CHIPPENHAM TOWN
STADIUM
Chippenham Town, based down in Wiltshire, play at Hardenhuish Park. The capacity of the ground is 3,000 and has been open since 1919. The Bluebirds had played at 4 other grounds prior, with their current ground having held their home fixtures for over the past century.
LAST SEASON’S MEETINGS
Chippenham Town A-A Chelmsford City (13th August 2022) – This game took place in the early weeks of the season, however had to be abandoned in the end. With less than half an hour played, Chippenham defender Pablo Martinez suffered a cardiac arrest on field, hence the abandonment of the game. The fixture was rescheduled, and Pablo looked after as he recovered to make an appearance at the tail end of Chippenham’s season.
Chippenham Town 0-0 Chelmsford City (23th August 2022) – Over a week after the initial game, the Clarets travelled back to Wiltshire, but were only able to secure a point. It was a good display from both sides’ goalkeepers, as no goals were scored, with the game having a more significant focus on the health and wellbeing of Pablo.
Chelmsford City 0-1 Chippenham Town (7th January 2023) – After a high of beating National League side Wealdstone, Robbie’s men were dragged down as the Bluebirds were able to come to Essex and secure all 3 points. A magnificent striker from Joe Hanks siled in to the top corner past Ovie Ejeheri, to give Chippenham the lead. The Clarets looked to striker back, but a Simeon Jackson penalty was tipped onto the post, rather setting the theme for the rest of the Clarets’ chances.
A FEW CLUB LINKS
Most recently, Tyreke Johnson has joined the Bluebirds, having spent the end of the 2022/23 season on loan with the Clarets. He was signed from Woking, after his contract had expired. His time at Chelmsford saw him score 2 goals in 13 games. Likewise, Chelmsford’s Mo Dabre, signed this season, had a loan spell at Chippenham. This was in the 2021/22 season, where he helped the Bluebirds to the playoffs. Sadly for Mo, despite beating Dartford, they went on to lose to Ebbsfleet United 1-0, in the Semi-Final.
THE MANAGER
Chippenham manager, Gary Horgan is no stranger to the Bluebirds. He played for Chippenham between 2002-05, before he joined Chippenham Town for a second spell as a player from Hungerford Town in September 2016 and joined the coaching staff for the 2017/18 season. He became manager of the Wiltshire based side in April 2022, where he has been since.
2022-23 SEASON
After getting to the playoffs in the 2021/22 season, Chippenham ended up having a mid-table finish, in 13th place. However, most notably they had a decent FA Cup run. They got to the 1st round, where they beat League 1 side Lincoln City 1-0. Next round, they faced Burton Albion, who ended their cup run with a 6-1 smashing.
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