HAMPTON & RICHMOND BOROUGH
STADIUM
Beveree Stadium hosts Hampton & Richmond, with its capacity of 3,500. The Beavers have had numerous of their youth and women’s teams play there, with Chelsea FC Ladies also having a spell at the ground. The record attendance remains 3,255 when AFC Wimbledon visited South West London.
LAST SEASON’S MEETINGS
Chelmsford City 0-2 Hampton & Richmond Borough (12th November 2022) – With the Clarets coming into this game 4 games unbeaten compared to the Beavers’ 4 game losing streak, a shock result was seen. Firstly, it was a long throw which caused the problems, as Luis Fernandez had the ball fall kindly to him before he dispatched well. In the second half, a penalty was awarded to the visitors and Tommy Block sent Ovie Ejeheri the wrong way to give the Beavers the 3 points.
Hampton & Richmond Borough 2-1 Chelmsford City (11th March 2023) – Controversy was the headline in London, as Dave Winfield saw red just 19 minutes in at the Beveree. A harsh decision seemed to determine the outcome of the game as Hampton took a lead before half time. The second half followed suite, with a penalty from either side being saved through excellent goalkeeping. The nail was in the coffin with 5 minutes to go before Tom Blackwell was on hand to reduce the deficit late into second half added time.
A FEW CLUB LINKS
One of Non-League’s best striker, Chris Dickson, left the Clarets to join Hampton in 2018. Chris had netted 22 league goals in just over 50 games for Chelmsford before he got 16 in 37 for the Beavers. A Ghanaian international, Dickson was born to score goals as many Clarets fans will remember. Another international, all be it at Under 19s level, Shaun Jeffers has featured for both sides. Jeffers shone in the 2016/17 season for Chelmsford, seeing him move to Boreham Wood. The move was not as successful, and he was loaned to the Beavers. Shaun returned to Essex in 2019, taking his total at the Clarets to 34 league goals in 71 games. He has since been at St Albans, netting a goal every 1.5 games.
THE MANAGER
Mel Gwinnett has been in charge of Hampton since January 2023. He joined after being a first team coach at Barnet, in the National League. He had previous Football League experience too, coaching at Exeter City and MK Dons. At both, he was part of the coaching team whilst, current Chelmsford City manager, Robbie Simpson played for the clubs.
2022-23 SEASON
After a mid-table finish, the Beavers looked to build and head up the table, but only went backwards. It ended as a 17th placed finish, with them being 6 points clear of the relegation zone. It was not a pretty season, but they will hope for a much-improved display in the upcoming season.
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