Taunton Town FC V Chelmsford City FC, National League South, Wordsworth Drive, Saturday 23rd March 2024, 3pm kick-off.
Chelmsford City will become the second visiting team in the past six weeks to be hosted by Taunton Town at Wordsworth Drive, when the two sides meet this Saturday on Non-League Day.
Until earlier this week, the Peacocks had been forced to play six successive away games in a row, with fixture postponements due to a waterlogged pitch making the Somerset club go without hosting a home match at Wordsworth Drive since early February.
Rob Dray’s men marked their return to home action with a frustrating 2-1 loss to Chippenham Town on Wednesday, leaving Taunton sitting 20th in the National League South standings. Despite languishing two points above the relegation places, the Peacocks have at least three games in hand on the teams below them, and will hope to earn a crucial three points this weekend in their quest for survival.
Robbie Simpson’s Clarets can record a third win in the space of the past seven days if they come away victorious from Saturday’s game in Somerset, with a further three points needed to strengthen the club’s grip on 2nd place in the league table.
Here’s all that Clarets supporters need to know ahead of the game…
Team & match stats:
· Taunton Town have recorded as many National League South wins in their last four games (two wins) as they had done in their previous twenty-one matches (two wins).
· City are yet to beat the Peacocks since their promotion to the National League South in 2022.
· Last season’s trip to Wordsworth Drive ended in a 0-0 draw. Both sides also played out a goalless stalemate during this season’s reverse fixture at Melbourne Community Stadium on October 28th 2023.
Opposition:
Since Chelmsford City and Taunton Town last met in the National League South nearly 150 days ago, both sides have experienced completely contrasting seasons. When the Peacocks visited Melbourne Community Stadium back in late October, they actually sat above Robbie Simpson’s side in the table, having enjoyed a strong start to their second ever season in the sixth tier of English Football.
However, in their twenty league games played since October 28th, Rob Dray’s side have only recorded three victories. After the club’s positive start to the 23-24 campaign, this disappointing run of form coupled with financial difficulties, and six home fixture postponements, has left the Peacocks battling at the bottom end of the table.
Following the club’s off-the-pitch struggles, Head of Football Rob Dray has continued to depend on a reliable core of players. The likes of team captain Nick Grimes, experienced midfielder Lloyd James, forward Nat Jarvis, and the Peacocks’ top goalscorer this season Ross Stearn, have all been mainstays in Dray’s starting eleven since the Somerset club’s promotion to the National League South in 2022.
Dray has also recently called upon the services of club legend and goalkeeping coach Lloyd Irish to be his side’s man in-between the sticks again, with regular goalkeeper Dan Lavercombe recently suffering a stress fracture injury. Irish has made nearly 400 appearances for the Peacocks across three spells with the club, and the 33-year-old looks set for another spell in the side now Lavercombe has been sidelined.
Despite struggling for wins in the second half of this season, the Peacocks’ form has picked up in their last four matches. Dray’s side have recorded two away victories recently against Torquay United and the Clarets’ playoff rivals Worthing, showing the test which Dray’s men can present to a playoff challenging side.
Team News:
The Clarets are not believed to have suffered any fresh injury concerns since Tuesday’s Tolleshunt D’Arcy Memorial Cup win against Heybridge Swifts.
Getting there:
Supporters travelling by car to this weekend’s game should know that the journey from Melbourne Community Stadium to Wordsworth Drive takes around three and a half hours.
Matchday parking at the Stadium costs £2 per vehicle.
The Chelmsford City Supporters Club have confirmed that they will be running a coach to Taunton. The coach departs Melbourne Park at 8:45am on Saturday, and will then depart the County Hotel at 9am.
Wordsworth Drive is an approximate 25-minute walk away from Taunton Railway Station.
Ticketing information:
Ticket prices for Saturday’s game are as follows:
· Adult (18-67) – £14.00
· Concession (State Pensioners & Students) – £11.00
· Youth (13-18) – £5.00
· Junior (6-12) – £2.00
Turnstiles open at 1pm on matchday.
How to follow the game:
Radio Clarets will provide live commentary of proceedings at Wordsworth Drive.
Clarets fans can find pre-match coverage of Saturday’s match and live updates of proceedings in Somerset 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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