Chippenham Town FC V Chelmsford City FC, National League South, The Thornbury Surfacing Stadium, Saturday 20th April 2024, 3pm kick-off.
Chelmsford City complete their regular season programme in the National League South with a trip to Chippenham Town this weekend.
Simpson’s Clarets have already secured a playoff spot, but will travel to Wiltshire on Saturday knowing that they can guarantee a 2nd placed finish in the league table if they take maximum points from Gary Horgan’s side.
Unless Braintree Town can record an eleven-goal victory over Eastbourne Borough this weekend, a draw from this weekend’s final day clash will still guarantee City a top three finish in the National League South standings. Likewise, Worthing would need to win by 4 goals against Weston-Super-Mare in order to overtake the Clarets, should they draw. Ending the campaign in the second or third will earn Simpson’s men a bye to the playoff semi-finals, and home advantage for this clash.
Standing in City’s way on Saturday will be mid-table Chippenham Town. The Bluebirds have enjoyed another comfortable season in the sixth tier of English football, but have nothing significant to play for on the final day. Horgan’s men have no chance of climbing into a playoff position this weekend, even though they’ve spent the entirety of this season above the relegation places.
Here’s all that Clarets supporters need to know ahead of the game…
Team & match stats:
· Chippenham Town can accumulate the club’s highest points tally in a single season since their promotion to the National League South if they win on Saturday.
· Gary Horgan’s side have picked up more points away from home this season (32) than they have earned from their matches at The Thornbury Surfacing Stadium (29).
· The Bluebirds are on a three-game winless run in the National League South heading into their final fixture of the 23-24 campaign.
· City have not recorded a victory in their past four clashes against Saturday’s Wiltshire opponents.
Opposition:
Following midweek success against Swindon Supermarine FC, Chippenham Town will enter the final day of the 2023-24 season with a trophy to show off to the Bluebirds faithful, having won the Wiltshire Premier Shield final on Tuesday night. The highest placed football clubs in the county of Wiltshire enter the competition, with professional to Step 5 sides, including Swindon Town FC, all vying to win the trophy.
Gary Horgan’s men won the dramatic final of the competition 4-3 earlier this week by staging an impressive comeback victory. The Bluebirds trailed Supermarine by two goals after going 3-1 down during the second half, but efforts from Caine Bradbury, Leighton Tuodolo, and former Claret Tyreke Johnson, turned the game on its head and allowed Chippenham to take the silverware back with them to The Thornbury Surfacing Stadium.
The Bluebirds’ midweek cup win will have provided Saturday’s opponents with a much-needed confidence boost ahead of the final day of the National League South season. Chippenham Town might’ve been considered as outsiders to earn a playoff position a few weeks earlier, after winning five out of six league games which they played between March 12th and April 6th. Horgan’s side have tasted defeat in each of their three league fixtures since April 6th though, ending their slim playoff hopes.
Despite a disappointing end to their league campaign, Horgan’s side can still better Chippenham Town’s highest National League South points tally since the club’s promotion to the division in 2017. The Bluebirds accumulated 62 points last season, but a victory on Saturday would see them surpass that highest points tally and end the campaign with 64 points.
Team News:
Cameron James marked his recovery from a recent injury by returning to the match day squad last weekend.
George Alexander served his one game suspension last time out against Tonbridge Angels after receiving two yellow cards during City’s 1-1 draw against Slough Town earlier this month.
Getting there:
Supporters travelling by car to Saturday’s match should know that the journey from Melbourne Community Stadium to The Thornbury Surfacing Stadium takes a little less than three hours.
The Chelmsford City Supporters Club coach travelling to Saturday’s game has sold out. The coach departs Melbourne Park at 9:45am on Saturday, and will then depart the County Hotel at 10am.
Supporters arriving into Chippenham by train should know that The Thornbury Surfacing Stadium is around a 20-minute walk away from Chippenham railway station.
Ticketing information:
Ticket prices at the turnstiles for Saturday’s game are as follows:
· Adult: £15
· Senior Citizen/Student/Armed Forces Personnel (ID required): £11
· Junior (16–18-year-olds): £5
· Child (5-15-year-olds): £3 or free when accompanied by a paying adult
How to follow the game:
Radio Clarets will provide live commentary of proceedings at The Thornbury Surfacing Stadium.
Clarets fans can find pre-match coverage of Saturday’s match and live updates of proceedings in Wiltshire 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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