Chelmsford City v Brackley Town, Pre-Season Friendly, EMJ Community Stadium, Saturday 19th July 2025, 3:00pm kick-off.
Chelmsford City welcome National League North champions Brackley Town to Essex this weekend.
The Clarets come into the game on the back of recording their first win of pre-season earlier this week, having beaten Maldon & Tiptree on Tuesday night.
Gavin Cowan’s Saints squad will provide City with a different type of test as the 2025/26 season draws closer, with the Northamptonshire-based side preparing for a National League campaign for the first time in the club’s history.
Here’s all that Clarets fans need to know ahead of the game…
Opposition:
Brackley Town were crowned National League North champions at the end of the 2024/25 season, finally securing promotion after several years of narrow play‑off exits.
The Saints had been a regular fixture in the top seven of the North since 2016/17, but play-off success or a decisive first-place finish had eluded the club until earlier this year.
Cowan’s men sealed their place in the top tier of Non-League for the first time in the club’s history with a 5-0 win over Farsley Celtic on the final day of last season, while promotion rivals Kidderminster Harriers lost 2-1 at Southport.
The strikes of forward Connor Hall were crucial to the Saints’ success last season – he netted 18 league goals in 24/25 and is looking forward to continuing with the club in the National League after signing terms last month to stay at St James Park.
✍️ Connor Hall signs new deal!
— Brackley Town FC (@BrackleyTownFC) June 3, 2025
Brackley Town are delighted to announce that the striker extends his stay at St James Park for the 2025/26 season 🙌
74 appearances, 28 goals, and plenty more to come! 👊#WeAreBrackley 🔴⚪️
Hall and several of his Brackley teammates who are remaining at the club this season will be somewhat familiar adversaries to Clarets boss Angelo Harrop. Harrop travelled to Northamptonshire last year for an FA Cup clash against the Saints when he was in charge of former club Braintree Town. Following a 0-0 draw, the game was decided by a penalty shootout that Cowan’s side came out on top in, which earned them a place in the second round of the competition.
Team news:
City boss Harrop will look to get the balance right between building his squad’s fitness on Saturday and ensuring players are not fatigued ahead of a quick return to action on Monday away to Hashtag United.
Matchday & Ticketing information:
We will be welcoming Farvie’s Grill to the EMJ Community Stadium this weekend, who will have a range of affordably priced food on offer for both sets of supporters.
Tickets are available to purchase online in advance via clicking here and visiting the club’s ticketing website, or at the gate on the day. Card-only payments are accepted at the turnstiles. Ticket prices are as follows:
Ticket Type | Advance Online | On the Gate |
Adult | £10 | £12 |
Concession | £5 | £6 |
Student | £5 | £6 |
Youth | £5 | £6 |
Under 12s | FREE | FREE |
How to follow the game:
Radio Clarets will NOT provide live audio commentary for this game.
Clarets fans can find pre-match coverage of the game and live updates of the proceedings 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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