Match Preview: Needham Market (h)

    The Blues return to action on Saturday with a home test against Needham Market at the Deva Stadium.

    Calum McIntyre’s men consolidated top spot in the National League North with a goalless draw at Oxford City on Tuesday night, as both sides cancelled each other out at the MGroup Stadium.

    The reverse fixture with the Marketmen resulted in a late victory for the Seals, as a late Harrison Burke header earned all three points in Suffolk.

    The Opponents

    Needham Market are embroiled in a battle for survival after a tough debut campaign in the sixth tier, as Tom Rothery’s side sit three points inside the drop zone with 12 games to play.

    Despite their lowly league position, the Suffolk-based outfit’s form has improved over the last month, with eye-catching displays against Farsley Celtic and Oxford City that garnered 10 goals across a pair of important wins.

    The Marketmen also picked up a useful point in midweek with a 1-1 draw against Leamington, after a second-half strike from Reggie Lamb was cancelled out by a finish from Henry Landers.

    Saturday’s clash will be the club’s first ever trip to CH1, after their historic title-winning campaign last season in the Southern Premier League Central Division.

    The Gaffer

    Tom Rothery is the man tasked with Needham’s battle to stay afloat in the sixth tier after his appointment in early February, following Kevin Horlock’s departure.

    Horlock led the club for five years as they ascended to their highest-ever league position after promotion last season, but he resigned following the win over Warrington Town on February 1 and joined eighth tier side Maldon & Tiptree less than a week later.

    His replacement, Rothery, had been the assistant manager at Bloomfields for six years after his most recent managerial role at Brightlingsea Regent ended in 2019.

    The 41-year-old has made a fairly positive start after his promotion, with seven points from his first six encounters in charge.

    One To Watch

    Exprienced midfielder Reggie Lambe has been a crucial cog in Needham Market’s system since his arrival from Braintree Town last September.

    The 34-year-old has netted on four occasions for the Marketmen, most recently in the aforementioned draw with Leamington on Tuesday night.

    Lambe started his career in the youth setup at Ipswich Town but has had spells with Toronto FC and in Sweden at Nyköpings BIS.

    The creative midfielder also has an impressive international resume having featured 57 times for Bermuda, with 12 goals to his name.

    His most recent cap came in November 2024 in a 6-1 defeat to the Dominican Republic, just four days after he scored the second goal in a 2-1 success over Antigua and Barbuda.

    League Form Guide

    Chester FC | W19 D9 L7 | F54 A32 | Pos: 1st

    Last three

    Rushall Olympic (H) | W 4-0 | Scorers: Tom Peers x2, Harrison Burke, Kurt Willoughby

    Farsley Celtic (A) | W 1-0 | Scorers: Tom Peers

    Oxford City (A) | D 0-0 | Scorers: None

    Needham Market | W8 D8 L18 | F35 A52 | Pos: 21st

    Last three

    Oxford City (H) | W 4-0 | Scorers: Tevan Allen, Jacob Lay, Jamie McGrath, Charlie Wood

    South Shields (A) | L 1-0 | Scorers: None

    Leamington (H) | D 1-1 | Scorers: Reggie Lamb

    Match Preview by Tom Bird.

    MATCH DETAILS

    Kick off is 3:00pm at The Deva Stadium on Saturday. The postcode for the ground is CH1 4LT.

    MATCHDAY INFORMATION

    For information on Admission Prices, Entry into the Stadium, Payment Methods, Allocated Seating and much more – visit chesterfc.com/matchdayinformation.

    Tickets: Available online – CLICK HERE! Contactless card payments are available at the turnstile, with cash payments available at the Ticket Office.

    The GWG Street Food Van will be open prior to the game, serving Burgers, Salt and Pepper Fries and of course – our Footy Scran favourite – loaded fries!

    The Cestrian Bar will be open, fully stocked with a wide selection of alcohol and soft drinks.

    BUCKET COLLECTION

    During the 2024/25 season, we will be welcoming a variety of local charities to the Deva to make collections around the ground prior to kick off and showcase the amazing work they do.

    This Saturday we welcome Platform for Life to the Deva. Please give generously if you can!

    We are a Chester based charity, offering free, accessible, community based mental health and wellbeing services such as counselling, art and play therapy support to families; adults (parents/carers), children and young people living in relative poverty who are experiencing mental health issues.

    We offer our clients specialist, high-quality care that makes a difference.

    Our focus is on strengthening family relationships and creating more stable and nurturing environments for children. Our aim is to stop the cycle of poor mental health being passed down from one generation to the next and through early intervention, to stop poor mental health becoming a life-long disability.   As such, we often work with one or more members of a family to help improve their mental health.

    We work in multiple venues in Blacon, Lache and Kingsway where our clients live. Giving clients a choice about where to be seen in their community, means there’s no transport issues or bus fares to find.

    Working with Platform for Life has led to significant changes in clients’ lives; building more positive family and peer relationships; accessing education, applying for work and feeling more able to deal with other challenges in their life.

    We accept referrals GPs, health visitors and other agencies working in the community. We also offer parents/carers the option of referring themselves and/or another family member into our service. 

    What our clients say about us

    • Adult: “For once in my life I am able to face things that would normally have weakened me.”
    • Adult: “I have hope and for the first time ever I don’t feel stupid. I can and I will do things, life is going to be good for me and my boys.”
    • Adult: “In counselling I’ve spoken about lots of things that bother me. I’ve talked about my self-harming thoughts; these are really scary to deal with.”

    Get In Touch

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