MATCH PREVIEW: Dartford vs Chippenham Town | National League South, Thurs 12th May 2022

Matt Chappell previews our National League South Playoff Eliminator game with Dartford.

Chippenham Town face an important test ahead of them, as they make the trip to Bericote Powerhouse Princes Park to face Dartford in the Play-Off Eliminator on Thursday 13^th May 2022, with a 7:45pm kick-off.

The #Bluebirds come into this game off the back of an absolute dream run of form, from the past few weeks. They clinched Play-Off’s with a thrilling 2-0 victory over Havant & Waterlooville in the highly-anticipated “Winner Takes All” game, with Havant sitting in the last play-off spot. Chippenham at the time of the fixture were just one point behind The Hawks in 8^th place, so the hosts had plenty of advantage as a draw would’ve been enough for them to seal the play-offs.

Jordan Young stopped all of that however, as he netted home a brace in the 70^th and 77^th minute respectively to silence Westleigh Park and send Gary Horgan’s squad into the Play-off’s for the first time in the club’s history. Which was widely described as perhaps one of the biggest achievements in recent history for Chippenham Town, who enjoyed other achievements, such as with winning the 2016/17 Southern League title.

Going into the Play-Off Eliminator, the Bluebirds will most certainly be the underdogs in this game, and many will favour our hosts Dartford with winning this tie, but you just never know what happens in Non-League football, it’s going to be another big game for the sides, and they know victory will guarantee a Semi-Final clash at the Kuflink Stadium with Ebbsfleet United on Sunday.

So looking towards our hosts for today’s game, Dartford. They come into this game with 5 wins in the 10 games, most recently smashing Eastbourne Borough 7-2 in the last game of the regular season, with goals being scored by Jordan Greenidge and braces from Kalvin Kalala, Dan Roberts and Marcus Dinanga respectively, four players who will most certainly be ones-to-watch. The Darts had a very successful league campaign, finishing 4^th place on 74 points. Scoring 75 goals and concedding 42.

As mentioned above, we’ve noted four players to watch out for, but there’s plenty more to be aware of. 28-year old former Charlton Athletic forward Ade Azeez has netted 11 goals in 36 games, and a name which might be very familiar to some. Jack Jebb, a 26-year old former Arsenal Academy talent has netted 5 goals in 33 minutes, despite playing mostly in defensive midfield.

Both these sides have faced each other over the years in league action, but most recent results have proven positive for the Bluebirds. Back in November 2021, the first meeting of the season finished in a thrilling 3-3 draw, with goals from Dan Griffiths, former loan player Ricky Aguiar and a 92^nd minute header from Luke Russe. In the reverse fixture,

Chippenham came out on top with a 4-2 victory with Jordan Young netting a brace and Alefe Santos and Joe Hanks also getting on the scoresheet. These past results will give us the confidence boost going into the game, but Dartford most certainly should not be taken lightly as Steve King will have his side fired up for the game, with is guaranteed a big crowd.

It promises to be an exciting clash between two sides who will be up for it, and we hope to see as many of you as possible get behind the lads at Princes Park. You can pre-purchase Tickets on our hosts’s Online platform, and we encourage to buy on there, as this will help with entry into the ground. You can buy via the link here.

If you are still interested in coming along, we are running a 61 seater Supporters Coach to the game via Ellisons Coaches, leaving #TheTSStadium at 3:30pm. Spaces still remain however these are available on a first come, first serve basis. Please click the link above for further information. Make sure you get your space NOW! to not avoid disappointment.

We have created a handy little Pre-Match Guide with all the information you need if you’re planning to make your own way there, which can be found here. It contains all the latest Travel, Stadium and Ticket advice as well which we hope will make your journey that more easier!

And finally, we will be providing up-to-date and LIVE! Radio Match commentary on our BlueArmy Radio Mixlr platform, if you want to listen in from home. Join myself, Jamie Oleszynski and special guest Kian Ward for all the latest from 7:30pm on Thursday.

BE THE 12TH MAN! Get yourselves down to Princes Park! LET’S GET BEHIND THE LADS! COME ON YOU BLUEBIRDS!