Crusaders seek goals on a new piece of plastic

City visit as Jones leaves Hungerford for league rivals

HUNGERFORD TOWN make the short trip to Oxford City tonight in pursuit of the lost finishing power that helped them to a first defeat of the season at home to Hemel Hempstead on Saturday.

It was a frustrating day for Hungerford, who made openings but after three games, have yet to see a striker hit the target.

“We’ve got to improve in the final third,” said manager Bobby Wilkinson. “We’ve got some great movement, but we just don’t finish.”

Hungerford go to a City side to play on their newly-laid 3G surface and against a side that got off the mark on Saturday with a 3-0 win at Whitehawk having lost 3-2 at home to in-form St Albans City on opening day and then going down to a single goal at Hampton and Richmond.

City have had their own striking worries after summer signing, the prolific Justin Bennet, sustained a pre-season injury and has yet to make his competitive debut for the club. That has meant a makeshift front-line, which came off on Saturday when Horatio Hirst, David Pearce and Matt Paterson went up top in an attacking line-up.

Hungerford have Louis Soares, Stefan Brown, Warren Bentley, Luke Hopper and Tom Meechan contesting their front roles, with Nicholas Bignall hoping to be fit in time for Saturday’s trip to Welling United.

Skipper Matt Day is also likely to miss out following the calf strain he picked up pre-match on Saturday, and Hungerford cannot call on Mike Jones to step in as the former Canvey Island and Bromley player – omitted from the squad this season – has opted to join former Hungerford colleagues Gary Horgan and Alan O’Brien at newly promoted and flying league rivals Chippenham Town.

What are the odds?

THE bookies make Hungerford favourites for tonight's game with William Hill offering 5/4 for a Hungerford win and 13/8 for City, with a draw quoted at 5/2.

A repeat of Hungerford's 6-0 win at the Marsh Lane ground is 300/1 with the same bookies but a better 500/1 with PaddyPower!

A goal-less draw is 10/1 and 17/2 respectively.