MATCH PREVIEW: Eastbourne Borough vs Chippenham Town | National League South | Sat 3rd Dec 2022
Matt Chappell previews our National League South clash away to Eastbourne Borough.
The Bluebirds turn their attention back to the National League South, as Gary Horgan’s side look to maintain a push up the table, with a visit to Eastbourne Borough to face Danny Bloor’s side on Match Day 12 of the 2022/23 National League South at Priory Lane.
Chippenham Town look to get back to winning ways in the league, after five winless games in a row, with their last defeat being a 3-0 loss to Havant & Waterlooville on the 15th of November. There is still plenty of positivity in the camp despite the recent run of form, as the confidence will be there following the last two games against Hastings United in the FA Trophy and Burton Albion in the FA Cup respectively. Chippenham got back to winning ways in the Trophy with a 2-1 win against Hastings United from the 19th of November with Jordan Young and Harry Parsons getting the goals to send the Bluebirds into a very eye-opening encounter against Torquay United on the 17th of December 2022 in the 3rd Round.
Over 750 fans travelled on five supporters coaches this past Sunday, to support the Bluebirds on the road to the Pirelli Stadium as we faced Burton Albion in the 2nd Round of the Emirates FA Cup, the first time we ever reached this stage in our 149 years of history. Burton took the lead on 26 minutes with Jonny Smith before Deji Oshilaja doubled their lead on 44 minutes to give the Brewers the 2-0 lead at half time, there was cause for concern in the 1st half for Craig Fasanmade who has only just come back from injury, as he collided with Thomas Hamer near the half way line following a Chippenham attack on goal, despite a valiant effort to continue onwards, Craig was unable to continue and was replaced by Jordan Young.
Chippenham come back out into the 2nd half with three consecutive chances for Ben Garratt to deal with in goal, most notably a free kick from Jordan Young which found Will Tizzard which the on-loan Southampton defender attempted to header into the back of the net. A few moments later, our FA Cup moment came as Tom Mehew found Harry Parsons with space in the box, and the man on-loan from Swindon slotted it into the back of the net to get Chippenham back into the game, the away end went absolutely ecstatic with the whole end absolutely roaring, and that more than certainly gave Chippenham the confidence to get more. Burton however got more unfortunately as Sam Winnall netted on 78 minutes to make it 4-1 despite appeals for a foul, Alex Bray getting kicked in the legs by Joe Powell. Winnall made it 5 shortly after before Deji Oshilaja closed the game off at 6-1 with a long-range strike to send the Brewers into the 3rd Round to face Grimsby Town. We wish everyone associated at Burton Albion all the best in that game, and we thank them for their welcome and hospitality for the game.
Despite the result, the 750+ travelling supporters were very proud of the lads for their efforts, with Gary Horgan and Neil Blackmore voicing their thanks to everyone who got behind the team. Both did however echo their voices and said we want to see that more at The Thornbury Surfacing Stadium and we will add to that saying, let’s pack the ground for some big games ahead, most notably Ebbsfleet United on Sat 10th December (tickets now available online) and the A4 Derby double header against Bath City on 26th December and 2nd January 2023 respectively.
Back to this weekend, Chippenham now turn their focus towards Saturday, as they will be looking to pick up maximum points against an Eastbourne Borough side who currently find themselves 9th in the table with 29 points on the board, at the time of writing.
Danny Bloor’s side have maintained a six-game unbeaten run, most notably beating Slough Town 5-1 last time out, and beating Ebbsfleet United 1-0 in the 2nd Round of the FA Trophy. There will be plenty of players to watch out for on Saturday, and many will be talking about Jake Hutchinson who has netted 6 times in 18 apps while on loan from Colchester United. Also, ones to watch out for will be James Hammond and Shiloh Remy who both have scored 4 goals in 18 games for the Borough.
It promises to be another good encounter, and Chippenham will be hoping to push themselves back up the table with a win on the road, if you’re planning to join us on the road, then ticket information can be found on our website, tickets can be purchased online in-advance and if you’re not able to be with us then Jamie Oleszynski will be joined by Simon Lawrence for radio commentary on Mixlr from 12pm.
Please bear in mind that Saturday’s game kicks off at 12:30pm, if any further details regarding timing is announced before the game, then it will be available on our website / social media channels, so please keep an eye out if anything changes.
COME ON YOU BLUEBIRDS!
