Pitchero Non League

Weston-super-Mare visit Melbourne Stadium for a Blue Square Bet South this Saturday.

Aside from a one-goal defeat to Welling United on the opening Monday night of the campaign, the Clarets have beaten Bromley 3-2, then Salisbury City 2-1. With three straight Chelmsford-based games coming up in three Saturdays, Pennyfather has highlighted the need to maintain strong home form.

“We’ve got three home games on the spin, and we’ll be looking to win them all,” he reinforced. “It’s important to get three points before we embark on the FA Cup next week but all the teams in our division will have the same length of break from league games, so the effect [on the table] will be less than in the later rounds.”

Weston are currently in nineteenth place having drawn one and lost two of their matches on their travels so far, but their defensive approach to previous Melbourne visits has made them a historically tricky proposition. Pennyfather is well aware of this, and he claims City will have to be tactically astute against the Seagulls.

He said: “They’ve been a tough nut to crack here in the past... and I’m expecting more of the same. They had a good result when they played Sutton and they’re notoriously hard to beat. They’ve not had the most fantastic start but we’ll still have to be at our best. It’s up to us to make Melbourne a tough place to come. We want teams to look at the fixture list, see our home record and be wary of coming here.”

Meanwhile, a strong Clarets reserve team defeated Grays Athletic 3-0 on Wednesday night as Warren Whitely, David Rainford and Joel Ledgister netted to claim a comfortable victory. Pennyfather said: “It was a good result and we were able to give some players minutes on the field which they’ll benefit from.”

Anthony Cook will be missing from the flanks of City’s midfield as he sits out the game through suspension following his red card at Dover Athletic. Defenders Adam Tann and Nicholas Bondon are both close to being considered, although not for this match - Tann played a part in the reserves’ game in midweek. Max Cornhill, however, is fit again and there are no new injury concerns for the manager.

Tags: News | Chelmsford City

• Blue Square Bet
  • + Gateshead Pick Up Second Striker
• Blue Square Premier
  • + Forest Green Snap Up Barry
  • + Cullen Joins Hatters
  • + Edwards for Darts?
  • + U`s Snap Up Celtic`s Aussie Winger
  • + Clowes Pens New Wrexham Deal
  • + Wright Makes Hurst First Signing
  • + Imps to Bring in Fairhurst
  • + Ebanks Joins - Hendrie Retires
  • + Daish Leaves Ebbsfleet
• Blue Square North
  • + Kittrick Wants to Know His Position
  • + Piergianni Becomes New Pilgrim Number 3
  • + Keeper Snubs
  • + Three More Depart Chester
  • + Boshell Makes Permanent Alty Switch
  • + Rowntree Decides to Stay
• Blue Square South
  • + Wings Tie-Up Another Title-Winner
  • + Bradbury Challenges New Boys
  • + Truro Hang Fire On Naming New Boss
  • + Clarets Draw Up Managerial Shortlist