Great Wakering Rovers are back on home soil this coming Tuesday as they host National South League side Chelmsford City in the quarter finals of the BBC Essex Senior Cup.

Rovers have had a positive reaction this weekend after a disappointing cup defeat as they came from 2-1 down at halftime to defeat promotion rivals Woodford Town 3-2. They're currently unbeaten in four league outings and are now up to sixth in the table, one point outside the playoffs with a game in hand.

However, the Rovers have done incredibly well to reach this far of the competition after producing an incredible comeback in the first round and overcoming two step four sides in the later stages and now remain as the lowest ranked team left in the competition.

This is the third time ever the Rovers have reached the quarter finals of this competition which is already a great achievement for the club and they last reached the final in 2007.

We will be expecting a good turnout on Tuesday night with over 200 in attendance at Burroughs Park and the Rovers will need all the backing from the village to play their role as their twelfth man on the night.

Rovers Essex Senior Cup Run:

First Round-Rovers 6-5 May & Baker
Second Round-West Essex 0-3 Rovers
Third Round-Takeley 1-1 Rovers (Rovers won 5-3 on penalties)
Fourth Round-Rovers 3-0 Heybridge Swifts

The Clarets who are three leagues above the Rovers will be looking for a reaction after their 2-0 loss in the FA Cup to Weston-Super-Mare and are currently winless in five and sit . They will be looking to get back to winning ways at Burroughs Park as they look to make it to the semi finals of the Essex Senior Cup.

The Clarets however already boast silverware from this competition as they have won the Essex Senior Cup on eight occasions, their recent success coming in 2017.

Brief History of Chelmsford City:

Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members of the Chelmsford Lawn Tennis and Croquet club to give them something to do in the winter. Six years earlier, an attempt to form a football club by the same name had been proposed by Chelmsford West End Cricket Club, but the plans failed to materialise. On 16 November 1878, Chelmsford played their first game, drawing 1–1 against Romford at home, with Chelmsford's first ever goal being scored by E. H. Christy. In May 1883, some members of the club proposed to fold the club and reform as a new club due to a lack of interest, however nothing came of it. The club won the Essex Senior Cup in 1892–93 and again in 1901–02. In 1895 they were founder members of the North Essex League, but left in 1900 to join Division One of the South Essex League. In 1903–04 the club also entered a team into the newly formed South East Anglian League, but left after a single season. They finished bottom of Division One of the South Essex League in 1903–04, and again in 1910–11. In 1908–09 they spent a season playing in the Eastern Division of the Spartan League.

In 1912 Chelmsford were amongst the founder members of the Athenian League, although they also continued to play in the South Essex League for another season. In 1922 the club failed to be re-elected and dropped into the Middlesex County League. In 1923–24 they also entered a team into the Essex & Suffolk Border League. That season saw the club win the Middlesex County League and finish second in the Border League, prompting them to step up to the Premier Division of the London League. In the following season, Chelmsford won the East Anglian Cup, a feat repeated in 1926–27 and 1928–29. The club won the London League Premier Division title in 1930–31, before becoming founder members of the Eastern Counties League in 1935. Two years later they left the ECL to become founder members of the Essex County League.

In 1938, it was decided to form a professional club to join the Southern League. Having seen how Colchester Town had fared so badly after the formation of the professional Colchester United, it was decided to close down the existing club and to reform as "Chelmsford City", despite the fact that Chelmsford itself would not be granted city status until 2012. Chelmsford's last game as an amateur club came in the Chelmsford Hospital Cup, drawing 1–1 at New Writtle Street against Hoffman Athletic on 23 April 1938.

The new club continued playing at New Writtle Street and were accepted into the Southern League. On 27 August 1938, Chelmsford City played their first game, drawing 3–3 against Bristol Rovers Reserves. They made an immediate impact in the FA Cup, reaching the fourth round in their first season. After beating fellow non-League club Kidderminster Harriers 4–0 in the first round, they defeated Division Three North Darlington 3–1 in the second round and Second Division Southampton 4–1 in home matches with attendances in excess of 10,000. In the fourth round they lost 6–0 at Birmingham City. At the end of the season the club applied to join the Football League, but received only one vote. In the 1939–40 season the Southern League was split into Eastern and Western Divisions; City were Eastern Division champions and were declared joint overall champions after drawing a play-off with Lovells Athletic 3–3. The club were the Southern League's first champions when football resumed after World War II, also winning the Southern League Cup that season. They applied for Football League membership in 1947, 1948, 1950 and 1951 and 1956 but were unsuccessful on each occasion; their eight votes in 1950 put them second amongst the unsuccessful clubs, and marked their highest-ever vote total.

