Chelmsford City FC V Worthing FC, National League South, Melbourne Community Stadium, Monday 4th March 2024, 7:45pm kick-off.
Worthing will be the latest side who Chelmsford City welcome to Melbourne Community Stadium when the Rebels travel to Essex on Monday night, in what will be City’s second home game in the space of just over 48 hours.
After comfortably overcoming Aveley 2-0 on Saturday, Simpson’s Clarets moved five-points clear of the 3rd placed Mackerel Men, creating a further sense of anticipation for both sets of fans ahead of Monday’s clash.
Following the departure of manager Adam Hinshelwood to York City last month, the Rebels did look set to play their first game of the post-Hinshelwood era away against Dartford on Saturday. However, a waterlogged pitch at Princes Park handed Worthing a weekend away from action, giving interim boss Aarran Racine more time to prepare for his first game in the dugout.
Here’s all that Clarets supporters need to know ahead of the game…
Team & match stats:
- Worthing have scored a league high 77 goals in the National League South this season.
- However, the Rebels possess the 15th strongest defensive record in the league during 23-24, having conceded 54 goals so far.
- The Clarets won both their league games against Worthing last season, and came away with three points in the reverse fixture of Monday’s game when the two sides met at the beginning of 2024. An entertaining game at the Sussex Transport Community Stadium ended 3-2 in favour of Simpson’s side.
- This means City are looking to complete a second consecutive league double over Monday’s Sussex-based opponents.
Opposition:
Worthing have enjoyed a superb second season in the National League South so far, with the Sussex club’s high-octane style of play once again leaving them in firm contention to secure another playoff finish.
The Rebels ended their maiden National League South campaign 4th place in the table, level on points with the Clarets. They overcame Braintree Town in their playoff eliminator fixture, but were defeated by eventual playoff winners Oxford City in the semi-final.
Under the guidance of Adam Hinshelwood until late last month, the Rebels had overcome last year’s playoff heartbreak by continuing to rack up wins and goals once again. The Mackerel Men have found the back of the net 10 times more than Yeovil, who are the league’s second most prolific side in front of goal.
However, Worthing’s impressive seven-game unbeaten league run came to an end late last month, following back-to-back defeats to Welling United and Braintree Town during the penultimate week of February. The Rebels faithful were then dealt a far greater blow in the days following their loss to the Iron, when rumours about the departure of longstanding boss Hinshelwood were confirmed to be correct.
Hinshelwood’s move to National League side York City was confirmed by both sides on February 27th, leaving the Mackerel Men managerless going into the business end of the campaign. With Hinshelwood having taken coaches Gary Elphick and Cameron Morrison with him to the LNER Community Stadium as well, former Worthing captain Aarran Racine has been named as the club’s interim First Team Manager. The 32-year-old is set to be supported in his managerial duties by Dean Hammond and another former Rebels captain in Darren Budd.
With Racine admitting in his first interview as the Rebels’ interim boss that he doesn’t intend to change much about the club’s style of play, the Clarets look set to face a tricky test against an attacking-minded side.
The focal point of Worthing’s free scoring attack has been forward Ollie Pearce, who has scored a league-high 33 goals so far this season. Pearce has impressively registered four league hat tricks in 23-24 and prior to the Rebels’ defeat to Braintree, had scored in every single league game his side have played during 2024. Pearce is looking to break the National League South record of goals scored by one player in a single season, which currently belongs to Dave Tarpey, who scored 44 goals for Bath City during the 16-17 campaign.
Team News:
Following short spells sidelined through injuries, Luke Jenkins and Cameron James returned to first team action last time out against Aveley.
Captain Dave Winfield will be available to face the Rebels, with Winfield’s suspension for his straight red card against the Millers not becoming active until the club’s away fixture scheduled against Truro on Saturday.
Ody Alfa will be assessed after being forced off with a knock against Aveley.
Ticketing information:
Ticket prices online:
Adult – £14Concession/Senior (65+) – £9Student (17-24 with valid ID) – £4Youth (12-17) – £4Under-12s – Free
Supporters can also buy tickets on the day at Melbourne Community Stadium. Matchday turnstile prices are as follows:
Adult – £17.00Concession/Senior (65+) – £12.00Student (17-24 with valid ID) – £6.50Youth (12-17) – £6.50Under-12s – Free
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 Monday’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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