Post by Rio Doherty on Mar 13, 2020 15:35:46 GMT
After a week-long break we resume our league campaign tomorrow as we host Boston United at home in what will be another pivotal game in our battle to stay in the play-offs. It has now been officially confirmed that this game will now go ahead, although it is quite a surprising decision. I personally am happy about this, although the National League certainly haven’t helped themselves in the timing of it. Our showing and result was simply embarrassing and unacceptable last week, so we must overcome that by bouncing back. That will be easier said than done though, as the visitors are flying high in third place and will be out to boost their own promotion chances. We tend to perform better against the higher sides at home, so we have to continue that trend to give ourselves a bit of breathing space.
Our last match was last Saturday as we lost 2-1 away at Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC in what was the biggest shock of the day. The first half was really hard to watch as we never got going at all, and were rooted to our own half as the hosts’ superior possession pressurised us. With moments to go before half time Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC made it 1-0 as Tom Clare bundled in, despite the goal initially being disallowed. We improved slightly in the first ten minutes of the second period, as Matty Waters scored a fluke goal directly from a corner for us to make it 1-1. Our desire dropped though, as Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC retook the lead to make it 2-1. It was a woeful one to concede too, as Oli Johnson netted a free header from a long throw. We couldn’t respond for the second time though, as the hosts ran out as deserved victors.
Boston United will be making the journey from Lincolnshire having had an excellent season so far. The Pilgrims have strung together disappointing mid table finishes in recent years, but it looks like they have finally found their spark to mount a return to the National League. A strong run just before Christmas saw our opponents gatecrash the play-offs, and ever since then they have remained in a comfortable position as in recent times they have even overtaken us into third place. Two former blues now ply their trade with our opponents, who are Brad Abbott and George Green. Midfielder Abbott enjoyed a loan spell here from Barnsley back in 2015, where since 2017 he has been at Boston. Brad recently made his 100th appearance for The Pilgrims having earned a regular starting spot. Meanwhile, midfielder Green had a frustrating tenure here from 2018 until last year, as a season hampered with injuries resulted in him failing to get a decent run of games under his belt. Following his release with us in the Summer he has been at Boston ever since, although he is currently out on loan at Gainsborough Trinity having had a stop-start Boston career as well.
I have a feeling that this may be our last match for a while, so we will need to make it count by getting our momentum back on the rails. Consistency has been our biggest downfall lately, but we will need to rediscover it ahead of our final few games. We must all back the boys tomorrow to help us put Saturday’s shambles behind us, because the worst they need is a negative atmosphere that could deter us even more. Come On City!
Score: Chester FC (Asante, Jackson) 2-1 Boston United (Thewlis)
Attendance: 1,819 (118 Boston United)
My predicted lineup:
Gray
K.Roberts Livesey Grand Waters
Jackson G.Roberts Glendon Johnston
Asante Elliott
COYB!
Our last match was last Saturday as we lost 2-1 away at Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC in what was the biggest shock of the day. The first half was really hard to watch as we never got going at all, and were rooted to our own half as the hosts’ superior possession pressurised us. With moments to go before half time Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC made it 1-0 as Tom Clare bundled in, despite the goal initially being disallowed. We improved slightly in the first ten minutes of the second period, as Matty Waters scored a fluke goal directly from a corner for us to make it 1-1. Our desire dropped though, as Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC retook the lead to make it 2-1. It was a woeful one to concede too, as Oli Johnson netted a free header from a long throw. We couldn’t respond for the second time though, as the hosts ran out as deserved victors.
Boston United will be making the journey from Lincolnshire having had an excellent season so far. The Pilgrims have strung together disappointing mid table finishes in recent years, but it looks like they have finally found their spark to mount a return to the National League. A strong run just before Christmas saw our opponents gatecrash the play-offs, and ever since then they have remained in a comfortable position as in recent times they have even overtaken us into third place. Two former blues now ply their trade with our opponents, who are Brad Abbott and George Green. Midfielder Abbott enjoyed a loan spell here from Barnsley back in 2015, where since 2017 he has been at Boston. Brad recently made his 100th appearance for The Pilgrims having earned a regular starting spot. Meanwhile, midfielder Green had a frustrating tenure here from 2018 until last year, as a season hampered with injuries resulted in him failing to get a decent run of games under his belt. Following his release with us in the Summer he has been at Boston ever since, although he is currently out on loan at Gainsborough Trinity having had a stop-start Boston career as well.
I have a feeling that this may be our last match for a while, so we will need to make it count by getting our momentum back on the rails. Consistency has been our biggest downfall lately, but we will need to rediscover it ahead of our final few games. We must all back the boys tomorrow to help us put Saturday’s shambles behind us, because the worst they need is a negative atmosphere that could deter us even more. Come On City!
Score: Chester FC (Asante, Jackson) 2-1 Boston United (Thewlis)
Attendance: 1,819 (118 Boston United)
My predicted lineup:
Gray
K.Roberts Livesey Grand Waters
Jackson G.Roberts Glendon Johnston
Asante Elliott
COYB!