Chelmsford won the Southern League Cup again in 1959–60 and the league title in 1967–68 and 1971–72. They continued to apply to join the Football League, making bids in 1960, 1961, 1962, and every year between 1967 and 1971 and again from 1973 until 1976, but were unsuccessful; In total the club had 17 unsuccessful attempts at election into the Football League between 1947 and 1976. They remained in the top division of the Southern League until 1976–77, when they were relegated to Division One South. In 1977, City were one of six clubs to represent England in the Anglo-Italian Cup. After the formation of the Alliance Premier League they regained their top division status in the Southern League. The club were relegated again in 1987–88 but made an immediate return to the Premier Division after winning Division One South the following season. Another relegation was experienced in 1996–97 and after an issue with the seating at the ground meant they were refused promotion in 1997–98, they did not return to the Premier Division until 2001.

In 2004, Chelmsford transferred to the Premier Division of the Isthmian League and were champions in 2007–08, earning promotion to the Conference South. They reached the play-offs in the following season but lost to Hampton & Richmond in the play-off semi-finals. The club qualified for the play-offs again in 2009–10 and 2010–11, but lost in the semi-finals on both occasions. They reached the second round of FA Cup in 2010–11, losing 3–1 at Wycombe Wanderers. In the following season Chelmsford reached the second round again, taking Macclesfield Town to a replay after drawing at home, however they lost 1–0 in the replay at Moss Rose. During the 2012–13 season, the club reached the second round for the third consecutive year, defeating Essex rivals Colchester United 3–1 at Melbourne Park. At the end of the season the club qualified for the play-offs for the fourth time in five years, but lost in the semi-finals to Salisbury City.

After a period of mid-table finishes, Chelmsford qualified for the play-offs again in 2016–17 after finishing fourth in the renamed National League South. After beating Dartford 2–1 on aggregate in the semi-finals, they lost 2–1 to Ebbsfleet United in the final. A third-place finish the following season led to another play-off campaign, but the club were beaten 1–0 by Hampton & Richmond Borough in the semi-finals. In the 2018–19 season, Chelmsford finished fourth, however lost 3–2 in the play-offs away to Welling United; their ninth play-off campaign in total. During the 2022–23 season, the club qualified for the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in five years, losing against Barnet in a replay, as well as qualifying for the play-offs for the first time since 2019, where they lost 1–0 against St Albans City. In the 2023–24 season, Chelmsford recorded their highest finish and highest points total since being in the National League South, finishing second in the division before losing 3–2 in the play-off semi-finals to local rivals Braintree Town.

Recent Form:

6th Dec Chelmsford City 0-2 Western-Super-Mare (FA Cup Second Round Proper)
29th Nov Chelmsford City 0-2 Torquay United
25th Nov Hemel Hempstead 2-0 Chelmsford City
22nd Nov Salisbury 3-0 Chelmsford City
15th Nov Hemel Hempstead 0-0 Chelmsford City (FA Trophy Second Round, Hemel Hempstead won 6-5 on penalties)

Essex Senior Cup run:

18th Nov Fourth Round-Bowers & Pitsea A 0-0 (won 5-4 on penalties)
21st Oct-Third Round-Halstead Town A 0-3

Past Encounters:

Rovers have met the Clarets on four competitive occasions and two of the times was in the Essex Senior Cup

Played: 4
Won: 2
Drawn: 0
Lost: 2

22nd Sep 1998-Rovers 3-0 Chelmsford City (Eastern Floodlight competition)
22nd Dec 1998-Chelmsford City 0-0 Rovers (Eastern Floodlight competition)
9th Nov 2011-Rovers 2-5 Chelmsford City (Essex Senior Cup Third Round)
17th Oct 2012-Chelmsford City 2-1 Rovers (Essex Senior Cup Third Round)

Admission Prices:

Adults £10
Concessions & Students £6
U16s £2

Other Fixtures:

Monday 8th

Essex Senior Cup Quarter Finals
Aveley v Maldon & Tiptree

Tuesday 9th

Essex Senior Cup Quarter Finals
Hashtag United v Hornchurch
Billericay Town v Tilbury

Essex Senior League
Little Oakley v Sporting Bengal United

Peter Butcher Memorial Trophy
Frenford v Benfleet

Wednesday 10th

Essex Senior League
Woodford Town v SOUL Tower Hamlets