Unibond League Premier Division

Nov 7 2009 by Steve Brown, The Journal

THEY have shipped seven goals in each of their last two league games and could even be without a goalkeeper today, but Lee Collings insists “nothing seems to knock Durham City down”.

The Esh Group Stadium outfit travelled to eighth-placed Kings Lynn yesterday – before the rare luxury of an overnight stay in a Norfolk hotel – with director and Pagebet supremo Austin Carney on bus-driving duty.

They went without keepers Marc Riches (flu) and Reece Jobling, who has work commitments, as have Elliott Cutts, Jak Thompson, Mark Hollingsworth and Paul Taylor. Josh Home-Jackson is suspended while Keith Hutchinson is absent on compassionate grounds.

Yet manager Collings and his young team of college students remain admirably upbeat.

“We’re under-strength, Kings Lynn have a massive budget and pay really good money but we’ll turn up and give it a go,” he said. “We came close on Tuesday (against Shildon in the Durham Challenge Cup) to winning, which shows they can compete at that level and bodes well for the future.

“It also gave them a confidence boost after the last couple of league results (a 7-0 home defeat to Kendal Town and a 7-1 reverse at Bradford Park Avenue).

“But to be honest, nothing seems to knock them down. They’ve been well beaten but just get on with it. Coming back last Saturday one of them even got a guitar out and we all had a good sing-song.”

STEVE BROWN