MATCH PREVIEW: Gloucester City AFC vs Chippenham Town | FA Cup | Saturday 13th September
We visit the Tigers for the first time since 2019.
On Saturday we travel to New Meadow Park as we face Gloucester City AFC is The FA Cup Second Qualifying Round.
Last Saturday saw us draw 1-1 at home against Hampton & Richmond Borough with Tom Owen-Evans giving us the lead in the 24th minute from the spot, before Ronan Silva equalised from the spot for the away side following a tussle in the penalty area.
The opposition
Gloucester City AFC were founded in 1883 and have played most of their football in the Southern League which they joined in 1946. The highest level the club has played is step two with a mix of National League North and South, as they won promotion to the National League North in the 2008-09 season via the play-offs as they beat Farnborough 1-0 away from home in the final.
They then made the switch to the South division for the 2017-18 season before they switched back to the North division a season later. In the 2023-24 season they were then relegated back to the Southern League Premier South as they suffered relegation from the National League North.
So far this season they currently find themselves second in the Southern League Premier South on 13 points after six games having lost only one game, with that defeat coming away at Plymouth Parkway.
Gloucester’s 24/25 season ended in heartbreak, as they lost to AFC Totton in the Southern Premier League playoff final.
Our record against Gloucester over the years has been mixed with us winning three of the six games between 2012 and 2023, with City winning the other three. We have had one previous meeting in the FA Cup with that coming in 2012 as we suffered a 1-0 defeat away at Whaddon Road where they ground shared with Cheltenham Town for seven years.
The most recent clash between the two game in the 2023/24 FA Trophy campaign, as the Tigers visited us in the Third Round, and a crazy game saw us come out 5-3 victors.
Danger men
There are a couple of players to keep an eye out for one being a familiar face in Joe Hanks who has netted five times so far for Gloucester. Hanks joined The Tigers the first in 2015 on loan from Cheltenham Town before making it a permanent deal ahead of the 2016-17 season. In 2020 he joined Chippenham Town for three years before moving back in 2023.
Another to look out for is King Baidoo who returned to Gloucester ahead of the current season and has so far netted one goal which came in their win over AFC Portchester in the last round of the FA Cup. Baidoo has previously played for Hartpury University where he netted 33 times from 31 starts. Last season he was at Yate Town as he helped to guide the Bluebells to promotion into the Southern League Premier South.
Familiar Faces
Gloucester & Chippenham have had shared a number of players throughout recent seasons, and the Tigers’ current squad features a quartet of former Bluebirds.
Hanks is most likely the most instantly recognisable name, as he played 88 league matches across his three seasons with the club. He was a part of the playoff semi-final team, as well as the FA Cup Second Round team, with his ‘cheeky back-flick’ earning us our famous victory at home to Lincoln City.
Hanks, a former professional at Cheltenham Town, departed us in the summer of 2023 and re-joined Gloucester to where he has stayed since.
Ed Williams is another, as he played 39 league matches for us across two spells and scored three times , including a late winner in a comeback victory over Welling United in just his fourth appearance. Williams departed in the summer of 2024, and re-joined the Tigers for a fourth spell.
Kieran Phillips had a very short loan spell with us in the COVID afflicted 2020/21 season as he played six times. We had signed Phillips from Bristol Rovers and he would even feature in our FA Cup 3rd Round Qualifying victory over Ebbsfleet United. He has since played for Kidderminster, Havant & Waterlooville and Hereford since before re-joining Gloucester in the summer of 2024.
Finally, Jared Thompson played six times for us in our inaugural National League South campaign, and he played in our 5-2 victory at Twerton Park. Thompson was on loan from Chelsea at the time, and has since played for FC Midtjylland, Warrenpoint and Weymouth.
Ticket Information
Tickets can be bought online, and a discounted price.
Cash & Card payments are accepted on the gate.
Please note regardless of segregation, away supporters are not permitted to enter the T-End Stand.
Come you Bluebirds 💙
