Late injuries cost Roms

ROMULUS boss Richard Evans bemoaned a spate of last minute injuries this week as his depleted side lost 2-0 at Hucknall Town.

Robert Evans and Gavin Day were amongst the absentees before Ben Richards-Everton and Marvin Johnson were forced to withdraw within an hour of kick-off, leaving Evans to shuffle his pack.

“We had a few injuries in the build-up to the game which was a bit of a nightmare – we were missing five key players in all.

“The lads we bought in did alright, we just didn’t look a threat – we didn’t look like scoring – but there were still plenty of positives though, there were some good performances out there.”

Evans’ side return to Coles Lane this weekend to face Market Drayton Town, who currently sit third bottom of the table, albeit five points clear of the relegation places.

The Roms are currently four places and six points ahead of their visitors, who beat Romulus 2-1 earlier in the campaign.

There have since been changes at Drayton, who installed former Burnley manager Jimmy Mullen to the hotseat after a rocky start.

Evans added: “It’s a big game and it would be a nice one to win, but it will be a hard game – they are a good side under Jimmy Mullen and have improved since he went there.”

Evans said he and his staff would be assessing injuries this week, but confirmed that Richard Evans Jnr will miss the weekend’s game.

“A lot of the knocks we picked up are touch and go – generally we’ve just got to see how they respond to rest but we’re hopeful that we’ll have a couple of faces back.”

Meanwhile, Evans expects hot prospect Cameron Lee to remain at Coles Lane despite an approach from Midland Alliance club Coleshill Town.

Having come through the Roms youth ranks, Lee has broken into the first team over the Christmas period and has impressed with some tenacious displays.

Evans said: “We haven’t discussed it at this stage, but Cam has been here a long time and is making good progress.

“I would be surprised if any of our young players chose to drop into the Midland Alliance because it’s tough to get back to this level – our young lads should want to seize the opportunity here.”