MATCH PREVIEW: Chippenham Town vs St. Albans City | National League South | Saturday 1st March 2025

Harry Minton previews our game against St. Albans City

Gary Horgan’s boys kick-start March by welcoming St Albans City to The Thornbury Surfacing Stadium this weekend.

Last Time Out

The Bluebirds showed great mentality on Tuesday night at Arbour Park against Slough Town, coming from a goal behind early in the first half. A long ball was played over the top, and there seemed to be a miscommunication between Will Dawes and Luke Haines. Dawes attempted to chest-pass it to the Chippenham centre-back, but Haines then passed it straight to Lewis Miccio, who was unmarked. From point-blank range, he fired his strike into the top corner off the crossbar past Will Henry, giving the hosts the lead in the 24th minute.

The Wiltshire outfit was not going to go down that easily, however, and they soon created a decent opportunity. Caine Bradbury played a well-placed ball over the top to find Leone Gravata, whose initial effort was saved by Slough goalkeeper Charlie Horlock. The ball fell back to Gravata, who spotted Harry Parsons free in the centre. However, the former Swindon Town forward squandered the chance, blazing his effort high and wide over the bar.

Henry had to make a crucial save before half-time after Freddie Grant’s lapse in concentration allowed the Slough forward a one-on-one opportunity. The Chippenham number one made himself big to thwart the striker—an important moment, as going two goals down before half-time would have made it an uphill battle for the Bluebirds to come away with anything.

It was Gravata’s great work down the left that led to the equaliser in the 56th minute. Cutting onto his right foot, he bent the ball into the far corner, leaving Horlock with no chance.

A few minutes later, the Bluebirds had a corner. The delivery sailed over the heads of everyone in the box, but Parsons retrieved the ball on the far side. Cutting onto his right foot, he forced a save from Horlock, who could only parry the ball into danger. Jac Poffley pounced on the rebound, and although his initial shot was saved, the ball deflected off a Slough defender and into the net. A massive stroke of luck for Chippenham, but the players celebrated wildly in front of the travelling supporters.

Slough had plenty of chances late on in search of an equaliser, but the Bluebirds stood firm and secured a hard-earned three points.

Our Opponents

St Albans City, nicknamed “The Saints,” were founded in April 1908. Upon formation, they joined both the Spartan League Eastern Division and the Herts County League Western Division. Over the next couple of years at their home ground, Clarence Park, they were a strong side in both competitions, regularly finishing as champions or runners-up.

A couple of years after the war ended in 1920, they made the switch to the Athenian League. The 1920s was a memorable decade for the Saints, as they won two Athenian League titles in the three seasons they participated. They soon joined the Isthmian League, winning three titles between 1923 and 1928.

The Saints also enjoyed some cup success. One of their most famous FA Cup stories came in the 1922/23 season when they forced a replay against Dulwich Hamlet in the fourth qualifying round. However, their New Zealand-born goalkeeper W. Tennant failed to turn up for the replay, forcing St Albans to play Alf Fearn in goal—a reserve centre-back at the time.

The Saints went on to concede eight goals and lose the match, but the real story was their record goal scorer Wilfred Minter. Despite being on the losing side, he scored seven goals that night—a record for the most goals scored by a player in an FA Cup match without winning.

One of the club’s biggest FA Cup victories came in the 1925/26 season, when they defeated Football League side Brentford 5-3 at Clarence Park in the fifth qualifying round. That season, they also made a deep run in the FA Amateur Cup, setting a record home attendance of 9,757 in a quarter-final win against Ferryhill Athletic. In the semi-finals, they played in front of their highest-ever away crowd—20,380 at Ayresome Park—where they were defeated by Stockton.

Despite reaching the semi-finals of various cup competitions four more times, St Albans have never progressed to a final. This makes them the non-league team with the most semi-final appearances without ever reaching a final.

In recent years, the club has bounced between the National League South and the Southern Premier League, with a single season in the National League (fifth tier) in 2006/07.

Their most recent playoff campaign in the sixth tier came in 2022/23, where they finished sixth. St Albans reached the final after defeating Chelmsford City 1-0 in the quarter-finals and beating Dartford on penalties in the semi-finals. However, they fell short in the final, losing 4-0 to Oxford City, who secured promotion.

Head 2 Head

The head-to-head record between these two sides dates back to 2011, when the Bluebirds first met the Saints in the Southern League. Chippenham can boast a solid home record in this fixture, having played St Albans nine times at The Thornbury Surfacing Stadium, winning four, drawing four, and losing just once.

However, that sole home defeat came in the most recent meeting last season in a frustrating game for Chippenham. The Bluebirds dominated the first half and took the lead just after the half-hour mark when Jake Evans played a lovely ball over the top for Matt McClure. The number nine showed great composure to round the goalkeeper and slot the ball into an empty net. Moments later, however, McClure saw his penalty saved by Michael Johnson.

The visitors capitalised on Chippenham’s wastefulness. Just before half-time, Mitchell Weiss equalised after Henry parried a cross straight to him. In the second half, George Morrall secured all three points for the Saints with a curled effort off the crossbar into the top-right corner.

Earlier this season, however, the Bluebirds claimed a 2-0 victory at Clarence Park thanks to a Harry Parsons brace. They now have the opportunity to complete the double over St Albans this weekend.

Ones to Watch

The key players to watch for St Albans are Ken Charles and Shaun Jeffers. The two strikers have scored nine and seven goals, respectively, in all competitions this season. With St Albans currently in the relegation zone at the time of this fixture, these two forwards could be crucial in their fight for survival.

Round-up

Chippenham will look to extend their unbeaten run to five games this weekend while also aiming for just one defeat in their last eight matches. Against a struggling St Albans side, a positive result is certainly within reach at the Thornbury Surfacing Stadium.

If you wish to attend, ticket prices are as follows:

• Adults: £16
• Senior Citizens (Students/NHS/Armed Forces with ID): £12
• Juniors (16-17): £6
• Children (5-15): £5

Tickets are available on the day via turnstiles with cash and card payments accepted. Tickets cannot be purchased in advance.

COME ON YOU BLUEBIRDS!