4:35pm Tuesday 24th November 2009
Halstead Town travel to play rivals Long Melford in a derby tonight, looking to maintain their astonishing record against the Suffolk side.
Town have won all nine games they have played against Melford under manager Jody Brown - without conceding a single goal.
Halstead want a win following their disappointing FA Vase replay defeat at the hands of Wroxham, last weekend.
Long Melford lie third from bottom in the division one table, with only two league wins to their name all season.
However, Halstead head into the match with injuries and suspensions hindering boss Brown’s team selection.
Hyun-Jin Lee and Mark Emerson both picked up injuries against Wroxham and are doubts, while Terry Rayner was injured in the warm-up.
Judd Coe and Lee Townrow are both still banned, while Liam Morley is still two weeks away from a return.
Brown said: “We pushed the league to arrange the game for tonight.
“But now I wish I hadn’t, because we lost three players to injury against Wroxham.
“But we have a record against them that we want to continue.”
Meanwhile, Brown has vowed to make changes to his Halstead squad over the coming weeks.
He is planning on bringing in younger players but Brown has stressed the budget at Rosemary Lane remains the same and the changes are his choice.
“The injury situation needs to be addressed,” he said.
“Over the next couple of weeks, it will become obvious that there are different types of players coming in.
“It’s sad but we’ll have to start rebuilding, because we’ve lost the likes of Steve Daly and Danny Rowell.
“It’s time now that we look to the future.
“We’ve signed Adam Rushton, who I feel can play a part in our rebuilding.
“That is the road that we’ll go down, trying to bring in good young players who can do well for us.
“I’d like to build the side around the likes of Tom Devaux - who we’ve just made vice-captain - Ed Wootten, Chris Bryan and Lee Townrow.
“It’s nothing to do with resources or the budget being cut.
“It’s just the direction I want to go in as a manager, with people who share the same enthusiasm and drive as me.
“I want 18 or 19 year-old players who still believe that they have a chance of moving up the ladder.”
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