Chichester City FC / FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round

[littlehampton]

Yesterday evening I made a short 16-mile journey to Oaklands Park,   home of Chichester City FC, to see their FA Cup replay against Hampshire side Hartley Witney, to decide who will host Town in the 3rd Qualifying Round on Saturday 5th October.

After a very even goal-less first half, on a very wet evening, Chichester went ahead, shortly after the interval, against the run of play, and held out to progress in the competition.

It is a very long time since Chichester have made it to this stage of the competition, and this coming weekend, before they play Town, the club are making history again when they feature in the FA Trophy for the first time ever when they host Three Bridges.

Thoughts from last night? Chichester City are a very nice club with friendly very pleasant supporters,  excellent clubhouse facilities, a 150 seater low level stand on the far side of the ground, no stands or cover behind either goal, some sheltered standing accommodation, no printed matchday programmes on sale, understand it is posted online.

The pitch is in superb condition, and will definitely suit Town's style of play. If we play as well as we did against Rushden & Diamonds, and Braintree Town last weekend, I would expect us to win this match.

Let's plan to have a big turnout to support our guys in this very important match. See you there.  COYT 

[littlehampton]

A little more information for Towners who are planning on making their own way down to West Sussex for this match.

LOCATION

This lovely scenic ground is located very close to Chichester Festival Theatre, about 5 minutes walk from the City Centre. The railway station is about 10-15 minutes walk, and the ground is adjacent to a very large pay and display car park - although the club do have their own car parking area which is free of charge. To access this, head through the main car park towards the exit, and take the lane to the left,  and enter through the yellow barriers which will lead you to the ground. Because of its location, city centre pubs and places to eat are within a few minutes walk, although the ground clubhouse does have a bar upstairs.

VIEW

The clubhouse is fairly modern and straddles the halfway line. To the right of the clubhouse is a small covered terrace' (three steps). The whole pitch is surrounded by a wide concrete path.

FACILITIES

Toilets are located inside the entrance to the clubhouse on the ground floor. There is no club shop, but a small range of club souvenirs (badges, scarves, shirts, etc) are available from the bar / counter downstairs.

REFRESHMENT

There is a licensed bar upstairs in the clubhouse, and a small 'burger & chips bar' arrangement on the outside of the clubhouse near the players tunnel.

ATMOSPHERE

Over to you guys. To be honest, there wasn't much in the way of atmosphere the other night. Think it is a great opportunity for Towners to help our team, by showing plenty of pride and passion throughout the match, make themselves heard, and encourage the boys to deliver the result we all want.

Hope this helps.  See you at Oaklands Park. COYT

[littlehampton]

Latest News

Interesting to note that Worthing have just strengthened their back four with the signing of ever present Chichester City left-back, Ben Pashley, who turned out in green and white for the Chi's as recently as Tuesday evening in their FA Cup replay. He swaps the challenge of a Cup match against Town, for the opportunity to test himself at the next level. We'll see him at Worthing in the very near future!

[littlehampton]

Latest News

Bring on Enfield!
Chichester City happy to be underdogs
after more FA Cup success

Read the story in the Chichester Observer.
The link is https//www.chichester.co.uk/sport/football/bring-on-enfield

NB. Chichester City won their first ever FA Trophy  match yesterday at Oaklands Park,  beating Three Bridges 2-1, after going ahead from the penalty spot. The match attendance was 190.

Be very interested to hear what other Towners thoughts are on this important Cup-tie. Are you coming to the game to support our guys? How do rate our chances?

Let's have a good turnout and let's hear it for the Town!

[Richard Katemon]

Looking forward to it. It’s role reversal of the previous round when we were the underdogs. And it’s always good to visit new grounds  and places  

 

[littlehampton]

TOWN ON THE ROAD

Every year without fail the FA Cup captures the imagination of football supporters, up and down the Country, not least fans of non-league clubs, like the Town, who dream of making it through to the First Round Proper, and beyond,  with a lucrative home tie against Football League opposition.

This season, Town are playing exceptionally well, are on a 5-match unbeaten run, and are now 4th in the IPL Table, just 3 points behind the leaders.

Saturday is a massively important occasion for the Town, and playing against a lower division side, in a different stadium, provides an excellent platform to showcase our ability, and reward our loyal travelling supporters with a win down here in West Sussex.

There is already plenty of interest in this match, and it is definitely not one to miss. I can't believe that our Coach travel price, shown on the official website, is only £16.00 return. What a bargain - and there's more!
Chichester City's admission pricing is very, very reasonable, only £8.00 for adults, £4.00 concessions, and £1.00 for 18 year olds and students, under 16's free.

This is a big weekend for the Town, and a great away-day for the Enfield faithful. Let's give Andy and our team the support they richly deserve, and help see Town through to the Next Round of the FA Cup.

Good luck everyone.  Look forward to seeing you there! 
 

'COME ON YOU TOWN'

 

 

 

 

 

[djwilf]

Lovely updates   ?

[littlehampton]

16 hours ago, djwilf said:

Lovely updates   ?

