We are currently in a run of five consecutive home games as we head into the Christmas period which is unusual, but it comes about because of postponed games due to the FA Cup run and another home draw in the FA Trophy, as we look to keep on the road to Wembley in that competition. Thank you for your ongoing support, I know it is a big ask to keep turning up, but I hope you agree that we have seen some fantastic entertainment at The Meadow this season.
On Tuesday night we showed incredible resilience to pick up all three points against an in-form Hampton & Richmond side. Having been comfortable at 1-0 up going into the second half, the game looked to have turned in a flash when we received a red card and moments later Hampton equalised from the penalty spot. We looked to be in trouble. However, with reset instructions from the bench, we solidified the defence and still managed to create attacking options from which we scored the winning goal. The final minutes were a bit like the Alamo, but a heroic defensive effort held out for a superb three points.
Last weekend we lost 2-1 down in Truro, another game that turned in sixty seconds of madness, conceding two goals in a minute in conditions that were almost farcical at times. Kick-off was delayed for 45 minutes to give the game every chance of going ahead. The easier option would have been to have the game called off, I don’t think anyone would have argued with such decision, but both sides were keen to get the game played. From our point of view it is our most expensive away trip of the season and having got down to Cornwall, the thought of having to do it again on a wintery Tuesday evening was not appealing!
After such a disrupted weekend, it makes Tuesday night’s result all the more pleasing the way the team worked so hard to get three points against the odds. I’ve said before that we have an excellent squad with real depth, and we will be needing to utilise that over this busy period. I know the management take player welfare seriously and plan meticulously to use the full squad and give players rest time without weakening the matchday team for each game. I have no doubt that we will again be looking fresh for tomorrow’s visit of Eastbourne Borough.
We played Eastbourne on the opening day of the season and came away with an impressive draw. As expected, they have become one of the favourites to win the league and have made a good start to the season. We will need to be at our best when they visit The Meadow, but I feel as though I am saying that every week, which highlights what an incredibly challenging league this is. And we are loving that challenge.
Our women’s team were on the road last weekend visiting Dulwich Hamlet in the League. Despite going ahead courtesy of Gemma Fraser after 11 minutes Dulwich ended up winning the game 3-1 in front of a very vocal 270 Dulwich fans. They’re on the road again this weekend as they travel to London Bees. Many congratulations to Gemma who passed 200 competitive matches for CUFC Women at the match against Dulwich. Starting back in the 2012/13 season this will be her 13th season playing in Chesham colours and she’s closing in on a record-breaking goal hall for the club. Well done also to Chesham’s walking footballers Sian and Paula who had their England debut on Sunday with a clean sweep of wins in Wales.
Last week also saw the installation of the additional turnstiles required for our ground-grading at this level, this means the ground is now fully compliant and we can look forward to enjoying the season and focusing on the pitch as far as our league status is concerned.
I am delighted to say that our board members have donated £100 to the Christmas Chiltern Foodbank collection fund and two further supporters of the club also put in £100 each. A cash collection bucket will be on the bar for this up until Christmas where the intention of the club is to donate enough money to give 50 families a proper Full Christmas dinner, as The Salvation Army state it is £45 to feed 4 people a proper Christmas lunch. We have over £1100 in the tin at present so I hope you can all drop a few pounds in the bucket. We can then donate to local food banks so they can make up the food parcels to feed the families. Our tinned food collection is growing slowly but surely so please keep bringing in tinned Ham and Salmon. Mince Pies, Christmas Cake, crackers etc. all the things you would want to see on your on table as we celebrate the birth of Christ. Christmas is a time of giving and the needy in our community need our help.
All around the club things continue to progress, the One Chesham committee met recently to continue exploring ways that we can continue to grow the inter-relationship between the youth, women and senior sections, alongside the supporters and the community at large. Some great ideas came out of these discussions, and I look forward to seeing these develop as we head into 2025.
I hope to see many of you at the game tomorrow.
Peter Brown
Chairman
