NLN PREVIEW - CHESTER v HEREFORD

Hereford visit the Deva Stadium tonight, as Chester FC welcome fans back for the first time in nine months!

Season Ticket holders only can attend this National League North encounter, after permission was secured for a limited-attendance pilot event. It will be the first time the Deva has hosted supporters since March.

After an unfortunate 2-1 defeat at York City over the weekend, a home game under the lights in front of fans could be the perfect tonic for the Blues to get back to winning ways.

Hereford play their first game of December due to COVID based postponements over the weekend, and sit 19th with nine points from seven games thus far.

A few familiar faces return to CH1, with former Manager Steve Burr being Josh Gowling’s Assistant at the Bulls. Also Ryan Lloyd, who made 63 appearances across two years at Chester, could feature for the visitors.

FANS BACK AT THE DEVA!

Fans will be able to attend the fixture with Hereford FC after permission was secured for a limited-attendance pilot event for season-ticket holders only.

The club is extremely grateful to the local Safety Advisory Group and National League for their agreement and assistance in preparing for the safe return of crowds. The board of directors also wish to acknowledge the efforts of safety officer Steve Povey and safety certificate holder Mark Jones.

Subject to a successful pilot this evening, the club hopes to be able to welcome non-season ticket holders for future matches with a reduced capacity and strict social distancing measures in place. We will provide a further update on these arrangements in due course, however it is hoped we will be in a position to make further season tickets available as well as individual match tickets.

The health and wellbeing of everyone in attendance is the club’s overriding priority and as such all supporters must cooperate fully with our staff and stewards, and familiarise themselves with the Supporters’ Code of Conduct before visiting the stadium.

Anyone unwilling to follow these guidelines will not be permitted to attend fixtures as non-compliance will place the club’s ability to admit spectators at risk and potentially lead to further reductions in capacity.

It is important fans understand there will be a number of changes in how matchdays operate to ensure the safety of our supporters, which will be communicated in full before kick off.

The club asks fans planning to attend the Hereford game who have still to collect their season ticket cards to do so before this evening where possible. The ticket office is open between 10am and 4pm today.

Following nine difficult months apart, we cannot wait to welcome you home.