| Double injury blow for the Eagles |
| Saturday 06 February 2010 |
 NEATH have received a double injury blow ahead of their first-ever visit to Bala Town's Maes Tegid on Saturday. They are likely to be without two January signings after striker Chris Jones (pictured) sustained a nasty facial injury and defender Kevin Cooper picked-up a groin strain. The on-loan Grimsby Town striker had a stunning Eagles' debut, scoring a hat-trick in the 3-2 win over Porthmadog, and followed-up with another in a 1-1 draw at Aberystwyth's Park Avenue. But he was forced off the field early in the second half of the 1-1 home draw against lowly Cefn Druids on Saturday and taken to hospital. "It is a bad blow for us as they were two of the three new faces I brought in to freshen things up in our attempt to break into the top three," said Eagles' boss Andrew Dyer. The visitors have taken a disappointing six points from their last five games, while the Lakesiders have three successive away victories under their belts. "We have to sharpen up quickly. We have a big six-match month in February and our next three matches are at Bala, Newtown and Caersws," added Dyer. "These are crucial matches if we are to achieve our hope of getting into Europe this season." If Neath fail to win or draw they can be overtaken by Prestatyn, who host bottom club Caersws at Bastion Road. But home player-manager Neil Gibson is warning against complacency: "If we go out there expecting to win just by turning up we’ll come unstuck," he said. "It’s all about our approach and if we get that right we can get the result we want." |