The Clarets return home for their 4th home fixture this season. Following a long trip down to Weymouth, they come back to Essex 3 point heavier after a superb display. This bank holiday Monday fixture will be a good one, with struggling Eastbourne desperate to set things right!
The Opposition
The visitors sit in 21st following the start of the season. On just 4 points, they have had 3 consecutive defeats and have not picked up points since their 1-1 draw with Farnborough on matchday 2. They beat Hampton & Richmond on the opening day, before the draw, but have suffered an away defeat to league newcomers Aveley as well as home defeats to both Bath City and Truro City. They’ll be hoping that they can put an end to this barren run as they look to kickstart their season.
In terms of players, they have former Oxford and Dartford keeper Ben Dudzinski, who joined from the Darts in the summer. In the 21/22 season, he featured at Oxford and helped them keep 14 clean sheets, in a season where they missed out in the playoffs. However, last season he missed out personally, as he switched to Dartford in February.
In defence they have another player with good experience at this level, Alex Finney. Amassing over 100 games for Maidstone United, he knows the National League South well. He joined Eastbourne from Tonbridge Angels over the summer, in a questionable transfer dealing. Following promotion and the expiration of his deal, he left Ebbsfleet and agreed to join Tonbridge. However, he swiftly went back on his word to sign down on the South coast.
Yet another payer who is no stranger to the Clarets is Jack Paxman. The 29-year-old featured against Chelmsford for 3 different sides last season, as well as being on the books here too. He too joined from Ebbsfleet and has been a regular at this and the level above for a few seasons.
Eastbourne had a reshuffle over the summer, following the takeover. Danny Bloor departed, going to Welling, and in came Mark Beard. His CV is fairly impressive, having made over 450 career appearances. In terms of coaching, his main roles include being an under-18s coach at Brighton, before on Marc White’s coaching team at Dorking. Eastbourne is the highest ranked side he has managed, which seems to be testing him and his side very early on.
Last Season’s Meetings
Chelmsford City 5-0 Eastbourne Borough (29th October 2022) – A rather emphatic Chelmsford performance left Danny Bloor refunding his travelling fans as it was a 5-star Claret show. It was a fast start, as Harry Lodovica and Charlie Ruff were both able to find the back of the net inside the opening 10 minutes. Ruff’s goal made it 6 in the last 7 home games for the attacking midfielder. It was nearly an hour later, but another quick duo of goals made it 4-0. A Ruff corner was headed home by Oluwo, before less than 180 seconds later, another corner was turned in, this time by Simeon Jackson. To put the icing on the cake, a deflected effort fell kindly to Jamie Yila who made no mistake in making it 5-0, with minutes to go.
Eastbourne Borough 2-2 Chelmsford City (4th March 2023) – The Clarets were on the South coast where an eventful game was kick started midway through the first half as Callum Jones was taken down by Lee Worgan for a penalty. He took authority and dispatched the penalty cooly. Eastbourne managed to strike back right at the end of the half, as Miguel Scarlett levelled with his first ever league goal. The Clarets then fell behind almost immediately after the break, as Luke Pearce was given too much space, seeing him score after just 3 second half minutes. However, a point was taken as Michael Folivi came to the rescue, scoring his first Chelmsford goal and netting an equaliser with just 2 minutes left to play.
Team News
After a great trip down to Weymouth, Robbie’s squad can be considered a little bit lighter with fatigue no doubt having taken it’s toll after 105 minutes of football. Ben Brookes was one of those struggling towards the end of the game, so it remains to be seen in what regard he among others will be involved today.
As well as that, a few question marks remain with Anthony Wordsworth after he was withdrawn with injury in the first half of our win against Welling and Josh Castiglione with the Midfielder picking up an injury in the warm-up late last weekend before we took on Havant & Waterlooville. Cameron James and Louis Dunne are both still on the road to recovery from their respective injuries.
Ticket News
Advanced tickets are available now and can be purchased online here. Tickets will be the same price in advance and on the day and will include all fees. The Prices are as follows:
- ADULT – £12
- CONCESSION – £6
- ACCOMPANIED U18 – FREE
- FAMILY – £20
Concession tickets are available for the following- Senior 65+, Student 18+ (with valid ID), NHS, Armed Forces, Unaccompanied U18. Family tickets are available to two adults who are accompanying two or more children.
FULL 2023/24 ADULT AND CONCESSION CHELMSFORD CITY FC SEASON TICKET HOLDERS ARE ABLE TO BRING A FRIEND FREE OF CHARGE. THIS OFFER IS AVAILABLE ON THE GATE ONLY
Have a query? Call us on 01245 290959 or Email enquiries@chelmsfordcityfc.com
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.
The game is being streamed to National League TV, so passes for the match are available to purchase.
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.
Attractions at the game
It is a family funday on Monday with plenty to choose from!
Gates open at 13:00 and there will be plenty to do ahead of Kick-Off so why not come along and get involved?! With no Premier League or EFL on Bank Holiday Monday there’s no other place you’d rather be!
You can test your Football Power with our Speed Radar or why not head and enjoy our bouncy inflatables (Age 4-9) all before you get your face painted and then tucking into some Lunch from the Manhattan Grill. Just before you get settled for Kick Off, why not pick up some Sweet Treats with Ice Cream, Candy Floss, Cakes and Doughnuts all available!
The Clarets Bar will be open from 13:00 so there is plenty of space to come and relax between activities and grab a cold drink!
Weather
Following a rather differing weather forecast over the weekend, it is set to be on the nice side for kick off, with temperature of 20 degrees and sunshine at the Melbourne Community Stadium.
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