MATCH PREVIEW: Chippenham Town vs St Albans City | National League South | Saturday 1st April 2023
Jamie Oleszynski previews our home game against St Albans City.
Chippenham Town will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to 14 matches, as St Albans City visit the Thornbury Surfacing Stadium.
As we enter the final month of the season; Chippenham have added some much-needed breathing room between themselves and the relegation zone, whereas our opponents are in the thick of a battle to earn a playoff space.
Last time out
Chippenham returned to winning ways this week as they again came from behind to win, after a 3-2 victory against Welling. First half goals from Joe Parker and Matt McClure cancelled out an early Welling opener. Welling pulled level from the spot just after the break, but a well worked move ended up at the feet of Ed Williams, who got his first Chippenham goal.
The other talking point from the match came between Jamie Sendles-White and Owen Windsor. Just after the 80th minute Windsor looked to attack, before Sendles-White threw an arm in the face of the Chippenham attacker, but none of the three officials picked up on the incident. Many Chippenham supporters may remember a similar incident between the exact two players, which Sendles-White again escaped without punishment.
Match Center: Chippenham Town 3-2 Welling United
The Opposition
Looking ahead to this week’s opponents, St Albans City currently sit 5th in the table only two points inside the playoff positions. The Saints are currently on a good run of their own, unbeaten in four and three of them wins. Their last match was a 2-0 victory against the free-falling Havant & Waterlooville thanks to goals from Tafari Moore and Chay Cooper.
It feels a long time since Chippenham travelled down to Clarence Park in early October, and both sides have been through a whole host of emotions since. On a crisp autumn day, St Albans looked to be the much better side, and when Shaun Jeffers struck on 11 minutes it looked to be that the result would go their way. It took until the 96th minute for Chippenham to make a good move forward, and it was Will King who drove a low shot in with just seconds to go to seal a point for the Bluebirds.
One to Watch
Shaun Jeffers is a name that will be familiar to Chippenham fans, as he has terrorised teams up and down the National League South, scoring 73 across the last four seasons. He stands at 24 league goals this campaign, only outscored by Ebbsfleet’s Dominic Poleon.
A name that has also been brought up in St Albans discussion in recent weeks is full back Tafari Moore. He has been involved in lots of the Saints’ attacking and defensive positivity in recently, and perhaps his experience up the Football League (playing for Wycombe and Plymouth) could hinder Chippenham this weekend.
Horgan’s Thoughts
Gary Horgan has said “If we play our football, we are a match for anybody in this league”. He also indicated that previous results against playoff hunting Farnborough and Eastbourne give a good marker, and he was certainly not shying away from playing a side who sit 5th.
Team News
There hasn’t been an update on the condition of Caine Bradbury, who limped off against Welling United on Tuesday. But Sam Heal has been training with the match squad, so there is potential for him to make his return. There is also potential for one of the several academy players who have been signed to the first-team to feature.
Ticket Information
Tickets can be purchased on the gate, priced at:
- £14 for adults
- £10 for concessions, including armed forces personnel along with students who have valid ID.
- £3 for under-18’s
- U16’s get FREE entry when accompanied by a paying adult.
Cash and contactless card payments are accepted at the gate.
