The lengthy list of absentees include last seasons top Goalscorer Scott Coupland who is away on international duty and will also miss the Victory game next Sunday, T Wilkinson, C Cosgrove, S Clifford and Joe Drabble.
The only crumb of comfort Taylor can take out of this disastrous week is the return of Craig Wilkinson. Taylor will be forced to pull some players from the massed ranks of the reserve team to make up the bench this weekend, Mark Daley is rumoured to be one option as he is comfortable and experienced at the highest level of Sunday league football. What on paper looked like a tricky fixture for the start of the campaign anyway has without doubt been made a lot more difficult by these high profile absentees. Here is what Welton boss Al Taylor had to say about the matter.
“Its not ideal is it! The lads that are missing would probably have all been in the running for the starting eleven this weekend, But lets not concentrate on the players we haven't got and lets focus on the ones we do have. we’ve got a big enough squad to cope with the situation and I am confident whatever eleven Lee and I decide to put out on Sunday can go out there and get the job done. I’ve still got my first choice defenders Carter, Snookesy and Rossco and we still have players out there that are capable of being match winners for us and although we may have lost some creativity in the centre of the park without Cosgrove and Scotty I have seen enough from Dhinny and Wilko in training this week to know that they are more than capable of dominating the centre of the park.”
Welton startin x1 (probable)
GK MAYHEM
CB TAYLOR
CB SNOOKES
CB CARTER
CMF STOCKS
CMF C WILKINSON
CMF DHINDSA
RMF GORDON
LMF L CLIFFORD
CF SUTTON
CF DRABBLE