Pic: Matt Bradshaw
CHELMSFORD CITY could lose play-off final home advantage after an athletics meeting was booked at their home ground.
The Clarets, who drew 0-0 with Dartford in the National League South play-off semi-finals first leg on Wednesday, are set to host the showpiece final on May 13 if they win and Hampton & Richmond overcome second-placed Ebbsfleet United in the other semi-final.
But the Essex County Championships are set to take place at the Melbourne Stadium on that weekend and Chelmsford manager Rod Stringer is still uncertain as to what would happen should it be a Chelmsford v Hampton clash.
Stringer told The NLP: “I don’t know where we are with the council so I can’t comment.
“At the start of the season the play-off final was set to be played at a neutral venue. Now it’s gone back to the team finishing higher hosting it.
“We have to book our allocations. We don’t book it if we’re told we might be playing there. It’s all down to the way the Conference have said ‘let’s try it this way, no, that’s no good, so we’ll go back to the old way’.
“That’s fine but that hasn’t done us any favour. All we can do is concentrate on ourselves. We’ve still got to try and make it to that final, and we’ve got two tough games against Dartford.”
Reports suggested that Wembley or Milton Keynes could have hosted a National League North and South play-off finals day but, as in previous years, the highest-placed team out of the two finalists are due to host the final.
A National League spokesperson said: “We are aware of the Chelmsford situation but we can’t comment on what will happen just yet.
“It was decided in January that the final would be hosted by the highest-placed club.”
