Match Preview | Chelmsford City

Fixture: Barnet vs Chelmsford City

Time: 15:00

Date: 5^th November 2022

Competition: FA Cup

Venue: The Hive

The Bees return to FA Cup action this Saturday as we take on National League South side, Chelmsford City.

Barnet defeated Weston-super-Mare 3-0 in the last round of the cup. Chelmsford have defeated King’s Langley, Romford and Aldershot to reach the first-round proper.

The Clarets have been in fine form this season and have lost just twice this campaign. The visitors sit third in the National League South table.

About our opposition:

Nickname: The Clarets

Founded: 1878

Stadium: Melbourne Stadium

Manager: Robbie Simpson

Top Scorer: Simeon Jackson (6)

League Position: 3rd (National League South)

Form: WWLWW

Recent Result: Bath City 0-1 Chelmsford City

One to watch: Simeon Jackson

The former Canadian international has had an amazing career which has seen him climb the divisions from the National League to the Premier League in just three years. Jackson started his career with Rushden & Diamonds, where he played 104 games and scored 43 goals which earnt him a move to Gillingham.

The Canadian helped guide the club to promotion to League One after scoring 21 goals in his first full season with the club. The striker continued his form in League One scoring 17 goals.

His form at Gilligham caught the eye of Norwich City who had just been promoted to the Championship. Jackson scored a stoppage time hat-trick against Derby County and the promotion winning goal in a game against Portsmouth for the Canaries. Jackson played 35 games in the Premier League for Norwich City before moving to the Bundesliga in Germany with Eintracht Braunschweig.

The Canadian moved back to England in 2013 and played for multiple EFL clubs such as Millwall, Coventry City, Barnsley and Blackburn Rovers. In 2018, Jackson moved to Scotland to play in the Scottish Premier League for St. Mirren and Kilmarnock before coming back to England to play for Chelmsford City.

In the dugout: Robbie Simpson

This is Simpson’s first managerial position in football. Simpson became Chelmsford player/manager in 2020 and eventually retired from playing this year.

Simpson started his career with Cambridge City in 2002 and played 118 games for the club before joining city rivals Cambridge United. Simpson would go on to play for Coventry City, Huddersfield Town, Brentford, Oldham Athletic, Leyton Orient, Exeter City and Milton Keynes where he helped them secure promotion to the Championship. The forward then joined Chelmsford in 2019 and became manager a year later.