Exmouth Town have injury concerns ahead of next Tuesday night’s first competitive game of the new season – the FA Cup extra preliminary round tie at Keynsham Town.
Town, who are in action tonight (Tuesday) entertaining Elmore in their final warm-up game before next Tuesday’s FA Cup tie at Keynsham, drew 0-0 with Saltash United in an entertaining contest last Saturday.
The Cornish side were well-organised and gave as good as they got for long periods.
Town assistant manager Andy Rawlings said: “It was a good work out and, arguably, the perfect game for us given how competitive it was.
“The positive has to be the clean sheet and the negative is failing to score.
“Results in pre-season have not necessarily been what supporters would have hoped for, but Kev [Town boss Kevin Hill] has always championed that pre-season is all about making sure we are ready for the first competitive game of the campaign.”
That first serious contest comes next Tuesday with the trip up the M5 to Bristol to face a side that beat Town 1-0 on their artificial surface when the teams met in a Toolstation Western League game last October.
The Town number two says: “We have got one or two injury concerns and so the likes of Aaron [Denny] and Dean [Billingsley] will not be involved in Tuesday night’s game against Elmore.
“We are very hopeful that Aaron will be fit for the FA Cup tie and also think that we might be able to call on the services of Adam Billcock at Keynsham.”
On the fact that Town have lost their last two games on an artificial pitch – beaten 1-0 at Keynsham Town and 3-2 at Roman Glass St George in league games last season, Rawlings says: “Both those games ought to have given us enough bad memories of that surface for us to go this time determined more than ever to ‘put it right’. It’s a very different type of game, but we are not short on talent in the squad and, as long as the application is right, then I see no reason why we cannot get the job done up there.”
He continued: “The draw has not been kind to us for we’ll need to leave just after 4pm which means asking players to get released from work etc.
“That said, it is what it is and we all ought to need no motivation to be up for this one. It’s the FA Cup and we are all very aware of the benefits to the club if we can put together a decent run in the competition.”
Town have no game this Saturday (August 29) and that’s not a bad thing according to Rawlings who says: “It’s a chance to avoid further injuries and gives players that little bit extra time to prepare for Tuesday night’s big cup tie.”
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