Welling United (A) preview

City go into this weekend’s fixture looking to get back to winning ways after the narrow 2-1 defeat to Dartford on Tuesday night.

The Clarets went unrewarded after a spirited showing in the second half, resulting in our fifth straight defeat.

A win for Chelmsford on Saturday would allow us to open up a seven-point gap over our hosts, who currently occupy 20th spot, one point ahead of the relegation zone.

Meanwhile, defeat for new boss Warren Feeney in his first match in charge of the Wings in midweek means Welling are without a win in their last five games, losing three and drawing two.

A win for Welling this weekend, however, would put them within just one point of Robbie Simpson’s side in the league table, as they look to move away from the relegation spot.

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Last time out…

The Clarets left Princes Park with nothing despite a spirited performance in a 2-1 defeat against promotion-chasing Dartford.

Following a competitive start to the game, the Darts took the lead shortly following the 15-minute mark directly from a free-kick.

Around 25 yards out from slightly left-centre of the City box, Jack Jebb hammered the free-kick over the wall and into the bottom corner, out of the reach of James Dillon.

Despite the Clarets looking to find more advanced positions up the pitch, 10 minutes later the home side made it 2-0.

The goal again came from a free-kick as Jebb delivered toward the back post, where the ball found Danny Leonard following a few deflections and he applied the simple finish.

Following the half-time break, the Clarets began the second half as well as they had ended the first, with Luke Deslandes seeing a point-blank shot blocked away from a squared pass.

Minutes later and City had a goal back after Deslandes threaded a pass through to Tom Blackwell for the striker to race towards goal and slide a left-footed effort under Wilks.

Another couple of minutes on and Robbie Simpson’s side’s task was made even harder, as Eduino Vaz was adjudged to have brought down George Porter as the last man back and was shown a straight red card.

The next chance fell for the Darts, who were enjoying a good spell, as Leonard launched an effort from distance which forced Dillon into a stretching save to keep it out.

As final throws of the dice, Simpson introduced Matt Rush and Freddie Hockey late on, but the changes came to no avail despite some late pressure and the game ended in defeat.

The opposition…

Following the dismissal of manager Peter Taylor on Monday this week, the Wings acted swiftly in appointing the former coach of Bulgarian First League side OFC Pirin Warren Feeney as his replacement.

Feeney, a striker in his playing days, is the third manager to take charge of Welling United this season, after Peter Taylor replaced Steve Lovell in September 2021.

There was no time for the Northern Irishman to settle though, as he found himself in the dugout just one day later with his new side taking on Hampton & Richmond Borough at the Beveree Stadium.

It was not the start he would have wanted, as Hampton came out on top with a 2-1 victory.

Following that result midweek, Welling have confirmed the departure of two players. The first being club captain Olumide Durojaiye, who was soon followed by defender Kristian Campbell in departing Park View Road.

Opposition dangerman…

With 13 goals in 28 league games so far this season, Dipo Akinyemi continues to look like Welling’s dangerman this weekend.

The striker joined the Wings in November 2019 from Dulwich Hamlet after starting his career at Potters Bar Town.

He signed for League Two side Stevenage in 2015 but spent the majority of his time at the Boro out on loan at the likes of Aldershot Town, St Albans City and Billericay Town amongst others.

Following 15 appearances for Stevenage, Akinyemi joined Dulwich in 2018 after two separate loan spells with the London side, where he would go on to score an impressive 17 goals in 53 games.

Short stints at Cheshunt and Braintree Town would follow, before joining Welling.

He would score four times in 12 appearances before the 2019/20 season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our last meeting…

Clarets 0-0 Welling United, Saturday 15th January 2022

The Clarets were held to a goalless draw despite long spells of dominance against Welling United at the EMG Inspire Stadium.

The best chance of the opening phase of the game fell for Hady Ghandour, who blasted over from close range after a knockdown from Tom Blackwell.

City continued to enjoy good spells of pressure over the remainder of the half but went without reward in front of goal and the first 45 ended goalless.

The first real chance of the second half fell for Welling, with Dipo Akinyemi latching onto a long ball forward and dinking a header over Jacob Marsden only for Adebola Oluwo to clear the effort which looked to be going wide anyway.

Charlton Athletic loanee Ghandour was the next to have a chance, as his third of the game saw him fire into Sims’ gloves from a closing angle to the right of the box.

The Lebanese attacker again went close minutes later, seeing a powerful effort from inside the box deflected just wide of the post.

City’s resulting corner was also a near miss for the Wings after Cameron James fired at goal from close range only for a Welling defender to clear off the line.

Following a succession of corners for the Wings, substitute Bradley Stevenson cracked a shot from a long way out which slammed again the woodwork and bounced clear of Marsden’s goal.

A late second yellow card from Christian Frimpong saw the Clarets reduced to 10 men, but that had no impact on the scoreline and the game ended goalless.

Team news…

To assuage supporter concerns, Eduino Vaz is eligible for selection for Chelmsford City’s first-team fixtures.

Eduino, however, will be suspended for our match against Hungerford Town on Saturday 26th March following his sending off against Dartford on Tuesday 15th March.

Where to follow the game…

The Club will be providing live minute-by-minute coverage of the game on Twitter (@OfficialClarets) using the hashtag #CCFC.

There will also be live audio commentary from Radio Clarets.

Post-match reports, highlights and interviews will be found on the club website, social media and ClaretsTV following the game.