Glassboys sweating on key duo (From Halesowen News)

Glassboys sweating on key duo

1:30pm Thursday 21st February 2013 in Football

STOURBRIDGE FC could be without two key players for this Saturday’s trip to Frome Town.

Defender Nathan Bennett is still struggling to overcome the calf problem which kept him out of last weekend’s 3-2 defeat to Hemel Hempstead Town in Evo-Stik Southern League Premier Division.

Influential midfielder Ben Billingham is also doubtful after picking up a leg injury in the defeat.

Assistant boss Jon Ford revealed both were battling to be fit.

He said: “Ben took a knock on his right leg in the first half and though he was able to battle through, he is struggling.

“It’s a long week in football and players have every chance to get fit.

“Nathan has a problem with his calf and though he was confident of being fit in training last night, he was also confident on Saturday but broke down in the warm-up.

“You find at this stage of the season players do pick up knocks and it’s a case of keeping them in cotton wool and protected as much as possible.”

Keeper Lewis Solly will give the Glassboys a boost when he resumes light-training this week, though he is still not fully recovered from a knee problem. Stour have also signed wideman Andre Francis from Solihull Moors, though he is unlikely to figure in the first team squad right away.

Solly’s replacement, Dean Coleman, was one of a number of players who had a day to forget as the Glassboys slumped against Hemel.

The hosts could have gone into second place with a win but a sloppy showing left them trailing 3-0, before late goals from Drew Canavan and Billingham set up a grandstand finish.

Ford admitted too many players had “gone missing.”

He said: “It was a very poor performance for 70 minutes.

“When you are playing a team around you in the table you expect your players to be 100 per cent committed.

“Unfortunately we had four or five players go missing. Those players know who they are.

“But we never get carried away when we do well and we will not get carried away just because we did badly.

“The disappointing thing is we had a big crowd there to cheer us on and you feel you’ve let them down a bit.”