Pre-Season Preview: FC Isle of Man vs Chester

    Our preparations for the new season continue in style, as we make the trip across the Irish Sea to face FC Isle of Man for some Friday night football.

    The game kicks off the Summer Festival of Football – hosted by tomorrow’s opponents – which also sees us face Lancaster City at The Bowl on Sunday.

    Two games in as many days poses a challenging schedule for Calum McIntyre and his players, but with the start of the season fast approaching, it will provide a good opportunity to gain some fitness and sharpness.

    THE OPPOSITION

    It’s fair to say that FC Isle of Man are a unique club, and in the relatively short time since their conception in 2019, they have tasted their fair share of success.

    Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they didn’t play a competitive match until 2021. In their inaugural season in the English football league system, they earned promotion to the North West Counties Premier Division, the ninth tier of English football, which is where they remain to this day.

    The Ravens brought their second piece of silverware home to the Bowl a month later, as they dispatched of Cammell Laird to lift the Edward Case Cup.

    After an interim spell in the dugout, Paul Jones beat out the competition to be appointed the club’s permanent manager in April 2023. Under Jones’ stewardship, the Ravens finished in a respectable ninth position last campaign, missing out on the playoffs by a mere eight points.

    PRE-SEASON: SO FAR….

    We are right in the midst of our preparations for the 2024/25 campaign, with two games already under our belts with five more to look forward to.

    We have welcomed Dave Challinor’s Stockport County and Steven Schumacher’s Stoke City to the Deva Stadium in the past fortnight, with all seven of our summer signings making their first appearances in Chester Blue.

    FC Isle of Man and Lancaster City awaits us this weekend, with both games being played at The Bowl in Douglas.

    After returning to the mainland, we have an evening kickoff to look forward to next Wednesday in CH1, as once again we play Manchester United XI in pre-season.

    Our penultimate contest is against National League side Altrincham on the 27th July, before visiting Robbie Savage’s Macclesfield the weekend before our National League North curtain-raiser away at Spennymoor.

    Match Preview By Jude Deedigan.

    MATCH DETAILS

    Kick off is 19:00 at The Bowl on Friday night.

    Chester supporters have been exclusively given Gate B for the weekend fixtures.

    MATCHDAY INFORMATION

    Tickets: Available online – CLICK HERE!

    Important Fan Information for the weekend: CLICK HERE!

    MATCHDAY COVERAGE

    Match Updates on our Twitter/X page: CLICK HERE

    HT/FT Updates on Facebook and Instagram: CLICK HERE

    A post match report on ChesterFC.com: CLICK HERE