County belatedly managed to get the season started with a hard-earned point from their first visit to Chelmsford Sports and Athletics Stadium.  As the occupiers of Blue Square South’s other athletics venue, County fans will sympathise with their Chelmsford equivalents and feel that we have the better deal, given that the Melbourne Park venue, though very well appointed and maintained, is a very poor place to watch football.  The main grandstand is so far from the action that 20/20 vision is needed, while the small enclosed area of seating opposite, though a little closer to the athletics track has very little elevation.  However County fans will also appreciate Chelmsford’s delight simply to be back in town after a decade of playing home games away, first at Maldon and then at Billericay.

There was no colour clash but County used the occasion to sport their brand new away kit of sky blue and white stripes in the style of Argentina, with dark blue shorts.  Of course fans of a particular vintage will recall a similar strip being worn as first choice in the 1976-77 ‘Great Escape’ season, which had some looking for Gary Plumley in goal and others wondering if the number 10 shirt was being worn by the great Eddie Woods or the lesser historical figure of Diego Maradona.

If discussion of the stadium and choice of playing kit is perceived as a way of saying that there was not a lot to talk about in the game, then that conclusion would be absolutely correct.  This was the goalless draw to give neutrals nightmares with little attacking quality on show from either side, though there was the considerable County mitigation of needing to register their first point and rectifying a situation in which seven goals had been leaked in the first two games, despite outstanding goalkeeping performances in each from Glyn Thompson.

The Gaffer responded with a 4-5-1 formation, and with Kevin Cooper ruled out through injury, Paul Hall was given his debut wide on the right, with striker Craig Hughes wearing an unfamiliar number seven jersey and taking the left flank.  Danny Rose was between the two, and behind the lone figure of Phil Walsh in attack and ahead of the midfield axis of Nathan Davies and Adie Harris.  Ian Hillier returned at the back after recovering from the injury that kept him out of the Eastleigh defeat and he once again took the captain’s armband.

The system worked relatively well in terms of the outcome, though Chelmsford appeared to play into County’s hands by not using the significant midfield skills of Dave Rainford and Kevin James to best effect.  The strong wind also did not help the spectacle, though again the home side’s persistent use of long balls down the middle was curious to say the least.  Chelmsford were looking to build on a positive start with two wins to date and they clearly seem strong at the back with the experienced duo of Andy Duncan and Steve Ward, though the strike pair of Bertie Brayley and Ricky Holmes did not have one of their better games.

Brayley was first to threaten and might have scored twice in the first half, being denied by Thompson on the first occasion while he was only just wide when he pounced upon a Martyn Giles misjudgement in the 14th minute.  Giles had been close to giving County the lead a couple of minutes earlier with a header from a Harris corner at the other end while another Harris corner and a Dave Collins cross caused danger in the home goalmouth.

A poor challenge from Hillier resulted in the County skipper picking up a first half caution and gave James a shooting opportunity from a free-kick from which he rattled the crossbar, while Rainford took the responsibility from another free-kick and forced a good save from Thompson.  County suffered a blow when Davies sustained a blow to the face resulting in double vision and forcing the introduction of Anthony Church for his debut.  The 20 year-old acclimatised so quickly that the loss of the County record appearance holder did not materially affect the performance of the team.

In the second half Chelmsford had the wind at their backs but they will be disappointed with their poor use of this advantage, and the feeling was that life could have been made more difficult for County.  It was Hall who produced the best piece of skill of the game to create a chance for the ever willing Walsh but good defending restricted the striker’s ability to head the ball and the opportunity was lost.  Thompson’s quality in goal is dangerously close to being taken for granted and once again the former Fulham keeper was immaculate.  He had one difficult save to make midway through the second period while another header from a throw-in caused momentary panic in the County defence.  However, the unsatisfactory nature of the second half spectacle was matched by a poor display of officiating with frequent stoppages of play to deliver lengthy lectures.

Mention must also be made of the unsatisfactory security standards at the end of the game which allowed abuse of County players and fans, with a member of stadium staff apologising for the error of his colleagues in allowing fans to get in the faces of the County players as they left the field, while visiting officials and fans objected to unchecked remarks from home supporters which was not in keeping with the commendable Conference Respect initiative.

Man of the Match

Chelmsford: Steve Ward (commanding at the back).

County: Paul Hall (inventive going forward).

Special mention: Glyn Thompson and Anthony Church