National League South, Bob Lucas Stadium, Saturday 19 October, 15:00 BST
Welcome back home, Terras fans!
Having not faced a side on our turf since the very start of the month, which wasn’t even in the league, we find ourselves back with familiarity this afternoon.
Much of October consisted of travels, some more successful than others.
Our last stint on the road was one of redemption, our 3-0 win against Portland in the Dorset Senior Cup on Tuesday putting our FA-Cup loss behind us.
This isn’t to say our clash with Forest Green Rovers, which we lost 2-0, was a disappointing one, our close chances and resolute defending displaying plenty of positives for all to see.
Heading down to Dorset are Chesham United, who are playing their first ever season in the National League South.
Their sixth-tier start has been an impressive one, with their 14 points in 10 games positioning them 14th in the table, five points clear of the relegation zone.
LAST TIME ROUND
Due to both teams’ status in different divisions, this fixture has ceased to have taken place for half a decade, the last time we met “The Generals” being towards the end of the 2018/19 season.
With only two games left of the campaign after this contest, we were battling Taunton Town for the claim of the Southern Football League Premier Division South title.
But, on a day where a win could have seen us clinch the crown, it looked to be slipping from our grasp when Bradley Clayton gave Chesham the lead early in the second half.
However, with just a few minutes left on the clock, Calvin Brooks’ stunner rescued us a point and kept us in the race.
It would be the first of two crucial goals that the 350-appearance man would score in as many games, the next coming away at Poole Town after just 12 seconds, before our last game of the season saw us host Farnborough for a widely-anticipated final day.
The rest, as they say, is history.
IN THE DUGOUT
If they haven’t already, The Generals’ appearances in the dugout this campaign may catch your eye.
Fronting the coaching staff are dynamic duo James Duncan and Michael Murray who have led the Buckinghamshire bunch for exactly six years and two days.
Many successful partnerships, Brian Clough and Peter Taylor, Greg Davies and Alex Horne (more to follow), Krusty the Clown and Sideshow Bob etc, depict a person in charge followed by their sidekick.
This pair, however, do things differently, leading their club side-by-side as co-managers; older football fans will certainly remember when Liverpool tried this in the late 1990s with Roy Evans and Gerard Houlier.
But unlike that stint, which lasted approx. three months, “JD and Muzza” have been a tad more successful at the helm, so much so that they signed a three-year contract at the end of last season.
Given the situation Chesham were in when they took charge in October 2018, it appears no wonder why their efforts have been so richly rewarded.
Duncan and Murray, an already proven pair after they won Potters Bar Town promotion from the Isthmian League Division One North in 2017/18, after Jon Meakes had resigned at the start of the month.
With Meakes’ side having picked up just one point and two goals, The Generals were stuck at the foot of the table.
The seventeen days in-between Meakes’ resignation and the duo’s arrival had seen little improvement, scoring just one more goal and conceding 12 in three league games, the most recent culminating in a 7-0 loss away to Beaconsfield Town.
That single goal did win them their first league game of the season, though.
Still, their appointment wasn’t without risk, their arrival completely changing the club’s coaching staff for the first time in 12 years; the man they replaced had been assistant to Andy Leese for 11 years before his own appointment in 2017.
Understandably, Duncan addressed the “very clear short-term goal they [they were] working towards,” as they aimed to stay in England’s seventh tier.
Immediately, their magic touch resulted in a change in fortunes, picking up two draws before defeating Haringey Borough in the FA Trophy First qualifying round over two games.
Then, after they were narrowly defeated by Worthing by a signal goal in the next round, they returned to the league, where they demolished Dorchester Town 5-0.
On their own turf, by the way.
After that result, there was no looking back, as they finished the season in 10th place, with 14 wins in 31 league games under the new perfect pair.
If that wasn’t remarkable enough, their first “full” campaign in charge may have taken them up to the National League South had a certain COVID-19 pandemic declared all of their results null and void.
At the time they sat in second place, with 66 points in 33 games.
Then, if that wasn’t frustrating enough, the next season would be cut short again, this time after only seven games.
By now, Ducan and Murray had established their side as one of best teams in the league, although this didn’t prevent further heartbreak for the next two seasons.
This time their upset wouldn’t be caused by a pandemic, or Bill Gates in the eyes of Matt Le Tissier, but instead the finest of margins.
The 2021/22 season saw them miss out on the play-offs, where even a 5-0 victory at home to Wimborne Town on the final day couldn’t prevent a single point separating The Generals and Weston-Super-Mare.
The following campaign took today’s opponents one step closer, this time into the play-offs, although a semi-final extra-time defeat to Bracknell Town ensured they fell short once more.
Surely this couldn’t keep happening, right?
Finally, promotion would happen last season, with the Buckinghamshire bunch winning the league with four games to spare.
At last, almost six years of battle under Duncan and Murray finally saw The Generals win the war.
SURVIVE IN THE NATIONAL LEAGUE SOUTH – YOUR TIME STARTS NOW
If our opponents weren’t strikingly unique enough in the dugout, you may notice something else if you peak at their shirts.
That’s right, they are sponsored by the Channel 4 gameshow Taskmaster, and have been since the 2023/24 season.
The popular series’ involvement originated from creator Alex Horne’s football interest; the childhood Liverpool fan gradually gravitated towards a love for Chesham which began at the start of the 21st Century.
In fact such was his admiration for his new-found team, he would freely promote the club on his show, occasionally using their ground, The Meadow, in his “tasks.”
The comedian wasn’t able to watch the game that sealed their first ever promotion to the sixth tier, though; instead he was “having diarrhoea and being sick…as [he] had a dodgy prawn in Thailand.”
What Horne will be watching is their admirable start in the National League South, their 14 points in 10 games positioning them 14th in the table, five points clear of the relegation zone.
As well as them being both 10 places and points above us, three of their four league wins have come on their travels.
Their cup form, though, can be more easily forgiven, as they defeated a certain Yeovil Town by a single goal last week to secure their position in the FA Cup First Round proper.
HOW TO FOLLOW
We are pleased to announce that Robert Santonna will be back in the commentary booth this afternoon; click HERE to access his in-game thoughts.
Live updates will also be posted on our social media accounts; footage and reaction will also be uploaded after the final whistle.
OTHER MATCHES
Chelmsford City V Farnborough
Chippenham Town V Hemel Hempstead Town
Dorking Wanderers V Salisbury City
Eastbourne Borough V Torquay United
Enfield Town V Aveley
Hornchurch V Bath City
Maidstone United V Slough Town
St Albans City V Welling United
Truro City V Hampton & Richmond Borough
Weston-super-Mare V Boreham Wood
Worthing V Tonbridge Angels
