Next Match – Hemel Hempstead (H)

City are at home again this coming Tuesday, their fifth Tuesday night fixture in a row, when managerless Hemel Hempstead will be our guests at Twerton Park.

The games have been coming thick and fast of late, but Tuesday’s home match against Hemel Hempstead is scheduled to be the last game at Twerton Park until Weymouth come here on Good Friday, 29 March.

Hemel have slumped to 17th after losing six of their last seven, with the point they earned from a 1-1 draw at Maidstone United on 10 February the only addition to their tally in that period. This poor run saw the club announce the departure of first team manager Brad Quinton from the club on Tuesday 5 March. Quinton had joined the Tudors in December 2022 and oversaw 67 competitive games.

The Tudors have been struggling with injuries recently and though the club was at pains to thank Quinton for his efforts in developing youth players and integrating them into the team, that poor run has clearly meant that the club feels it is time to go in a new direction. They’ve gone for a short-term appointment in Alan Dowson, who has taken on the job in an interim role. Dowson was sacked by Dartford in January but has a good track record in this division with the Darts, Hampton and Woking. He got off to a losing start on Saturday at struggling Eastbourne, but they remain seven points clear of the bottom four.

As well as the changes off the field, Town have also recently seen forward Reece Grant move to Welling United after a mutual cancellation of his contract. To keep the numbers up, last week they signed promising 18-year-old midfielder Anton Dworzak on loan from League Two side Swindon Town.

It will be interesting to see how they respond, but as the higher-placed team in the league, City will go into the match confident and hopeful of returning to form after two losses in three, either side of an encouraging 2-2 draw at Maidstone.

Coincidentally, the last two instalments of this Romans v Tudors fixture were both also played in March. Last season it ended in a 1-0 win for City, with Cody Cooke netting the only goal of the game after a quarter of an hour. Hemel took an early lead the season before, but two second half goals in the space of ten minutes from Alex Fletcher and Tom Smith sealed the win for the home side.

It promises to be an entertaining match, and a tough test against a team looking to bounce back soon after their recent woes. So do come along – and bring your friends with you – to cheer on the Romans as they approach the final push for the play-offs.

Tickets are available here and, as always, you can save money on the entry fee by buying in advance.