MIDFIELDER Steve Colwell hopes he has earned the right to keep his starting place for the Terras’ FA Cup second qualifying round contest against Bideford at home tomorrow (3pm).

The former Plymouth Parkway man has had to endure a spell kicking his heels on the bench this term before he was thrust into Jason Matthews’ starting XI for the first time on Tuesday, and when given the nod, he put in a solid shift which earned him high praise from the Terras’ boss.

And in a fixture that is worth £4,500 in prize money, Colwell is hoping that Matthews decides to stick with him.

“It was lovely and it felt great to play,” Colwell told Echosport.

“There was a little bit of pressure to get back on track and Bideford is a tough place to go especially on a Tuesday night regardless of how you are doing.

“Fortunately we came through it and everyone in the changing room was absolutely buzzing after and it was nice to feel a part of it as well.

“Jase is a man of very few words after a game, he’s not one to pull you to one side and go through bits of the game. He just came over, shook my hand and said well done mate and that was enough for me to know I’d done okay, I was more than happy with that.

“I understand that the boys have been winning and I am a believer that you can’t change a winning side so it’s one of those things. I think I have been patient and Jase showed faith in me to come in so I was happy.”

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s game at the Bob Lucas Stadium, for which Ed Palmer and Jake Wannell are suspended, Colwell thinks it will be a totally different type of contest to Tuesday’s encounter.

“Being back at home on a nice big pitch and a good surface, we should be able to cement our way of playing,” he added.

“If we get back to playing our football we should turn them over.

“Fingers crossed we can go on a decent run in the cup this year, everyone is talking about it and, providing we put in a decent run of performances, we can.”

Weymouth will give late fitness tests to Tim Sills (hamstring) and Chris McPhee (thigh), with reserve team goalkeeper Ryan Park set to take a spot on the bench as regular backup stopper Joe Prodomo is struggling with a back problem.

Defender Callum Laird, who featured for the club in pre-season, should also be a part of the squad and player-manager Matthews isn’t ruling out a further short-term addition before kick-off.