Blues Match Preview: Chester FC v Merthyr Town

Chester FC will be looking for some home comforts as they return to the Deva Community Stadium, after a hard-earned draw in the North East, to host Merthyr Town in this midweek clash.

The Seals have only hosted tonight’s visitors once in our history as last October the Martyrs came back from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2, courtesy of strikes from Tom Handley and Cole Jarvis, who scored an injury-time equaliser.

Opposition

The South Wales-based side will look to build on their resilient performance on Saturday, where they took down league leaders Macclesfield with a 2-1 victory, as a spectacular injury time volley from Elis Watts completed the comeback.

However, they’ve struggled away from Penydarren Park so far this season, as the visitors are without a win in their first three games after falling to 2-1 losses on the road to both Spennymoor and Buxton.

Merthyr’s only previous victory this season prior to Saturday was when they overcame Hednesford Town on the opening day, thanks to a smart Jacob Maddox first-half brace that secured a 2-0 result against the newly promoted outfit.

In our limited encounters with tonight’s visitors, we remain unbeaten as the aforementioned 2-2 draw at the Deva Community Stadium came five months before our trip across the Welsh border, where a Dylan Mottley-Henry header secured a late 2-1 win for the Blues in the 97th minute.

Gaffer

Paul Michael has had a very successful tenure so far at Merthyr Town, guiding his side into the National League North for the first time in their history, as champions, after a 32-game unbeaten run in the 2024/25 Southern League Premier Division South campaign.

The Martyrs put up a strong fight for promotion in step two last season, with the former Taffs Well player leading his team to an eighth placed finish, just three points off the play-offs after a run that included 13 wins in 15 games through the winter.

Although he has sat in the hot seat for the last 15 seasons, the 40-year-old is still relatively young for an established manager, as he cut his playing career short at just 25 to become player-manager of his boyhood club, Risca United.

Setting off his successful managerial career, he secured back-to-back promotions to guide the team into the Welsh Football League Division One, where they remained for the next two seasons.

Since then, Michael journeyed through the South West of England, taking to the dugout at Cinderford Town and Yate Town where at the latter he reached the FA Cup First Round for only the second time in their history in 2021.

Although he had a shorter playing career due to his adventures into early management, he still found success on the pitch as his most notable spell came for Haverfordwest County, where he spent two seasons on the brink of European qualification in the top tier of Welsh Football.

His time in his boots wasn’t limited to top flight Welsh football however, as he also turned out for Clevedon Town and Taffs Well.

One to watch

Elis Watts has been vital in Merthyr’s recent upturn in form as two goals and one assist in his last four appearances have won his team five of their nine points so far this season.

The 24-year-old’s biggest contribution so far this campaign came on Saturday, as he smashed a spectacular scissor-kick into the top right corner with seconds remaining on the clock to take the victory.

Additionally, his goal and assist across back to back 1-1 draws against Chorley and South Shields helped his side maintain a three-game unbeaten run after a 2-2 draw against Telford.

The Welshman joined the Romans on the back of an impressive 17 months with Gloucester City where he scored 19 goals across 64 outings, with a hat-trick against his former club Hungerford Town helping him earn the club’s Player of the Month award in December 2025.

After passing through the Cardiff City academy, Watts graduated from Newport County’s youth system before going on to represent the likes of Aldershot Town, Metropolitan Police, and Farnborough.

Match Preview by Harry Bennett.

Match Details

The match at the Deva Community Stadium will kick-off at 19:45.