Chelmsford City FC V Hampton & Richmond, National League South, The EMJ Community Stadium, Saturday 17th August 2024, 3pm kick-off.
Chelmsford City welcome Hampton & Richmond to Essex this weekend for the club’s first National League South home clash of the 2024-25 campaign.
City boss Robbie Simpson has challenged his side to bounce back from last week’s opening day away defeat to Slough Town by collecting a positive result from this Saturday’s match, which will be quickly followed by another home fixture for the Clarets against Tonbridge Angels on Monday 19th August.
Ahead of his second competitive game in charge of the Beavers, Hampton & Richmond manager Alan Julian will have been hammering home a similar message to his squad after newly-promoted Hornchurch ran out as 3-1 winners at the Beveree Stadium last weekend.
Here’s all that Clarets supporters need to know ahead of the game…
Team & match stats:
- Hampton & Richmond are looking to win their first away game of a National League South season for the first time since the 2021-22 campaign.
- Beavers boss Alan Julian will take charge of his first competitive away game in football management on Saturday, after being appointed as Hampton & Richmond manager back in May.
- The Beavers have failed to record a clean sheet in their last three games versus Chelmsford City.
- Hampton are unbeaten in their last two visits to The EMJ Community Stadium.
Opposition:
Saturday’s opponents have headed into the 2024-25 season following a summer of wholesale changes in the dugout and on the pitch. Mel Gwinnett departed his Hampton & Richmond First Team Manager & Head of Football Operations role shortly after the climax of the 23-24 National League South season, and Beavers Managing Director William King moved quickly to appoint Alan Julian as the club’s new First Team Manager. Julian’s appointment in May as boss at the Beveree marked his first managerial job in football, a little over two months after the 41-year-old called time on his successful playing career, which saw him make 265 senior appearances playing between the sticks for nine different clubs.
Like Chelmsford City, Hampton also experienced a high turnover of players during the summer months, meaning Julian was required to build nearly an entirely new squad of players ahead of his first campaign in charge. Jake Gray, George Hunt, Jordan Cheadle and Dom Revan were the only players who Hampton retained from last season’s squad, which achieved a 9th place finish in the National League South. High-profile players such as Adam Desbois, Luiz Fernandez, Sam Deadfield, and Ruaridh Donaldson all departed TW12, with the latter of the four making the move to The EMJ Community Stadium back in May.
Julian’s new-look Hampton squad, made up of summer additions with experience at National League South level such as Alex Wall, James Roberts, and Odei Martin Sorondo, enjoyed a positive pre-season campaign. The Beavers recorded four wins and a draw from their friendlies, scoring 12 goals and conceding once. Unfortunately for Beavers fans, Julian and his side were unable to take this form into the first week of the National League South season, after being beaten 3-1 by newly promoted Hornchurch last weekend at the Beveree Stadium.
Team News:
Defensive duo Cameron James and Geofrey Okonkwo look set to remain sidelined for the club’s upcoming games.
Ryan Blackman and Bradley Williams were forced off with knocks during last week’s trip to Arbour Park. The duo will be assessed by Chelmsford City Head of Medical Performance Arron Benstead and his team ahead of Saturday’s game.
Matchday & ticketing information:
Turnstiles at The EMJ Community Stadium will open at 11am on Saturday, ahead of a Q&A beginning at 12pm in the clubhouse, during which Clarets fans will have the chance to ask questions to Chelmsford City owners Spencer Gore and Dan Watkins, and First-Team Manager Robbie Simpson.
Supporters should note that tickets are only being sold on matchday at the turnstiles, and that online tickets are not on sale ahead of this fixture. We would like to advise those attending Saturday’s game to arrive at the ground early, in order to avoid queues at the turnstiles. Cash or card payments are accepted.
Ticket prices for Saturday’s match are as follows:
- Adult – £17
- Concession/Senior (65+) – £12
- Student (17-24 with valid ID) – £6.50
- Youth (12-17) – £6.50
- Under-12s – Free
How to follow the game:
Radio Clarets will provide live audio commentary of proceedings at The EMJ Community Stadium.
Clarets fans can find pre-match coverage of Saturday’s match and live updates of proceedings in Essex 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.
Match Preview by Jake Dixon
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