PERSHORE Town face Bilston Town for the second time in 11 days on Saturday – but Les Jones says the Plums can forget about how they fared in last week’s win.
Visitors Pershore progressed 4-3 last Wednesday at Queen Street in the Smedley Crooke Memorial Charity Cup but that was only the second game for Bilston’s new boss Wayne Spicer.
Pershore boss Jones expects Spicer, who has enjoyed success previously with former clubs Wolverhampton Sporting Community and Black Country Rangers, to have started his revamp of the Steelmen squad and there will be fresh faces in their line-up for the trip to the newly-titled AIM Logistics Community Stadium for Saturday’s West Midlands League Premier Division clash.
“We seem to have a habit of playing teams who have just brought in new managers so inevitably that always means a few changes as they settle in,” said Jones.
“Although we played Bilston only last week, I’m sure Wayne will have been looking at bringing in some new players. He’s always had good teams.
“Teams can change dramatically when a new manager goes in. That’s even more the case for the Black Country teams because they can pull on so many players in a small area.”
Jones admits last week’s contest was close, as the scoreline suggests, and Bilston, who lie 15th, will again be dangerous opponents.
“Bilston deserved something out of the game, to be honest,” said Jones. “We scored four goals but didn’t play that well.
“What we did do was to take our chances. That was the most pleasing thing. It’s something we’ve talked about – the need to be more clinical when the chances come along.”
Although Saturday’s trip to AFC Bridgorth was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, Pershore returned to action on Wednesday when they lost 4-3 to Worcester Raiders in the Worcestershire Senior Cup.
Dave Reynolds scored a hat-trick for Raiders, with former Pershore player Zaq Hussain also on target as they led 4-1 before Town rallied late on.
Pershore made a few changes to their line-up, but skipper Shaun Griffiths, who picked up a knock at Bilston, is expected to be back for the weekend.
FOURTH-PLACED Evesham United return to Southern League Division One South action with a trip to Devon to face Bideford on Saturday.
Carl Abbott’s title-chasers will be aiming for a vital win on the road as they bid to improve on their healthy tally of 20 points from ten games.