Chelmsford City play their 2nd of 4 consecutive home games at the Melbourne Stadium when they take on Hampton & Richmond Borough in the Vanarama National League South on Saturday 12th November, 3pm kickoff.
The opposition
Hampton & Richmond Borough sit in 17th place after 17 games in the Vanarama National League South this season. They have won 5, drawn 3 and lost 9, scoring 22 goals and conceding 30 in the league campaign so far which all adds up to 18 league points so far. Hampton are in poor form currently with 4 consecutive defeats in the league, although only one of them has been on their travels. On November 1st they suffered a stunning 6-0 home defeat to St Albans City but their lost two losses have only been by 1 goal. On Tuesday night they took the lead over table-toppers Ebbsfleet but they did end up losing 2-1. Away from home this season, Hampton have beaten Tonbridge, Hungerford and Eastbourne, with the latter two away victories both being 1-0.
In terms of players, Hampton have QPR loanee Joe Walsh in between the sticks. Walsh did make first team appearances for Gillingham but moved to the R’s in the summer to link up with their Under 23’s. In defence they have the experienced figure of Dean Inman, who was a big part of the Maidenhead team that won the division in 2017. Inman has also appeared for Billericay and Farnborough and is in his second spell at the club. They have a couple of other loanees including Tommy Davis borrowed from Southend and Ben Shroll who’s parent club is Aldershot. In midfield they have Tommy Block who spent some time in Scotland with Queen’s Park and who signed from Woking in the summer after a loan spell last season. They also have former Hartlepool, Luton and Yeovil midfielder Jake Gray as well as Portsmouth loanee Liam Vincent. In attacking midfield areas they have former Braintree playmaker Stefan Ilic who scored against City last season for the Iron. Up front they have former Tonbridge striker Tommy Wood as well as ex Concord man Temi Babalola and ex Bournemouth academy player Connor Kurran-Browne.
Hampton’s boss is 50 year old Gary McCann. McCann was in charge of Hendon for 13 years between 2005 and 2018 before taking the reins at the Beveree in May of that year.
Previous Meetings
Chelmsford beat Hampton & Richmond 1-0 thanks to a Cameron James header in the last meeting between the two teams in February 2022. Unfortunately after that victory, City went on a run of 9 games without a win. Hampton have a good record in recent years to Melbourne, with the last 6 games being 3 wins apiece between the two sides. City won 4-1 against Hampton on the opening day of the 2019-20 season with Tom Wraight scoring twice and Andy Fennell scoring his only Chelmsford goal.
Team News
Ade Oluwo has missed the last two games due to a slight back injury. The rest of the squad is available but once again changes might be needed due to the current fixture congestion.
Ticket News
Tickets are now available to be purchased in advance of the 3pm kick-off on Saturday and can be bought by clicking this link.
Adult – £13
Senior (65+) – £9
Concession – £9
Full-Time Student – £5
Youth (12-17) – £5
Under-12s – Free
Entry can also be purchased at the turnstiles on the day at the Melbourne Community Stadium.
Ticket prices on the day:
Adult – £15
Senior (65+) – £10
Concession – £10
Full-Time Student – £5
Youth (12-17) – £5
Under-12s – Free
A programme will be available to purchase on the day for £3 or a digital subscription to The Claret can be purchased here.
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.
It is set to be a decent afternoon weather-wise with 14 degrees expected at kickoff dropping to 12 by the end. It is looking dry though.
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