Chelmsford City vs Dorchester Town - Away Team Preview 25/1/14

Today we welcome Dorchester Town to the Melbourne Stadium, with the visitors sitting bottom of the league and six points from safety. In the teams last meeting, Dorchester ran out two nil winners with then manager Holdsworth bemoaning the teams failure to take it's chances. Last season the Clarets ran out comfortable winners with a four nil home win, gaining revenge for a single goal defeat in the reverse fixture.

Founded in 1880, Dorchester Town Football Club play their home games at The Avenue Stadium. Nicknamed 'The Magpies' the club were Dorset Senior Cup finalists in 1888 and 1890 before becoming a founding member of the Dorset League in 1896. The club endured little success for many years, before finally winning the championship in the 1937/38 season. They joined the Western League in 1947, winning promotion from Division Two in 1950 and then going on to win the league championship in the 1954/55 season. This proved to be a successful decade for the club as they finally got their hands on the Dorset Senior Cup and enjoyed a number of good FA cup runs in this period facing the likes of Norwich City, Queens Park Rangers, Port Vale and Plymouth Argyle. Dorchester reached the 2^nd round of the FA cup in 1954, where a crowd of 5,500 packed into the old Avenue Stadium to see the home side lose to eventual semi finalists York City.

The Magpies won the Dorset Senior Cup four more times before entering the Southern League in 1972. It didn't take the club long to adjust and soon tasted success in the 1977/78 season, a year in which manager David Best utilised his links with former club AFC Bournemouth to attract a few key players such as John O'Rourke, Jack Howarth and most notably, Harry Redknapp. Dorchester finished runners up to Margate Town that season, after an impressive run of sixteen games without defeat. The formation of the Alliance League (now the Skrill Premier) meant the Magpies ended up in the reformed Southern Division a year later. This didn't deter the club however and in their centenary year the club celebrated by winning the Southern Division title in the 1979/80 season, clinching the title after a fourteen game unbeaten run. The club had earlier in the season sold defender Graham Roberts to local rivals Weymouth, a player who would go onto enjoy FA and UEFA cup success with Tottenham Hotspur, winning six caps for England.

A young Trevor Senior impressed alongside top scorer Paul Thorne that year, with Senior going on to later enjoy a successful league career, primarily with Reading, where he broke the Berkshire club's all-time goalscoring record. Before he left the Magpies though, Senior helped the club reach the 2^nd round of the FA cup once more, where they lost to AFC Bournemouth in a replay at Dean Court. After taking their league opponents to extra time, a goal four minutes from time ended the club's dream of a place in the third round – a feat they are yet to achieve.

The 1983/84 season saw the club relegated following a severe financial crisis, with Dorchester only just avoiding dropping out of the league altogether the season after. However, a remarkable turnaround followed, with the Magpies returning to the Premier Division as champions following a goalless draw with Ashford in the final game of the 1986/87 season. The return to the top Southern division began a roller-coaster period for the club, after being mid table regulars for several years, a brush with relegation came at the start of the nineties. Stuart Morgan was bought in as manager in 1993 to help stabilise the ship, despite an excellent first full season in charge, where he guided the club to sixth place before the club once again flirted with relegation on numerous occasions. Despite their league form, the club enjoyed several cup runs, reaching the last sixteen of the FA Trophy for only the second time in their history and reaching the first round of the FA Cup where they were defeated by Oxford City.

The Club were relegated to the Eastern Division after a disappointing league campaign in 2001, despite another FA Cup run which saw the Magpies defeated in the first round once more at the hands of Wigan Athletic. It didn't take long for the club to regain its Southern Premier status with promotion coming at the end of the 2002/03 season, scoring 114 goals in the process. Dorchester once again tasted success in a cup, this time defeating Kings Lynn to lift their first Southern League Cup. The first season back in the Premier Division was a difficult one but the club succeeded to reach the play-offs, where victories over Bath City and Tiverton Town saw Dorchester become a Conference club for the first time in the newly formed Conference South division. A season later the Magpies almost saw further play-off glory, but missed out on another promotion opportunity on the final day of the season, going down 7–3 at Bognor Regis Town. With Eddie Mitchell taking over ownership of the club, Dorchester announced they would be making the step up to full time football in time for the 2007/08 season. Since going full time, the club have retained their Southern Premier status often finishing in the lower half of the table. The last two seasons have seen the club push on, finishing eleventh and eighth respectively.

