Chester FC, FA Cup preview

Saturday sees a second consecutive Cup game against a club formed on the demise of its predecessor and a chance to make it to the First Round Proper.


OPPOSITION FORM

Chester have recently been climbing the table after an indifferent start and now just below the half way point.

Date	Opponent	Result
30 Sep	A v AFC Telford United	Won 2-1
4 Oct	H v Welling United	Drew 1-1
7 Oct	H v Aldershot Town	Won 1-0
11 Oct	A v Dover Athletic	Lost 0-2
18 Oct	H v Alfreton Town	Won 2-1

Their best result of the season came in an away game when they recorded a 3-1 win at Braintree back on 16 August. They have won one more away game since and lost 5 of the other 6.

OPPOSITION PLAYERS

The Chester team that beat Alfreton Town 2-1 last Saturday was:

Name	Pos	Known Past Clubs
Jon Worsnop	G	Bradford C, Chester C, Aberystwyth T, Leigh Genesis, Droylsden, Mossley, Witton A, Ossett T, Bradford PA, Worksop T, FCU Manchester
Ben Heneghan	CD	Everton, Droylsden(L), Stoke C
Michael Kay	D	Sunderland, Gateshead(L), Tranmere Rov(L), Tranmere Rov
Kieran Charnock	CD	Northwich Vic, Peterborough U, Morecameb(L), Torquay U, Morecambe, Fleetwood T(L), Fleetwood T, Macclesfield T, COUNTY(L), COUNTY
Gareth Roberts	D	Tranmere Rov, Bury, Derby Co, Doncaster Rov, Notts Co
Craig Mahon	M	Salford C, Burscough, Vauxhall Motors, L to AFC Fylde(L)
John Rooney	F	Macclesfield T, Barnsley, Bury, Chester(L)
Kingsley James	D/M	Sheffield U, Port Vale, Chasetown(L), Hereford U(L), Hereford U
Sean McConville	F	Skelmersdale U, Accrington S, COUNTY, Rochdale(L),  Barrow, Stalybridge Cel
Craig Hobson	F	Peterborough U, Accrington S, Torquay U, Fleetwood T, Macclesfield T, Northwich Vic, Kendal T, Stalybridge Cel, COUNTY, Lincoln C(L), Guiseley
Matty Hughes	F	Wigan Ath, Everton, Skelmersdale U, Fleetwood T
Jamie Menagh	F	Blackpool, Prescot Cables

Chester's side is peppered with recent County players in Craig Hobson, Sean McConville and Kieran Charnock. They also have our old Youth player John Disney and trialist Matthew Brown on their books. Since joining the Bumpers Lane side McConville has not missed a game, and Chester have three other ever present men.

Kieran Charnock.

Chester are averaging just over a goal a game and their top scorer is Craig Hobson with 4 - a couple behind his total tally for County in the 21+7 games he played in the 2012-13 season. Craig played in County's most recent First Round Proper game at Southend United two years ago.

Craig Hobson.

 He will be looking for his first goals against us as he failed to hit the net for Stalybridge Celtic in the Trophy the season before he came to EP.

THE COUNTY SIDE

One certainty is that Alan Lord will be without Chris Sharp - following his red card, and presumably Lee Stevenson, unless Alfreton have changed their mind about letting him play. So it seems likely the back four (or five) will not change and the positions further forward will be adjusted. With 7 substitute spots available good performances in Thursday night's Lancashire League game against Hyde at Abbey Hey could well move some players forward in the reckoning.

Lee Stevenson -likely to feature tonight at Abbey Hey !

However, the management team still have to cope with a few injury problems so it's unlikely you'll be seeing any brand new names on the team sheet.



MATCH PROSPECTS

The game sees County back to underdog status but Chester's away records isn't the best. If we can put on one of our good attacking performances the win should be achievable. At least we can hope for a draw and a few drinks in Chester with a match thrown in has never been much of a chore.

OTHER CUP MATCHES

The other Vanarama Conference North teams in FA Cup action this weekend are:

Chorley v FC Halifax Town, Gateshead v Gainsborough Trinity, Gloucester City v Forest Green Rovers, Grimsby Town v Guiseley, Kings Lynn Town v AFC Fylde, Tamworth v Southport, Warrington Town v North Ferriby United, Worcester City v Greenwich Borough.

VANARAMA CONFERENCE NORTH

Given the Cup ties listed above there is a reduced set of games this weekend, although some clubs have manage to re-arrange games from alter in the season to fill the empty Saturday. After checking a few sites the matches that appear to be taking place are listed below along with the part of the table around County that could be directly affected by the results.

Boston United v Solihull Moors, Colwyn Bay v Barrow, Harrogate Town v Brackley Town, Hyde v Leamington, Oxford City v Hednesford Town.

Pos		PL	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PT
6	COUNTY	13	7	2	4	25	18	7	23
7	Boston U	13	6	3	4	21	21	0	21
8	Solihull Moors	12	6	2	4	29	17	12	20