United’s Isuzu FA Trophy campaign gets underway tomorrow, as Chippenham Town make their way to Plainmoor to take on Gary Johnson’s side.
With both sides looking to pull away from the lower reaches of their respective divisions, the potential of a trip to Wembley on non-League finals day on May 2023 may serve as a welcome distraction, with The Gulls’ FA Cup exploits against Derby County already giving them a taste of the rewards a successful cup run can bring.
Who’s The Boss?
Gary Horgan initially joined The Bluebirds as a player from rivals Hungerford Town in 2016, before making the step up into the coaching ranks the following year.
With previous incumbent Mike Cook departing Hardenhuish Park during the latter stages of 2021/22, it was to Gary that the Town board turned to steady the ship, with Horgan duly responding by leading the Club to the highest finish in their 149-year history, with 7th-position sealing a place in the National League South Play-Offs. A penalty-shoot win over Dartford raised hopes of a rise to non-League’s top tier, before their participation in the post-season action ended by way of a 1-0 defeat at Ebbsfleet at the semi-final stage.
Player to Watch
Defender Will Richards is enjoying his second spell at the Wiltshire club, having made 150-odd appearances between 2016-2019 prior to moving to Australia, where her turned out for Doveton FC and Grange Thistle.
Following two years away, Richards was warmly welcomed back to Hardenhuish Park, and has picked up exactly where he left off since, with the 30 year-old producing a number of impressive performances in Chippenham’s backline.
How Are They Doing?
After scaling such heights last time out, the early stages of 2022/23 have proved quite a struggle, with the team currently occupying 22nd place with 16 points from 19 games. With a whole of host of rivals still within shooting range, there remains plenty of hope amongst Chippenham fans that their side can pull themselves out of trouble though, with their stunning 1-0 FA Cup win over League One Lincoln City further proof of their ability to punch above their weight.
Played for Both
Former Gulls favourite Jake Andrews spent time learning his trade at Chippenham during two spells on loan from parent Club Bristol City, with the midfielder clocking up 22 league appearances and five goals during his time there.
Following a similar temporary spell at Cheltenham Town, Jake’s move to Plainmoor – initially on loan, before the move was made permanent in 2019 – saw Andrews create and score numerous goals over the next three years, prior to making the switch to Havant & Waterlooville, and then Gloucester City.
Previous Encounters
Whilst Town fans will point to a memorable ‘double’ their side achieved during Torquay’s 2018/19 National league South title charge, it was United who ran out comfortable winners last time out, as both sides put the finishing touches to their respective warm-up campaigns in a pre-season friendly here at Plainmoor in August 2021.
Following a goalless first half, Danny Wright put his side ahead just after the restart, with his freshly-signed strike partner Dan Holman doubling the advantage shortly after, before a third from Gabby Rogers twelve minutes from time rounded off the victory in style.