Chelmsford City FC V Slough Town FC, National League South, Melbourne Community Stadium, Saturday 6th April 2024, 3pm kick-off.
Chelmsford City host Slough Town this weekend in the club’s penultimate home league match of the season. The Clarets return to Melbourne Community Stadium looking to get back to winning ways after a frustrating Easter Monday trip to Dover Athletic, which saw City lose for the first time in four games.
Slough Town, managed by former Claret Scott Davies, will make the journey from Berkshire to Essex on Saturday hoping they can bring their current six-game winless run to an end. The Rebels enjoyed a strong start to 2024, but a recent barren spell has seen them drop to 12th in the league table.
City sit 2nd in the standings ahead of Saturday’s match and Simpson’s Clarets will know the importance of securing another win to fend off the pack of chasing teams behind them.
Here’s all that Clarets supporters need to know ahead of the game…
Team & match stats:
· Slough Town’s winless run of six National League South matches means that Davies’ side are currently enduring their longest spell of the season without a league victory.
· City are on a four match unbeaten streak against Saturday’s Berkshire opponents.
· The Rebels are winless in their last three visits to Melbourne Community Stadium. They last recorded an away win against the Clarets in September 2018.
Opposition:
After putting themselves in contention for a playoff place following an impressive start to 2024, Slough Town’s season has stagnated in recent weeks.
The Rebels earned seven wins from their first thirteen league games this calendar year, and looked set to add to this tally in their first game of March when they found themselves 4-2 up at home against Bath City. In the second half of proceedings at Arbour Park though, play was paused when both teams left the pitch due to a medical emergency in the stands involving a supporter. Despite the match officials confirming later on to both teams that play could resume, the game was controversially never completed, leaving player-manager Scott Davies and his side frustrated.
Since then, the Rebels have not been able to get back to winning ways in the National League South, having recorded four draws and two losses in their last six matches. Despite slipping away from the playoff places over recent weeks, Davies is still hoping his side can end the season by securing a top ten finish in the league table.
Despite celebrating his 36th birthday last month, player-manager Davies has continued to be a mainstay in the Rebels’ side this season. The former Claret has featured in 35 of Slough Town’s 41 league games played so far in 23-24; only six players in the Rebels’ squad have featured in more league games during the current league campaign.
Elsewhere in the Slough team, the goals of forward Nathan Minhas and attacking midfielder Johnny Goddard will be a crucial factor in helping the Rebels secure the strong end to the season which Davies desires. Minhas and Goddard were both on the scoresheet last time out during their side’s 2-2 draw against St Albans City on Easter Monday, meaning the attacking duo each notched their eleventh league goals of the season.
Team News:
Cameron James and Finley Barbrook were sidelined on Monday with respective injury problems. Both will be assessed ahead of Saturday’s match.
Ticketing information:
Ticket prices online:
Adult – £14
Concession/Senior (65+) – £9
Student (17-24 with valid ID) – £4
Youth (12-17) – £4
Under-12s – Free
Supporters can also buy tickets on the day at Melbourne Community Stadium. Matchday turnstile prices are as follows:
Adult – £17
Concession/Senior (65+) – £1
Student (17-24 with valid ID) – £6.50
Youth (12-17) – £6.50
Under-12s – Free
Following Saturday’s game, the club’s End of Season Awards ceremony will be held in the clubhouse. Awards will be handed out for the club’s Player of the Season, Young Player of the Season, and Goal of the Season.
How to follow the game:
Radio Clarets will provide live audio commentary of proceedings at Melbourne 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.
Words by Jake Dixon.
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