It’s back at home this Saturday after three consecutive away trips as the Fleet host Chesham United, writes Libby O’Connell.
Form guide
It was a very quick redemption for the Fleet on Tuesday night as the trip to Farnborough saw another big win. The 6-0 victory kicked off when Charlie Seaman put the Fleet ahead just 19 minutes in, followed by goals from Finlay Barnes (2), Seaman again plus Camron Gbadebo and Dominic Samuel. just minutes apart to close out the first half.
Tuesday’s result put the Fleet back on top of the table once again, having now caught up on matches with many of their league competitors, while improving yet further the goal difference.
Chesham are at the opposite end of the table in 21st place. Accumulating 11 points so far this season, it’s certainly been a difficult start for the Generals. Halloween saw a glimmer of hope as a 2-2 draw against Folkestone Invicta put an end to their four consecutive league defeats, although they led that game going into the final minutes. The draw followed a 4-2 defeat to Farnham Town last Tuesday and a 2-0 defeat to Dagenham the Saturday prior.
They had suffered two back-to-back 5-0 defeats before this, one during the replay of their FA Cup tie against National League side Forest Green Rovers, and the other in a league fixture against Chelmsford City.
Their FA Cup journey took Chesham to the fourth qualifying round with a big 7-2 win over Southern Leaguers Ware, followed by a 4-3 win against Real Bedford.
Chesham’s last league victory came on September 12th, when they defeated Horsham 4-1, putting their overall standings this season at three wins, two draws and nine losses.
Last time out
The Fleet and Chesham faced off for the first time last season, with both taking a win at home. Ebbsfleet’s November victory was a 2-1 result, with Finlay Barnes opening the scoring and Aaron Cosgrave netting the winner. The defeat in February saw an early Charlie Seaman goal, but Chesham made a fine comeback, ending the game as 4-1 winners.
This is the 14th meeting of the sides since an Isthmian League meeting in 1997 – Chesham have six wins to the Fleet’s five in the head-to-head rankings.
Who’s who?
French forward Hisham Kasimu joined the Generals this summer. He’s scored five goals in 12 league appearances this season, proving to be one of the team’s main goalscoring threats. Injured recently, he returned off the bench last weekend.
His prior experience has seen him play for AFC Totton twice, most recently last season, when he also featured for Gosport Borough on a dual registration. He has also spent time at clubs such as Sutton United and Farnborough.
Karl Oliyede is currently in his eighth season with Chesham, having joined from Hampton & Richmond in 2019. He was the club’s top scorer in the 2022/23 season, but missed a large portion of the 2023/24 title-winning campaign after suffering an Achilles injury in pre-season. The forward has added one goal so far this season.
Prior to his time at Chesham, the 31-year-old spent time at Hampton & Richmond and Hemel Hempstead.
The managers
Management duo James Duncan and Michael Murray have been at Chesham since the 2018/19 season. They guided the team to promotion in the 2023/24 season and have kept them up since with some distance to spare, even looking at a play-off challenge for a spell last season. They also saw the club through to FA Cup first-round proper appearances in 2023 and 2024, as well as the fourth qualifying round this year.
The pair joined after departing Potters Bar Town in October 2018, having secured promotion from the Isthmian League Division One North during the 2017/18 season.
Both Duncan and Murray had strong playing careers, with Duncan featuring for teams such as Wealdstone, Uxbridge and Slough, whilst Murray previously spent time at Northwood, Hendon and Uxbridge. He also played for Potters Bar, combining playing and management before joining Chesham.
The referee
Suffolk official Henry Harvey takes charge of his second match at the Morrow Stadium this season, having been here for our home opener against Hemel Hempstead Town.
