UniBond League Premier Division

Oct 31 2009 by Steve Brown, The Journal

AMID injuries, suspension and absentees, manager Lee Collings admits he may be meeting some of his Durham City players for the first time today.

The Esh Group Stadium outfit travel to Bradford Park Avenue this afternoon in a UniBond Premier fixture re-arranged after both sides exited the FA Trophy. And the timing could hardly be worse for City.

Five players are missing through work and a wedding and new striker Josh-Home Jackson is suspended following a recent sending off for former club Chester-le-Street while Andrew Stephenson (ankle), Kyle Wren (groin) and Mark Batey (knee) are out injured.

It means a team already populated chiefly by students of Durham College will today be made up of pupils even younger than the kids they will replace.

“I’m struggling to get a side out,” Collings said. “We’re missing a lot of players so (Collings’ assistant) Dicky Ord’s trying to get some even younger lads along. They could be as young as 16 but we need them just to fill the team and the bench out. In fact, we might not even have a bench!”

By contrast, mid-table Park Avenue boast one of the biggest squads in the league. Their recent FA Cup defeat to Buxton saw them part company with manager Lee Sinnott, his assistant John Deacey replacing him at the Horsfall Stadium, and Bradford – who include former Middlesbrough and England under-21 striker Andy Campbell among their ranks – have subsequently posted successive 3-2 league wins.

After recent improvement at Durham was derailed by Tuesday’s 7-0 home humbling by Kendal Town, another potentially bruising encounter is the last thing Collings’ side needs.

“From being positive for a few weeks, we took two steps back on Tuesday,” he said. “Kendal are a class act but the lads were shell-shocked. They came out for the second half and gave it a real go, I was pleased with their attitude. Going to Bradford Park Avenue could be just as tough.”