Farnborough FC V Chelmsford City FC, National League South, Saunders Community Transport Stadium, Saturday 20th January 2024, 3pm kick-off.
A return to National League South action this weekend sees Chelmsford City travel to Hampshire to face Farnborough FC.
After a narrow FA Trophy defeat to National League Wealdstone last time out, Robbie Simpson’s Clarets side will look to get back to winning ways by securing a fifth consecutive league win.
City are currently 5th in the table with 44 points while this weekend’s hosts sit in 14th with 36 points, as Spencer Day’s men seek to close the gap between the bottom half of the league and the playoff places.
Here’s all that Clarets supporters need to know ahead of Saturday’s clash…
Team & match stats:
· Farnborough have earned 25 of the 36 points they’ve collected this season at the Saunders Community Transport Stadium, meaning they boast the 6th strongest home record in the National League South.
· City are on a six-game winning streak against Boro.
· Farnborough recorded their last victory against the Clarets back in October 2013.
Opposition:
After being relegated from the National League South in 2015, Farnborough returned to the second tier of Non-League football in 2022 after a seven-year absence from the division. Boro marked their first season back in the National League South by finishing 12th in the table. At present, hopes in Hampshire of a higher league finish this time around have been stifled by recent inconsistency.
Farnborough’s best spell of 23-24 came in October, a month in which they went five games unbeaten, however patchy form across November and December followed. 2024 has begun in a similarly frustrating fashion for this weekend’s hosts, with two defeats and a fixture postponement marking a difficult start to the New Year.
Long-serving manager Spencer Day has subsequently wrung the changes at the Saunders Community Stadium this week, as he looks to reignite his side’s push for a top half finish. Former Claret Michael Folivi departed Day’s squad for Hemel Hempstead, paving way for Boro to sign forward Harvey Bradbury from Dartford, who has made the move from Kent to Hampshire for an undisclosed fee.
Day has further looked to fill the void left by Folivi in the striker department by completing the loan signing of forward Millar Matthews-Lewis from Premier League Luton Town. AFC Wimbledon full back Ben Mason has also been added to Farnborough’s squad this week; with the defender entering his second loan spell of the season in the National League South, having already played over 20 times for Braintree. Mason’s only league goal for the Iron came in a 1-1 draw against Farnborough, something which the 22-year-old will look to make up for should he make his debut this weekend!
Earlier this month, Farnborough also confirmed their latest off the pitch addition, with Spencer Day strengthening his backroom team by adding former Slough manager Neil Baker to the club’s First Team Management Group.
Day will hope his recent alterations begin to pay off this weekend, as his side look to record their first win of 2024.
Team News:
After being absent from our last league win against Worthing, Cameron James returned to the match day squad for last weekend’s FA Trophy tie against Wealdstone.
Forward Mo Bettamer is continuing his recovery from a recent injury which has made him unavailable for selection as of late.
Once again, Robbie Simpson will be forced to watch his side from the stands, as the Chelmsford boss serves the last game of his two-match touchline ban.
Getting there:
Supporters travelling by car to this weekend’s game should know that the journey from Melbourne Community Stadium to the Saunders Community Transport Stadium takes around 1hr 45 minutes.
The Chelmsford City Supporters Club coach travelling to Farnborough has sold out. The coach departs Melbourne Park at 11:30am on Saturday, and will then depart the County Hotel at 11:45am.
Ticketing information:
Ticket prices for Saturday’s game are as follows:
· Adults: £15
· Concession (Over 65/Armed Forces/Students): £10
· Junior (14-17 years): £5
· Under 14 (must be accompanied by an adult): £0
How to follow the game:
Radio Clarets will be providing live audio commentary of proceedings at the Saunders Community Transport Stadium.
Clarets fans can find pre-match coverage of Saturday’s game, and live updates of proceedings in Hampshire 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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