wins, 2 Bath City wins).
- Since the Romans’ return to the National League South in 2012-13, the Clarets have only completed a league double over the Romans twice (in the 21-22 and 23-24 campaigns).
Relive last season’s memorable league double over Bath City by watching the videos shown below.
Opposition:
Bath City’s 12th consecutive campaign in the National League South ended in heartbreak when the Romans were defeated by Braintree Town in their play-off eliminator clash at the end of last season. Romans’ supporters will hope it is 13th time lucky this time around, as their club looks to reach the National League for the first time since 2012.
Key to Bath City’s success last season was their solidity at the back. Jerry Gill’s team were a difficult outfit to beat, who boasted the fourth strongest defensive record in the National League South (only Yeovil Town, Braintree Town and Chelmsford City conceded less goals than Bath City). The Romans have retained several key components of Gill’s reliable backline for the new season. Defenders Danny Greenslade, Joe Raynes, Jack Batten and captain Kieran Parselle have all continued at Twerton Park this season.
Having kept several of their key defenders, it is no surprise that Bath have been one of the division’s best defensive sides so far this season. The Romans have kept four clean sheets in their opening seven matches, and have conceded more than once in only two of these games. In fact, three of the seven goals Bath have let in this season were conceded during the first half of their 4-2 loss at Hemel Hempstead last Saturday. Romans goalkeeper Harvey Wiles-Richards, who joined the club permanently in June following his departure from Bristol City, was shown a straight red card in the 29th minute of the game at Vauxhall Road with his side trailing 1-0. Defender Joe Raynes, who played in goal for the Romans in similar circumstances last season, was forced to go between the sticks for the remainder of the game with no substitute goalkeeper on the bench for Gill to introduce.
Wiles-Richards was eligible to play in his side’s win over Truro City on Tuesday, but with the 21-year-old’s suspension beginning this weekend, Gill has moved quickly to increase his selection of goalkeepers and has signed Josey Casa-Grande. Casa-Grande has returned to Twerton Park on another loan deal from Bristol City, which was confirmed earlier this week. The 19-year-old, who played for Bath last season, will hope to make his 13th Romans appearance if Gill selects him over 16-year-old Massimo Sardo this weekend.
In forward areas, Gill’s men are still searching for the same ruthlessness they have continued to show at the back. Up to now, the Romans have scored six goals this season and have only found the back of the net more than once in one of their opening seven league games. The departure of prolific forward Cody Cooke during the summer months saw Gill lose a key part of his attacking arsenal from previous years – Cooke scored 45 National League South goals during his three seasons at Twerton Park.
However, the Romans did retain Scott Wilson. Forward Wilson arguably represents the Romans’ biggest goal threat following the departure of Cooke; the 31-year-old has scored 36 Bath City goals during the 96 appearances he has made for the Somerset club. The two league goals Wilson has scored so far this season place him first in the Romans’ top goalscorer charts, even though he has been absent from Bath’s squad in the club’s last two league games. It remains to be seen if Wilson will make a comeback in Essex this weekend.
Team News:
Paul Appiah made his Chelmsford City debut after being included in the starting XI against former club Maidstone United on Tuesday. The centre back will hope to make his first home appearance as a Claret during this weekend’s game.
Bradley Williams has been suffering from a hamstring problem since he was forced off during the 1-1 draw against Chippenham Town last week.
Manager Robbie Simpson confirmed following Saturday’s defeat to Truro City that Ryan Blackman is suspected to have suffered a serious injury.
Cameron James and Geofrey Okonkwo remain as absentees.
Ticketing & matchday information:
Supporters should note that tickets are only being sold on matchday at the turnstiles. We would like to advise those attending Saturday’s game to arrive at the ground early, in order to avoid queues at the turnstiles. Cash or card payments are accepted.
Ticket prices for Saturday’s match are as follows:
Adult – £17
Concession/Senior (65+) – £12
Student (17-24 with valid ID) – £6.50
Youth (12-17) – £6.50
Under-12s – Free
Following the change in ownership, work is continuing to resolve the administrative issues which have prevented the sale of online match tickets so far this season. However, these tasks are still ongoing meaning that online ticket sales are not taking place for this fixture. We thank supporters for their patience and understanding surrounding this issue, and we hope to be able to provide a positive update soon.
Issue 4 of our home matchday programme ‘The Claret‘ can be purchased from The Supporters’ Club Hut for £3.50! This week’s copy features Osman Foyo on the front cover! Our club shop will also be open on Saturday, where you can purchase replica club shirts plus other Chelmsford City merchandise!
How to follow the game:
Radio Clarets will provide live audio commentary of proceedings at the EMJ Community Stadium.
Clarets fans can find pre-match coverage of Saturday’s match and live updates of proceedings in Essex by following the club’s X (formerly Twitter) page: @OfficialClarets and Instagram page: chelmsfordcityfc.
Post-match reactions will be found on the club’s website, official social media channels and on ClaretsTV.
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