Hampton & Richmond Match Preview

City will be aiming to build on Saturday’s win against Eastbourne when they travel to south west London on Tuesday evening to meet Hampton & Richmond Borough.

It will also be an opportunity to avenge the loss to The Beavers when the two clubs met at Twerton Park in November. That evening the London club scored either side of the interval and despite a goal from Jordan Dyer prompting hopes of securing a point for City, the visitors sealed the win with a third in the closing minutes.

That left Hampton in seventh position but a dreadful run since early December, with six defeats in eight, leaves them currently one point and two places worse off than City.

Despite an impressive 3-0 win against fancied Ebbsfleet, their home record is modest with only two other victories in their eight outings at The Beveree. Last Tuesday saw a meeting between City’s next two opponents and the basement club from Essex came away with a shock 4-2 win.

This will hopefully offer encouragement to Jerry Gill’s team as the ground does not hold great memories for supporters. Since our first visit in 2008 there has been just the one victory in the eight fixtures, courtesy of a Sean Rigg goal three seasons ago.

The ground can be described as homely with its collection of stands and the Junior Beaver Tuck Shop (unfortunately closed at present!)  Due to its small size and decent sized crowds there is usually a good atmosphere with the locals providing a friendly welcome.

There is plenty of information for visiting supporters, including admission prices on the Hampton website.

As well as the clubhouse, there are several pubs within a short walk of the ground and this is probably the best club we visit for things to do in the neighbourhood. If you get there early enough you can enjoy a walk along the nearby River Thames path or the delightful Bushy Park, beyond which is Hampton Court Palace.

Unfortunately there will not be a Supporters Club coach running to the match and while using the train is just about doable, you won’t get back to Bath Spa until around 1am. So the best bet is probably to drive, the 115 mile trip from Bath taking around 2.5 hours.

While this may be one of the more difficult matches for Bath based supporters to attend, do remember that you can follow all of the action with live commentary provided by Bath City Internet Radio.