Truro City FC V Chelmsford City FC, National League South, TigerTurf Stadium (Meadow Park, Gloucester), Saturday 9th March 2024, 7:30pm kick-off.
Chelmsford City travel to Gloucestershire this weekend for a game of Saturday night football against Truro City, with the Clarets seeking to make a swift return to winning ways following Monday’s late home loss against Worthing.
City remain 2nd in the National League South standings despite experiencing their first defeat in over a month earlier this week. An instant return to winning ways would allow Simpson’s side to register a 12th league win of the season on the road, strengthening the club’s record of being the division’s best away team so far in 23-24.
Despite 18th placed Truro City being the hosts of Saturday’s game, the match will take place nearly 200 miles away from the city of Truro, with the White Tigers set to fulfil a scheduled home clash at the home of National League North side Gloucester City AFC for the second week in a row.
Here’s all that Clarets supporters need to know ahead of the game…
Team & match stats:
· Truro have only played 12 home league fixtures during 23-24, making them the team to have played the least home games in the league so far this season.
· After beating the Clarets 2-1 at Melbourne Community Stadium earlier on this season, Truro can do the double over Chelmsford City for the first time since 2015-16 with a win this weekend.
Opposition:
Currently sitting above the relegation places despite having suffered from a plethora of fixture postponements this season, Truro City will be looking to take another big step towards securing National League South survival this weekend. Ahead of the club’s eagerly anticipated return to a new ground in Cornwall next season, Saturday’s opponents will be hoping to mark the club’s return to their home city as a National League South side.
Since departing their Cornwall home stadium of Treyew Road, the White Tigers had been hosting their home games at Bolitho Park, the home ground of Devon-based side Plymouth Parkway. After being unable to complete a number of their home matches at Bolitho Park in the earlier stages of this campaign, Truro announced a new ground-sharing agreement in early February with fellow National League South side Taunton Town.
However, the club suffered from further home fixture postponements at Taunton’s Wordsworth Drive ground in recent weeks, following the wet weather across the South West. The White Tigers confirmed last week that they would host a home clash against Taunton Town at Meadow Park, known as the Tiger Turf Stadium for sponsorship reasons, which is home to Vanarama National League North side Gloucester City. This decision was owed to the club’s desire to fulfil the rest of their fixtures this season.
Truro will now be looking to make it two wins out of two in Gloucestershire this weekend, after Paul Wotton’s side overcame Taunton 2-0 during their inaugural ‘home’ game at the TigerTurf Stadium last week. Goals from defenders Tom Harrison and Ed Palmer earned the White Tigers a league win for the first time since the beginning of January.
Centre back Palmer has been crucial to his side’s first season back in the National League South since 2018-19, with the 32-year-old having started in 30 of Truro’s 31 league games during 23-24. Known by Truro fans for being a commanding defender, Palmer has provided an impressive goal return from the back this season, having found the back of the net five times since the beginning of the campaign. Three of Palmer’s five goals have been scored in the nine games Truro have played so far in 2024.
Another key player in Paul Wotton’s side is forward Andrew Neal. Neal is Truro’s top goalscorer this season, having scored nine goals from 30 appearances in the league. Having been a key player for the White Tigers in recent seasons, Neal has continued to be the focal point of City’s attack.
Team News:
Robbie Simpson reported no fresh injury concerns amongst the Clarets squad following his side’s game against Worthing on Monday.
Getting there:
Supporters travelling by car to this weekend’s game should know that the journey from Melbourne Community Stadium to the TigerTurf Stadium (Sudmeadow Road, Gloucester, GL2 5HD) takes around three hours.
Limited car parking is available at the TigerTurf Stadium. There are three nearby car parks suggested by Gloucester City for fans to park in:
· 3 hours free parking is available at Sainsbury’s on St Ann Way GL2 5SA, a five-minute walk from the ground.
· Castlemeads Car Park, GL1 2NH, is a Pay & Display car park and is a 10-minute walk.
· Gloucester Quays Car Park, Baker Street GL2 5RG offers up to 4 hours parking for £5 and is a 12-minute walk.
The nearest train station to the TigerTurf Stadium is Gloucester, which is around a 25-minute walk away. Stagecoach buses 8 and 11 stop just a minute or two walk from the stadium and both leave from the City Centre.
There are still spaces available on the Chelmsford City Supporters Club coach travelling to Gloucester. The coach departs Melbourne Park at 3pm on Saturday, and will then depart the County Hotel at 3:15pm.
Ticketing information:
Ticket prices for Saturday’s game are as follows:
· Adults: £11
· Concessions (over-65s): £9
· Under-16s: £6
· Under-10s: Free
Tickets are only available on the gate and are not being sold in advance.
Tickets will be sold individually for both games being played at TigerTurf Stadium on Saturday. There is no option to pay for one admission for both Gloucester’s home game against Boston United, which kicks off at 3pm, and the following game at TigerTurf Stadium between Truro City and Chelmsford City.
Bar and catering facilities will be open for the Truro City vs Chelmsford City game.
How to follow the game:
Radio Clarets will provide live commentary of proceedings at the TigerTurf Stadium.
Clarets fans can find pre-match coverage of Saturday’s match and live updates of proceedings in Hampshire 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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