Chelmsford City continue their Vanarama National League South playoff push with a mouthwatering match against 3rd placed Oxford City on Easter Monday, 10th April (3pm kickoff).
City have won their last 4 fixtures in the league, coming from behind in all of them and scoring decisive goals past the 80th minute in 3 of the 4 victories.
The opposition
Oxford City sit in 3rd place in the Vanarama National League South having played 42 games in the National League South this season. They have won 19, drawn 14 and lost 9, scoring 73 goals and conceding 51 in the league campaign so far which all adds up to 71 league points. After an inconsistent start to the season, Oxford have motored in the second half of the campaign and had only lost once since Boxing Day until they lost to Ebbsfleet on Good Friday, a result which saw the Fleet crowned champions.
In terms of players, Oxford have Nottingham Forest loanee keeper Adnan Kanuric in goal. Kanuric is 6’4″ and was born in Austria but has represented Bosnia & Herzegovina at youth level internationally. In defence they have former Oxford United and Swindon centre-back Canice Carroll along with MK Dons loanee Jack Davies, who had a spell at Concord earlier this season. In midfield they still have long serving players such as Reece Fleet, Josh Ashby and Zac McEachran and they have brought in Aaron Williams-Bushell from Maldon & Tiptree who can play full-back as well. Up front they still have Joe Iaciofano who scored 22 league goals last season, but has only scored 6 so far this term. Most of the goalscoring has been done by Greek striker Kladi Lolos who has scored 14 in the league this season. Lolos, who is 6’3″, played for Plymouth and Torquay in recent campaigns and struggled for goals but has hit the ground running this season. Much travelled forward Josh Parker is their top scorer with 16 in the league but missed Good Friday’s match so maybe a doubt.
Oxford City have one of the youngest managers in English football, with boss Ross Jenkins just 32 years old. He was appointed caretaker in January 2022 after the surprise departure of David Oldfield to Weymouth but then as Oxford continued their playoff push, he was appointed permanently in March last year. Jenkins, just like his namesake, played for Watford 90 times, and then had spells in Bulgarian, Norwegian, Romanian and Scottish football before having to retire in 2018. Oxford City is his first managerial role.
Previous meetings
Oxford City have had the upper hand in the Vanarama National League South with only 4 wins for Chelmsford out of 14 meetings between the two teams since Oxford were transferred to the South from the North in 2015. We also met them in the FA Trophy as well which ended up in November 2018, which ended up in a 4-0 loss for City. In our first meeting on the opening day in 2015 we went 2-1 up through Charlie Henry but immediately from kick-off Bradley Bubb lobbed then City keeper Ashley Timms from the half-way line and the game finished 2-2, a goal which went viral on Youtube. City also triumphed over Oxford in March 2019 when current Clarets assistant-manager Mickey Spillane scored the winner on his 100th Chelmsford appearance. The game in February 2021 between the two teams was notable as it was the last game played by both clubs in the 2020-21 season before it was finally cancelled due to Covid. City last season drew 1-1 at Oxford with Adam Morgan scoring a last-gasp equaliser. At Melbourne, City won the game earlier this season when Ade Oluwo scrambled a last-minute corner over the line.
Team News
Chelmsford have injury worries in defence with Frankie Terry and Ade Oluwo both missing for the game. Terry suffered a potentially season-ending knee injury on Good Friday but is awaiting a scan to know the full extent. Ade Oluwo suffered concussion so is in the protocol for Monday’s game after a heavy clash with Farnborough’s John Oyenuga. Cameron James returned from injury to replace Oluwo at half-time and should continue in defence. Freddie Hockey is also out with a knee injury although Jazzi Barnum-Bobb and Harry Lodovica could return having not been selected for the squad on Friday despite returning from international duty and injury respectively.
Tickets are now available to be purchased in advance of the 3pm kick off and can be bought at this link here.
Advanced Prices:
Adult – £13
Concession & NHS Key Worker – £8
Students & Under 18s – Free
Full Package – Entry, Programme & Food Item – £20
Turnstile Prices
Adult – £15
Concession & NHS Key Worker – £10
Students & Under 18s – Free
How to get there…
The supporters coach is sold out for this fixture.
Court Place Farm is situated on the A40 which is the main circular around the city of Oxford. Take the M25 and M40 from Chelmsford and then the A34 at Junction 9 of the M40. Continue on A34 until the A40 turn off to Marsh Ln/B4150.
The railway station in Oxford is four miles from the stadium. On leaving the railway station proceed to bus stop 4 and get on the 14A. This bus will drop you at Horseman Close, 2 minutes walk from the stadium.
Where to follow the game…
The Club will be only providing coverage of the game on Twitter (@OfficialClarets) using the hashtag #TheClarets.
There will also be live audio commentary from Radio Clarets.
Post-match reports and interviews will be found on the club website, social media and ClaretsTV following the game.
Weather
It is set to be a mild 13 degrees with showers forecast during the game although Oxford’s ground has an artificial surface so the match will not be in doubt.
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