Cheshunt travel to the The Bauvill Stadium to face title challengers Chatham Town. The Ambers will be looking for revenge after defeat in the reverse fixture at Theobalds Lane. Chatham forward Ashley Nzala spent time at Cheshunt in 2018/19 and will be looking to get one over on his old manager and teammates once again.

The Hosts – Chatham Town

 The Chats come into this game in very good form despite their defeat to Bognor Regis Town last weekend. Before the loss at Nyewood Lane, Chatham were victors in four games in a row in all competitions. This included a massive victory over runaway leaders Hornchurch.

The player to watch for the Chats is Jamie Yila. The winger joined the club in August having spent the previous season in the National League South with Chelmsford City. He will be most known non-league fans for his time at Cray Wanderers where he scored ten goals in the 21/22 season. He has already matched that this term with ten goals in 21 appearances. Chatham also have two other players towards the top of the goalscoring charts, both Chris Dickson and Jack Evans have 8 goals this term.

Chatham have been very impressive at home this season; they have won eight of their eleven matches there in the league so far this season. The Chats are also the joint second top scorers in the league this season with 45 goals in 24 games, however this is still some way behind league leaders Hornchurch who have scored 57.

The Visitors – Cheshunt

 Cheshunt come into this game 19^th in the table with four defeats in as many games. Despite the defeat to Hastings on Saturday, the Ambers should not be disheartened by their performance. The home side were banging on the door of the U’s and were one late block away from stealing a late point at Theobalds Lane. There were some impressive performances on Saturday, Solomon Baugh was a constant threat on the wing and goalkeeper Joe Rose made some crucial saves. They will be looking to continue this form going into this huge fixture.

The Ambers were hoping to change their fortunes on Tuesday night away to Concord Rangers, but unsurprisingly to many, the game was abandoned due to pitch conditions. The fixture is set to be rescheduled for a second time in March.

Last week, Craig Edwards was quick to shut down rumour of a lack of effort from the players. “If you would have seen those boys in the dressing room after (the defeats) they were gutted. I know they give everything, it’s not always the best as there are a lot of young players but they run their hearts out.”  Edwards was disappointed with the Hastings defeat, but very much encouraged by the spirit & fight in the team to mount the second half comeback. This combined with the efforts in the previous games will give Ambers fans hope that they can turn the results around.

 Head-to-Head – Chatham vs Cheshunt

 The fixture between the two sides back in August was the first time the clubs have faced each other since both competed in the Isthmian League North. The match at Theobalds Lane ended 1-2 to Chatham. The opening 30 minutes of the game had almost no action before breaking into life. Nathaniel Orafu saw red before Chatham’s Jack Evans scored from the resulting free kick. Cheshunt piled on the pressure in the second half, but Yila was becoming too much to handle, he doubled his sides lead with a powerful far post header. Cheshunt got one back with 20 minutes to go when Bobby Unwin crossed and George Morrall stretched to steer home.  Cheshunt then camped in the away half in the closing minutes, Jimmy Wallace hit the bar with a close-range header, but the hosts were unable to rescue a point.

The Ambers will be looking for a much better result this time out. However, it will be tough as Chatham are one of the form teams in the league.  We can’t wait to see you supporting Craig and the team in Kent this weekend. COYA!

Saturday 13th January 2024. 3PM.

The Bauvill Stadium. Bournville Ave, Chatham, ME4 6LR.

You can buy tickets for the match here: https://chathamtownfc.ktckts.com/event/ctt2324h13/chatham-town-v-cheshunt-fc