BLUES MATCH PREVIEW: CHESTER FC v BANBURY UNITED

Chester FC return to the Leap76 stadium this weekend and welcome Banbury United, who are now under the management of the newly appointed Kevin Wilson.

After collecting four useful points from two tricky away games, the Seals will be looking for their fourth consecutive clean sheet on Saturday afternoon.

Calum McIntyre’s men retained fourth spot in the National League North last weekend as they played out a goalless draw at The Walks, the home of King’s Lynn Town.

A 334-mile round trip to Norfolk resulted in a cagey affair and McIntyre will be hoping it’s a case of home comforts against Banbury United this weekend.

THE OPPOSITION:

The visitors currently sit in 16th place in the National League North and come into Saturday’s game with momentum after a good run of form. They are searching for their third win in as many games after narrowly defeating third place Scarborough Athletic and 23rd place Darlington.

However, the Puritans have scored the third lowest amount of league goals this season, with 28 goals in 29 games. Only Farsley Celtic with 26 goals and Darlington with 22 goals have scored less.

Banbury emphatically earned promotion to the National League North by winning the Southern Premier Division Central back in the 2021/22 season with 102 points. The Oxfordshire based club finished in 17th last term, avoiding relegation by a slender five points.

THE GAFFER:

It’s a new dawn at the Spencer Stadium, as the highly experienced Kevin Wilson was announced as the new manager on Tuesday. The 62-year-old has been tasked with the short-term goal of ensuring Banbury’s United’s safety this season.

It’s a romantic return for Wilson as he signed for Banbury as a 17-year-old before being sold to Derby County for £25,000, which is still a club record sale to this day. The striker had spells with Ipswich Town, Notts County and more notably Chelsea, netting 42 goals in 152 appearances during a five-year period at Stamford Bridge.

Wilson began his managerial career with Notts County and he won promotion to Division Two with the Magpies in the year 2000. Since then, he has managed a number of non-league clubs including Bedford Town, Aylesbury United, Kettering Town and Ilkeston Town.

The Northern Irishman, who won 42 caps with his country, has returned to football management after an eight-year hiatus with Wilson believing that the time was right to get back into the dugout.

ONE TO WATCH:

Defender Charlie Waller has picked up the Man of the Match award in Banbury’s last two games with some eye-catching displays helping the Puritans to back-to-back victories.

The 18-year-old is on loan from League Two outfit MK Dons and has shown his quality recently. He was a part of the defence that fought well to record a clean sheet against third place Scarborough Athletic and then only three days later scored to double his team’s advantage to help them to an eventual 2-1 win over Darlington.

Waller joined Banbury United on loan at the end of November. He signed his first professional contract in June 2023 and has made two senior appearances for the Dons, with them both coming in the EFL Trophy.

LEAGUE FORM GUIDE:

Chester FC l W14 D7 L9 l F36 A21 l Pos: 4th

Last Three

Bishop’s Stortford (H) l W 2-0 l Scorers: George Glendon, Christian Norton

Chorley (A) l W 2-0 l Scorers: Tom Peers (2)

King’s Lynn Town (A) l D 0-0 l Scorers: None

Banbury United l W10 D6 L13 l F28 A44 l Pos: 16th

Last Three

Gloucester City (H) l L 2-1 l Scorers: Emmanuel Maja

Scarborough Athletic (H) l W 1-0 l Scorers: Lawson D’Ath

Darlington (H) l W 2-1 l Scorers: Emmanuel Maja, Charlie Waller

Match preview by Jude Deedigan.

MATCH DETAILS:

Kick off is 3pm on Saturday afternoon at the Leap76 Stadium. The postcode for the ground is CH1 4LT.

TICKETS:

Do I need a ticket to attend the match?

– If you are attending in the East Stand or West Stand, or you are an away supporter – Yes.

In the above stands, matchday admission will not be available at turnstiles, meaning tickets will have to either be purchased online at: 

chesterfc.ktckts.com 

or at the Ticket Office.

– If you are attending in the Harry McNally North Terrace – No.

This week, the operational capacity of the Deva Stadium has been increased to 4,361 with immediate effect following a mid-season meeting of the Safety Advisory Group (SAG).

This will enable the club to give fans the option to pay at the turnstiles (card/contactless payments) for the Harry McNally Terrace on Saturday, with the remaining stands to follow from the next home fixture.

At this stage, the stadium kiosks will not be reintroducing alcohol sales, however the club is exploring the introduction of a Fan Zone on matchdays, with a view to staging trial events in the near future.