The current campaign has been tough for the Magpies, accruing fifteen points from twenty two games, winning just four. The club have faced an uphill battle after enduring an awful start to the season in which they conceded ten goals in their first three games, losing 1-0 away at Staines Town, 3-0 at home to Weston-super-Mare and 6-2 at home to Whitehawk. A point away at fellow strugglers Gosport Borough was then followed by another set of three consecutive defeats. With the team leaking goals, the Magpies already had a minus thirteen goal difference after just seven games.

Unfortunately for Claret fans, Dorchester were about to register their first victory of the season. With both teams sitting in the bottom three of the league, this was seen as a key game. After taking the lead in the first half through Dan Way, the Magpies went on to seal the points with virtually the last kick of the game through experienced midfielder Nick Crittenden, after some heavy pressure from Chelmsford. This wasn't enough to take Dorchester off the bottom but many at the club were hoping this would spark a run of results going into October.

Dorchester faced play-off chasing Dover Athletic in their next match, with Dover just edging a scrappy affair one nil. They followed up this encouraging performance with a 3-1 away victory at Maidenhead United, a win on which they failed to build upon as they then lost three games on the trot. Their defensive frailties were being exposed for all to see, shipping ten goals in three games for the second time this season. However, against a much fancied Sutton team, the Magpies registered their first clean sheet of the season in a smash and grab, one nil away win. A second clean sheet followed in the draw with Eastbourne Borough, meaning the Magpies had accrued four points in October, leaving them five points from safety with a game in hand.

The run of clean sheets was bought to an abrupt end with another heavy defeat at Havant and Waterloo, with another five goals conceded. Despite bouncing back with a 2-1 home win against fellow strugglers Tonbridge Angels, the Magpies have yet to register another win since and are on a four game losing streak, having suffered defeats to Eastleigh (2-1), Weston-super-Mare (3-0), Boreham Wood (5-0) and most recently Dover Athletic (4-0).

Magpies manager Phil Simpkin will be looking for an upturn in fortunes when they visit the Melbourne Stadium, with the club six points adrift at the bottom with many of the teams around them having games in hand. With the worst defensive record in the league and the second fewest goals for, it is little surprise that Dorchester find themselves in this position. Simpkin has bought in Warren Byerley on loan from Poole Town on a months loan, in a bid to boost their strike force. AFC Bournemouth duo Charlie Lossasso and Jake McCarthy were signed on loan at the start of the month, keeping up the club's ongoing link-up with the Cherries. Lossasso is a tricky winger with a reputation as a free-kick specialist and McCarthy a young centre back or midfielder, who is highly rated by his parent club. Despite these signings, the results have yet to improve and the Clarets will be looking to take advantage of the leagues leakiest defence.

Chelmsford City vs Sutton United 11/01/14 - visiting team write up

Today we welcome Sutton United to the Melbourne Stadium, with the visitors sitting 5^th in the table, accruing 33 points in the process. In the teams last meeting, the Clarets ran out 1-0 winners in a game that could have seen the home side win by more had it not been for some fine goalkeeping from Sutton keeper Tom Lovelock and some wayward finishing by Chelmsford. This was a reverse of the earlier meeting between the two teams, meaning a win a piece for each side last season.

Sutton United Football Club was formed on March 5^th 1898 when two leading junior sides, Sutton Association and Sutton Guild Rovers, combined. Progress was unremarkable until 1910 when the club decided to obtain senior status as members of the Southern Suburban League. The club settled on a home ground in 1919, called the Borough Sports Ground and have played there ever since. Nicknamed 'The U's', the club rapidly became a force in the amateur leagues and gained a reputation as one of the most imaginative and forward thinking clubs in the country. In the 50's, the club bought in top young coaches such as Jimmy Hill and Malcom Allison to try and push the club forward but it wasn't until Sid Cann took over that the club really started to progress. Hailed as the clubs 'golden era', Cann lead the club to Wembley in 1963 for the Amateur Cup final where the U's lost 4-2 to Wimbledon. The club returned to Wembley in 1969 for the Amateur Cup final, only to fall to a surprise 2-1 defeat to North Shields. Sutton gained national attention in 1970 however after progressing to the FA Cup fourth round, where they welcomed high flying Leeds United to the Borough Sports Ground. 14,000 people squeezed in to see 'The U's' take on Don Revie's star studded team and with 11 full internationals on the pitch, Leeds won the game comfortably 6-0.

