A4 Derby Part 2 Match Preview
The two teams met at Hardenhuish on Boxing Day with the team in stripes running out convincing winners, thanks to goals by Jordan Dyer, Omar Holness and a brace from Cody Cooke.
City were then able to enjoy a match off on Tuesday to rest their tired limbs following an excellent team performance.
That same day Chippenham travelled in the opposite direction along the A4 to take on Hungerford Town and gain three points which lifted the Bluebirds into 7th place in the table with 28 points from 20 matches.
The excellent 3-0 win epitomized their inconsistent season in which almost two thirds of the points have been won on the road.
Away from Hardenhuish they have only suffered the one defeat, at Maidstone, and while their four wins have all been at clubs below them, they have gained very creditable draws at Dulwich, St Albans, Dartford and Oxford.
Although these matches are seen as the two clubs’ traditional Christmas/New Year fixtures, the first was staged as recently as 2002 and because they played at different levels for a few seasons and the League’s make up meant the pair also played festive fixtures with the likes of Weston and Hungerford this isn’t always the case.
Honours are pretty even between the two local rivals in league matches at Twerton with City winning three, drawing three and losing two. There were only eleven goals scored in the first five meetings but there have been seventeen in the last three!
Following Chippenham’s promotion in 2017 they shocked the home club with an outstanding 5-2 win in our first home match of the season but revenge was sweet on New Year’s Day sixteen months later with goals from Anthony Straker, Ross Stearn, Robbie Cundy and Adam Mann sealing a fine 5-0 win.
The Bluebirds’ last visit to Twerton was on Boxing Day 2019 when nearly 1400 fans were treated to a highly charged and entertaining match. City were in the middle of a long unbeaten run at the time but had to come from behind twice to finally win 3-2 with goals from Mann again, Ryan Brunt and Joe Raynes. Chippenham supporters were treated to an excellent goal provided by former City player George Rigg but their team’s hopes were dashed by a red card.
So everything points to an entertaining match on Sunday with plenty of goals and drama as City aim to close the gap on their neighbours and kick off the new year with another resounding victory.
Tickets can be bought in advance from the Club’s website.
The winners of the Supporters Club’s Christmas Draw will be announced over the tannoy at half time. Good luck if you were one of the many who bought tickets!
