Post by Rio Doherty on Jan 24, 2020 18:08:56 GMT
Our first league fixture at the 1885 Arena in almost a month takes place tomorrow as we entertain Darlington at home where we look to record our first win in three. Last weekend in Warwickshire we performed disappointingly as our defensive approach and lack of firepower in both midfield and up front cost us. We have been given a huge boost ahead of this one with the addition of John Johnston, who should be able to be thrown straight in if the FA ratify the deal in time. Our opponents are on a roll, but a lot of teams have been unsettled at the Deva this season, so we will have to do the same to Darlo by creating a noisy atmosphere and doing the talking on the pitch. With the play-offs now becoming tighter by the week, the pressure is now on us to string some wins together because the likes of Boston United and Darlington are on our heels, whilst it’s vital we climb back into the top three as Brackley Town have now broken into it.
Our last match was on Saturday as we drew 0-0 away at Leamington in what was a dire encounter. The first period was a really scrappy and tight affair as the ball spent most of its time in the air. Meanwhile, the second half was a bit more lively as there was more goalmouth action, but our lack of quality was still our main weakness. With around 20 minutes left on the clock it looked like Jack Edwards made it 1-0 to Leamington, but fortunately it was disallowed for offside. All in all a draw was a fair reflection in a clash that failed to get going.
Darlington will be making the journey from County Durham having had a strong season so far. The Quakers had a mass overhaul in the Summer as former Blyth Spartans boss Alun Armstrong jumped ship to join Darlo, who snapped up strong players such as Will Hatfield, Jarrett Rivers, and Adam Campbell. It took a while for Darlington’s new squad to gel together, but they went on an eight match unbeaten run between September and November to storm up the table, which came to no real surprise as most people tipped them to do well this campaign. However, our opponents hit a bump after that purple patch, as they only managed to pick up one win in seven in the lead up to the festive season. Seven league wins in eight has saw Darlo climb up the table once again, as they now sit in a strong position inside the play-offs. Darlington will be hoping to keep that consistency going, although it’s vital we do record maximum points in this as they aren’t far behind us at all.
It has been almost a month since our last league match at the Deva, which is why we will have to turn on the style again against fellow play-off opponents, just like we did against Southport (who were a strong team at the time). We have two tough away trips coming up after this, so in order to take bags of confidence over the Pennines we will need to put on a consistent 90 minute show tomorrow. Royston Town aside we haven’t had any issues defensively - it’s just our strikers who need to step up now. Up The Seals!
Score: Chester FC (Grand, Asante) 2-1 Darlington (Donawa)
Attendance: 2,042 (238 Darlington)
My predicted lineup:
Griffiths
K.Roberts Livesey Grand Taylor
Jackson G.Roberts Stopforth Johnston
Dudley Asante
COYB!
Our last match was on Saturday as we drew 0-0 away at Leamington in what was a dire encounter. The first period was a really scrappy and tight affair as the ball spent most of its time in the air. Meanwhile, the second half was a bit more lively as there was more goalmouth action, but our lack of quality was still our main weakness. With around 20 minutes left on the clock it looked like Jack Edwards made it 1-0 to Leamington, but fortunately it was disallowed for offside. All in all a draw was a fair reflection in a clash that failed to get going.
Darlington will be making the journey from County Durham having had a strong season so far. The Quakers had a mass overhaul in the Summer as former Blyth Spartans boss Alun Armstrong jumped ship to join Darlo, who snapped up strong players such as Will Hatfield, Jarrett Rivers, and Adam Campbell. It took a while for Darlington’s new squad to gel together, but they went on an eight match unbeaten run between September and November to storm up the table, which came to no real surprise as most people tipped them to do well this campaign. However, our opponents hit a bump after that purple patch, as they only managed to pick up one win in seven in the lead up to the festive season. Seven league wins in eight has saw Darlo climb up the table once again, as they now sit in a strong position inside the play-offs. Darlington will be hoping to keep that consistency going, although it’s vital we do record maximum points in this as they aren’t far behind us at all.
It has been almost a month since our last league match at the Deva, which is why we will have to turn on the style again against fellow play-off opponents, just like we did against Southport (who were a strong team at the time). We have two tough away trips coming up after this, so in order to take bags of confidence over the Pennines we will need to put on a consistent 90 minute show tomorrow. Royston Town aside we haven’t had any issues defensively - it’s just our strikers who need to step up now. Up The Seals!
Score: Chester FC (Grand, Asante) 2-1 Darlington (Donawa)
Attendance: 2,042 (238 Darlington)
My predicted lineup:
Griffiths
K.Roberts Livesey Grand Taylor
Jackson G.Roberts Stopforth Johnston
Dudley Asante
COYB!