The following decade would see little in the way of success for Sutton, once again losing at Wembley to Bishop's Stortford in the FA Trophy final in what was to be their last appearance at the stadium. Success returned on the pitch in 1985 after the club won the Isthmian League title, however the club controversially refused promotion to the Conference due to issues with the home ground. These were eradicated the following year and the club welcomed promotion after retaining the Isthmian title in 1986. They once again gained national attention with their exploits in the FA Cup whilst in the Conference, most famously beating top flight Coventry City in the 3^rd round in one of the competitions all time giant killings. They were the last non league side to knock out a top flight side before Luton Town replicated this feat in last years FA Cup by beating Norwich City.

The club were relegated back to the Isthmian League two seasons later, enjoying only one more stint in the conference for the 1999/00 season. With the introduction of the Conference North and South in the 2004/05 season, Sutton were selected as a founding member of the Conference South. Sutton had bought the average age of their squad considerably over the years, with midfielder Nicky Bailey's stand out performances attracting interest from league clubs. Bailey was sold to Barnet in 2004, continuing Sutton's tradition for producing players who have gone onto play in the Football League and Premiership. With the loss of Bailey the team struggled to maintain their Conference South status and were relegated in 2008. After back to back play off semi final defeats the U's finally returned to the Conference South for the 2011/12 season. The club surprised many with their performance in their first season back at this level, finishing 4^th before suffering yet more play off heartache after defeat by Welling. Sutton missed out on the play offs last year by just two points, with the clubs early season form costing them dear.

Manager Paul Doswell bought in experienced strikers Jamie Slabber and Jamie Taylor to boost the fire power at the club ahead of the 2013/14 season. Chelmford fans will need no introduction to Jamie Slabber after a fantastic season for the club last year, firing in 28 goals for the Clarets. He has continued his scoring form this year, scoring 9 times in total. Taylor was bought in from Lincoln City, where he was top scorer last season, contributing 5 goals so far. Chelmsford will also have to be weary of Sutton stalwart Craig Dundas should he start, the powerful U's striker is always a danger and will be looking to improve on his 7 league goals if given the chance.

Sutton find themselves third in the league, facing an away trip to Dover on the Tuesday which, if won, could see them rise as high as third. With a lot of expectation surrounding the club coming into the season, the team had a rather disappointing start to the campaign, losing two of their first three games. The 2-1 defeat at home to Bishops Stortford would be the last time the team would taste defeat for eleven games however. An impressive undefeated streak saw the U's chalk up victories against Whitehawk, Dover, a five nil thumping of Havant & Waterlooville, a four nil win against fellow play off contenders Eastborne Borough and a one nil win against current leaders Bromley. Sutton finished the month of October in 4^th, five points off leaders Eastleigh.

The U's failed to continue this form in November, enduring a frustrating month they managed just three points from four games. The U's had however gained a worthy draw against promotion chasing Eastleigh after playing over an hour with just ten men. Two further draws followed, where the U's faced awkward away trips to Bath City and Weston-super-Mare. But it would have been the game sandwiched in between these two that would have disappointed Doswell the most; a one nil home defeat at the hands of Dorchester Town. By the end of November, Paul Doswell's men had slipped out of the play off spots despite having only lost three games all season.

The start of December saw an exciting encounter at home to Maidenhead United, after Sutton had twice surrendered a lead the home crowd were relieved to see Craig Dundas goal seal a 3-2 win and their first in five games. This was followed by a hard fought, three one away victory over Boreham Wood, with in form striker Dundas once again on the score sheet. Since these back to back victories, the U's have struggled and picked up just one win in their last four games. They had the opportunity to go second in the Skrill South when they faced Tonbridge Angels at home, a chance they spurned as they lost 2-1. An away trip to fourth placed Ebbsfleet United was always going to be tough, especially with the hosts on an eight match unbeaten streak and top score Slabber out through injury. The home side ran out 2-0 winners meaning Sutton were now 7^th in the Skrill South, two points off the play off places. Boxing day saw the return of Slabber and a return to form for the U's as Hayes & Yeading were brushed aside in a two nil win.

In their last outing Sutton failed to recover from a first half, two goal deficit at Staines Town, despite a second half goal from Slabber. On a day where a lot of their promotion rivals lost, Paul Doswell would have been frustrated with his teams sloppy start to the game. Like most of the Skrill South however, Sutton haven't had a chance to bounce back from this defeat yet as the weather has taken its toll on grounds across the country. With competition for play off places high and only four points separating fourth and eight position, today's guests will be looking to get back to winning ways as soon as possible. Clarets fans should take heart in the fact that Sutton have often struggled against teams in the lower half of the league this season, especially when on the road.