Braintree Town FC V Chelmsford City FC
National League South, The Rare Breed Meat Co. Stadium, Tuesday 26th December 2023, 3pm kick-off.
After handing Chelmsford City supporters an early Christmas Present on Saturday following a hard-earned home win against Torquay, Robbie Simpson’s side will hope they can allow Clarets supporters to continue their festivities during Tuesday’s Boxing Day trip to Braintree.
City make the 13-mile journey to The Rare Breed Meat Co. Stadium looking to extend their one-point advantage over the Irons in the National League South standings, who fell to a 1-0 away defeat at the weekend in their clash versus Farnborough.
Here’s all that Clarets supporters need to know ahead of the club’s Boxing Day clash.
Team & match stats:
· Angelo Harrop’s Braintree side have the fourth strongest home record in the National League South this season.
· Chelmsford City are unbeaten in their last 10 league fixtures against the Irons.
· Both teams have scored in 7 of the previous 9 National League South matches between City and Braintree.
· Tuesday’s hosts are without a clean sheet in their last 9 league games versus the Clarets.
Opposition:
Like Chelmsford City, Braintree Town entered this season looking to build on a positive 22-23 campaign. Angelo Harrop’s side earned a place in the National League South’s playoffs last season, but the Iron were defeated in their playoff eliminator against Worthing.
Buoyed by the goals of Aaron Blair and former Claret Tom Blackwell, in addition to having the league’s strongest defence at present, Chelmsford’s Essex rivals currently look in strong shape this season as they seek to bounce back from their previous playoff disappointment, and achieve another top seven finish this time around.
Recently, Harrop has looked to strengthen his side’s impressive backline further, with Braintree adding left back Lewis Miccio and versatile defender Baris Altintop to their ranks in the past week. Miccio featured regularly for Oxford City in the National League South last season, and started in the Hoops’ 4-0 playoff final win against St Albans. Altintop meanwhile, has returned to The Rare Breed Meat Co. Stadium after he impressed in Braintree colours last season. Altintop made his first start since re-signing for Harrop’s side during their 1-0 loss to Farnborough on Saturday.
Following this defeat, Harrop will be hoping that a return to home comforts on Tuesday helps his side get back to winning ways. Since losing 2-1 to Maidstone in their second league home game of the season back in August, the Irons have gone unbeaten in the National League South at The Rare Breed Meat Co. Stadium. Three of the four league goals scored by former City man Tom Blackwell for his new club this season have come in home games, and Blackwell will be looking to score in a Chelmsford v Braintree fixture for the fifth time, having netted four times against his current club whilst wearing Claret.
Team News:
Robbie Simpson is not believed to have suffered any new injury concerns amongst his squad during Saturday’s win over Torquay.
Getting there:
The cross-county trip from Melbourne Community Stadium to The Rare Breed Meat Co. Stadium takes around 20 minutes by car.
At the time of writing, there are still spaces left on the Chelmsford City Supporters Club coach. The coach departs Melbourne Park at 1pm on Tuesday, and supporters can contact @CCFC_Coach on X if they wish to travel on the coach.
Ticketing information:
Ticket prices for Tuesday’s game are as follows:
· Adults: £15
· Concessions: £10
· Under 18s: £5
Braintree do not sell match tickets online.
How to follow the game:
Radio Clarets will be providing live audio commentary of proceedings at The Rare Breed Meat Co. Stadium.
Clarets fans can find pre-match coverage of Tuesday’s game, and live updates of proceedings on Boxing Day 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.
Words by Jake Dixon.
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