MALVERN Town boss Les Jones has labelled this weekend’s game at Gornal Athletic as a ‘must-win’.
The Hillsiders return to West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division action tomorrow (Saturday) when they make the trip to the Black Country to take on an Athletic side which has picked up just four points all season.
But after losing to third-from-bottom Dudley Sports at the HDAnywhere Community Stadium at the end of January, Jones is not taking anything for granted.
“We have got to get a result,” he said. “It’s a must-win game for us so we have to go over their and pick up three points.
“Our last league game we lost to Dudley who are near the bottom so it is vital we are at it right from the word go to get a positive result.”
The Hillsiders go into Saturday’s game on the back of Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat to Midland League Premier Division outfit Stourport Swifts in the first leg of the Worcester Royal Infirmary Cup semi-finals.
Swifts had taken the lead in the 20th minute before Lewis Platt levelled with three minutes remaining.
However, after a lapse in concentration from a quick free-kick, Swifts snatched a winner just a minute later with the result leaving a sour taste in the mouth of Jones who felt his side deserved more.
“I was frustrated with the result and not the performance on Wednesday,” he said.
“We started slowly and fell behind but after the break we absolutely dominated them.
“We managed to draw level but fell asleep and the back and a cross has deflected into the back of our own net so we felt a little bit hard done by.
“There’s another leg to go so to know we dominated the second half against a side in the division above gives us a chance.”
The second leg is expected to be scheduled for the end of March.
Meanwhile, Bryan Craven (foot) and Mason Mansfield (back) are doubtful for Saturday’s game but Jones is boosted by the returns of Dave Reynolds, Nathan Hayward, Charlie Weaver and Matt Pinder.