Thanks djwilf, much appreciated.
Wouldn't it be great if we could get a few more Towners involved in this topic, sharing their own thoughts on this match and the likely outcome, so we can get a lively discussion underway.
Just In case anyone thinks I am exaggerating the importance of this match to our Club, there is circa 11K prize money on offer for the winners, which would double what we have already achieved.
Win on Saturday, and there will be more on offer in the next Round. Now there is something really worth shouting for!  COYT

[djwilf]

Any injury updates on Billy or too early?

Just wondering if Sam could fit in up front and Lewis back on the right as would like to see him given a central role.

 

If Billy isn't fit how do people think we'll line up.

 

Yes as you say, massive game and not just financially but also a massive carrot to get a bigger game at home next round.

 

One game at a time

[Barney]

If Billy isn't ready, my best guess would be that Lewis would come in for Mo but play on the left, with Ken moving into the central striker role. Have been impressed with how the midfield 3 have played these last two games, so wouldn't be keen to disrupt that.

All guesswork of course - just hope that we go into the game with the correct attitude, not thinking it'll be a stroll as I'm sure it'll be a really tough test. Gutted I can't make it down to the South coast at the weekend, but will be glued to Twitter with fingers crossed.

[72wemblyfinal]

@Littlehampton

The prize money has greatly increased this year for the earlier rounds,and also losers pick up a fair amount also in the earlier rounds up to ,4th qualifying round.The FA said they were going to redistribute some money into lower division football ,and this is a good start.in 17/18 when we were at this stage ie won 2 rounds we collected £7,500  this year after 2 rounds we have in the kitty 11,250 ,and the jumps in prize money now are considerable.

Let's hope Billy is fit to play on Sat,but if not we have Lewis or Junior to fill a wide slot.Junior did very well against Braintree.I to would be loath to change the midfield.

 

COYT

Edited October 1, 2019 by 72wemblyfinal

[littlehampton]

COUNTDOWN.....3 Days to Go !!

Town will be eyeing up more FA Cup heroics on Saturday, but last night it was back to league action at Brightlingsea, and another away win. another clean sheet, another fine performance and another three points, as Town continue to push on up the league, to 3rd in the Table.

It has taken a bit of time, but Andy has now assembled an excellent squad of talented players, who are playing very well as a team, with great confidence and determination to win matches. Town are unbeaten away from home this season, and if they replicate the power-packed performances seen, both home and away, they will continue to win more than they lose.

They say 'When the going gets tough the tough get going' and last night's result shows Town are ready, well prepared, and waiting to face Chichester City in the world's oldest knock-out competition  - the FA Cup.

Don't miss it. Let's see a big Enfield turnout to support our team.

UP THE TOWN !
 

[littlehampton]

 

A real cracker of a match for everyone to look forward to this weekend. with plenty of interest building down this neck of the woods. Bognor are without a match on Saturday, so there is a very good chance we will be seeing some of their fans at our game. Wonder who they will be supporting? No prizes for guessing!

With just 48hrs now to kick-off, sure everyone will be very interested to hear other Towners thoughts, hopes, expectations, and predictions, for this FA Cup-tie which is worth a tasty five-figure sum for the winners.

LET"S HEAR IT FOR THE TOWN

Edited October 3, 2019 by littlehampton
word duplication

[littlehampton]

THIS IS THE 'BIG ONE'
BRING IT ON !!

With the 'BIG MATCH' just under 24hrs away, some interesting thoughts and comments from the opposition camp.

Chichester City manager Mike Rutherford says his side's FA Cup third qualifying round tie, at home to Enfield Town tomorrow, is a massive one for his club.

Rutherford is fully aware how difficult an opponent Town will be. He said: " It's going to be a really tough game. Enfield are a very good side, have lots of good players, and so the only thing we can do is to go into it with a good attitude and lots of hard work."

" It's a very good thing that it's at home, but we are taking nothing for granted. Although, one bonus for us is that they have lost one of their centre-forwards, Billy Bricknell, to an injury last Saturday, but no doubt, whoever they bring in, will be good players. We're just hoping that we have a good day and they have a bad day."

Rutherford also revealed his side have some injury worries of their own. " At the moment it's just about trying to get people available every week to be honest. A few have been away, a few have been injured. We just don't want to be playing Enfield under-strength."
____________

I am sure everyone at Enfield is really looking forward to this match. Town are playing some excellent football, and are unbeaten away from home in any competition. If we play tomorrow with confidence and belief, stamp our authority on the game, and put away our chances, we should be in that FA Cup 4th qualifying round draw on Monday.

Good luck everyone. Let's get behind our guys tomorrow with plenty of noisy support. See you there!

'COME ON THE TOWN'

 

[Benjrider10]

Good luck today!!

No shortage of strikers with Alex Reed's signing but a real shame Muhammadu Faal is suspended. He has been playing outstandingly well. If our defenders and midfield play as well as they have for the two games I saw while at home, I am optimistic we will get a good result 

Come on the Town!!

[seemgee]

Todays team

McDonald, Hatton, Payne, Thomas, Wilson, Muleba, Taafe, Blackman, Read, Youngs, Charles

Subs

Weatherstone, Mubiayi, Brown-Bampoe, Livings, Nsaih, Campbell, Forde

Edited October 5, 2019 by seemgee

[seemgee]

Taafe injured after 4 mins hamstring

[seemgee]

0-0 HT

[seemgee]

Town are 1 down 85 mins

[seemgee]

FT 1-0 Chichester