GARY Bailey has every confidence in his players’ ability to bounce back from their first defeat of the season when Shaftesbury Town visit Grove Corner tomorrow (3pm).

The Blues’ 1-0 reverse at Merley last Saturday came after a flawless start to the campaign which saw them win seven matches in a row.

But Bailey wasn’t too downbeat about his side’s performance last time out, though he would like to see them be more incisive in the final third.

“I will be looking for a positive reaction after last week’s defeat,” said Bailey. “It’s important we don’t dwell on it and get back to winning ways.

“Our overall performance at Merley wasn’t bad at all, we just need to sharpen up in the last third where at times our final ball and decision making let us down on the day.

“We have an experienced dressing room and I’m confident they will react in the right manner and bounce back.”

Alex Halloran (wedding), Lewis Whyton (injury) and Charlie May (suspended) miss out for the Dorset Premier League champions, but Ross Doidge, Carl Mutch and Dan Austin are in line to return to the squad.

Bailey added: “We have some players coming back into the squad who were missing last week and with Lewis Whyton likely to be out for a few weeks with an ankle injury there will be some changes.

“I will see how the players have trained before making any final decisions.

“Shaftesbury have made a solid start to their season and will be looking for a positive result as they also lost last weekend.

“We fully expect them to come here and have a real go, so we will need to be right on our game.”

Weymouth Reserves entertain Mere Town at the Bob Lucas Stadium (3pm) and Terras’ chief Jake Richmond is another manager after a reaction from his troops.

Richmond’s men lost to Bridport Reserves in midweek and will have to deliver a much-improved display tomorrow.

Jamie Beasley, Sean Zima and Lee Sharpe are unavailable for the hosts while Sam Nichols is a doubt.

“We’ve got to get back on it,” said Richmond. “I can’t wait to play again and put things right after our last game.”

Elsewhere, Bridport Reserves go to Parley Sports (3pm) on a high following that 3-1 victory over the Terras.

The Bees’ opponents have had an impressive season so far with five wins from their eight outings.