MATCH PREVIEW: vs St. Albans City, Sat 4th Sept 2021
We preview our upcoming National League fixture against St. Albans City
If Carlsberg don’t do Bank Holiday Weekends… but if they did, they would probably not be to dissimilar to the one the Bluebirds of Chippenham Town FC have just experienced. A trip to Slough on Saturday afternoon in the glorious sunshine when we departed and arriving in overcast conditions made sure the players were the only ones not regretting the decision to wear shorts!
However, after late dramatics, a penalty save and a snatch and grab goal from Ross Stearn in the 94th minute, the weather was the last thing on the minds of the travelling #BlueArmy as they left Arbour Park with huge smiles and all three points. Points that we thought would be even more valuable given the arrival of pre-season favourites Havant & Waterlooville on Bank Holiday Monday.
In a game even the most ardent of Chippenham supporter couldn’t have predicted the outcome. Mike Cook and his troops rallied from the physical exertion of Saturday to turn in a performance nothing short of incredible and take a very convincing 1-0 victory against the Hawks on home soil in front of the 600 spectators at The Thornbury Surfacing Stadium. Maximum points for the weekend, two wins, two clean sheets and very happy weekend for all connected with the club.
So, we move onto September, unbeaten and looking fantastic on and off the pitch. Our next game is this Saturday 4th September against St Albans City FC, a team with their own aspirations of success this season with a playoff finish the expectation for all connected with The Saints. Managed by Ian Atkinson, the Saints have been back in the National League South since 2013 following a playoff victory against Chesham and have been here ever since. Playing at Clarence Park, St Albans have solidified their home ground as a bit of a fortress in recent years and has not proven to be a happy hunting ground for Chippenham in the past.
In order to get anything from this game, we are going to have to try and silence a striker bang in form at the moment, Shaun Jeffers. He has started this season as he ended last with the former Chelmsford and Hampton man averaging 1.67 goals a game so far currently on 5 with one assist for St Albans in their opening 3 fixtures. However, these goals have been so far in vain as St Albans have only recorded 1 win and 2 losses in their opening fixtures. Many believe this would have been 2 wins if not for the tragic circumstance in which their game against Tonbridge was postponed on Saturday with the Saints 1-0 up before an injury to defender Devante Stanley forced the game to be thrown out.
All of us at Chippenham extend our best wishes to Devante as he recovers from what seemed to be a very nasty leg injury. Not much can be taken from the other results either as they have all gone according to form with St Albans just coming up short against Dartford and Dorking and picking up their only win of the season in a 5-0 drubbing of Welling.
Chippenham will hopefully be able to call once again on a full compliment of players following the excellent rotation of the squad over the weekend, we have nothing to report in terms of injuries, possibly a little tiredness but with fresh faces ready to go after a rest on Monday and a week of recuperation for the Bluebirds, we should be able to give St Albans another very tough test on the road.
If ever the team deserved the travelling supporters of the #BlueArmy to jump in the cars and head out on the road to lend their support, it’s now! 3 games, 2 wins, undefeated and playing some excellent football both at the back and going forward. It’s a very exciting time to be a Chippenham fan! Let’s get there and do them proud in return!
Tickets are available to purchase online, via the link below, they must be purchased online in advance, and will not be available on the day at the ground: https://fanzone.stalbanscityfc.com/product/st-albans-city-v-chippenham-town/
#BlueArmy
