9:00am Saturday 11th October 2008
By Dill Butcher
AFC Black Dog face one of their sternest tests of the season tomorrow when they meet highly fancied Duke of Albany at Redlands (10.30am).
And the St Mary’s Street boys, who have shipped 31 goals in five Weymouth Sunday League Premier-ship outings so far, will feel far more optimistic about their chances after their performance last Sunday when former captain Wayne Day netted in the 88th minute in a 4-3 victory over the Rendezvous.
Upbeat boss Rob Pavey said: “Wayne’s return to the side has given me and everybody else a much needed boost. He leads by example and has a ‘never beaten’ mentality, which I am sure will rub off on some of the younger lads in the squad.
“I am still hoping to get two or three more in before the weekend as the squad continues to take shape, but we now have the nucleus of a team that can compete in this division again.”
The other good news for Pavey is that his attacking options will look much brighter in the morning as both Lee Rockingham and Joe Djeebet make welcome comebacks but on the downside there are fitness concerns over Stuart Dalley (ankle) and Liam Briers (hamstring).
Meanwhile, the free-scoring Duke will also be looking to repeat their performance of last week when they swept aside the Railway Tavern 12-1 to make it 12 points from five games.
The major headache for player-boss Luke Tomlin is in defence as both his full-backs, Jamie Gifford and Sean Harris, are not available while Mark Carter – who debuted just last Sunday – is a doubt.
New-signing Chris Sweetser-Hawkes (ankle) misses out again while former Bridport youngster Josh Burton is also struggling.
The Duke may be missing several defenders but they will welcome back Kieron Ralston, Pete Mussenden and new boy Ben Porteous, so they will certainly not be light on numbers.
Tomlin said “We have not been able to field a consistent backline all season which does not help and is probably why we have not kept a clean sheet since the Charity Shield win against the Belvedere.
“Saying that though, we have been excellent going forward and as long as we score more than the opposition, I don’t care how many we concede.”
Another big game in the Premier-ship sees two other fancied sides – the Rodwell and the Kingswood – lock horns in a Rodwell derby at the Marsh.
Dan Laing will be missing a few key men from his first-choice side, notably keeper Anthony Mauger (holiday) and striker Ollie Stanton who has a family function to attend.
Simon Baillie will also be unavailable while Laing has to sweat on the fitness of former Black Dog trio Steve Coombes, Gareth Heseltine and Nick Abbott as well as Adam Billings.
The saving grace for Laing is that Rob Ritchie should return after work commitments saw him miss out last weekend.
Meanwhile, Kingswood boss Adam Summers has completed some good business this week and he hopes his new signing from the Belvedere Simon Shapcott will make his debut tomorrow.
Summers beamed: “We are delighted to have Simon on board. He is a top player with a fantastic character and I am sure he will enjoy being a part of an already very good squad. As for the Rodwell – they are an excellent side that we will give full respect to – like us they want to mix it with the big boys this season so it should be a cracking game.”
The Wood will be without the ser-vices of Stuart Crane, Brendan King is a doubt but Ian McDonald has returned from holiday and makes the squad.
The Belvedere travel to the Grove to meet the George and boss Bobby Darch is unsure what to expect from the islanders.
He said: “They have had mixed results so far so we don’t really know what sort of test it will be. As we will be missing Rob Maxted, I may start with Justin Crawford in attack after he impressed last week. There is a fitness doubt over Andy Holder but other than that we will be at full strength.”
Elsewhere, Galaxy Windows will again try to make their first appearance in a Sunday county cup competition when they travel to Branksome to meet AFC Hewitt in a Junior Cup first round tie that was postponed last weekend.
A major concern for manager Andy Barber will be the absence of Galaxy’s highly influential new signing Chris Reader who misses out alongside Aliue Faye, Lee Clarke and Olly Tilson all through work commitments.
However, Barber can call upon Dan Sidwell, Dan Beckett, Marc Clarke and Chris Douthwaite – now recovered from a groin strain – to replace that missing quartet.
Barber said: “I have got every confidence in the lads that are coming into the squad – they will be up for the game tomorrow as much as anyone. We also have the added incentive of a second round tie with Southill Snooker Club should we win. ”
TOMORROW’S FIXTURES (all 10.30am): Premiership: Rodwell v Kingswood (Marsh), Duke of Albany v AFC Black Dog (Redlands), Lugger v Britannia (Budmouth), George v Belve (Grove), Railway Tavern v Tuatara (Redlands), Rendezvous v Punchbowl (Redlands), Championship: George v Old Castle (Sandringham), Queen’s Park Venue v Market House (Marsh), Golden Lion v Southill (Redlands), Dorothy Inn v Rock (Budmouth), Chapelhay v Clean Connections (Marsh).
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