DORCHESTER Sports have undergone a challenging summer ahead of their first Jewson Dorset Premier League game of the season at Sturminster Marshall today (3pm).

Ashley James’ men have recruited heavily, signing Josh Leake, Caleb Tennant and Josh Camp plus Josh Pratt, Carl Edwards and Josh Pratt. Dylan Ellis has also joined from Chickerell United.

Jack Steele, Elliot Rossiter and Brandon Heal are the only departures this summer to Portland United, Weymouth and Ridgeway respectively.

On the pitch, Sports have only beaten Bashley Under-23s this summer, losing to Sherborne, Verwood, Ham Rec and then drawing a remarkable friendly with Beer Albion 6-6 at the Avenue.

James said: “We’ve had a really tough pre-season, we wanted a tough pre-season and didn’t get the results we wanted.

READ MORE: Dorchester Sports sign Josh Camp for 2023/24 season

“Some of the performances were decent and we’re hoping the pre-season we’ve had will take us well into the season when we face a difficult game at Stur Marshall.”

Ahead of tackling the Marsh, James added: “It’s always a tough place to go and they had a good record there last year.

“We really struggled there with a 1-1 draw. What we’ll be looking for is to better last season’s results and performances, so we’ve got a perfect chance to start that.”

Sports are without Coombs and Ellis, while Billy Brumble is suspended.

Leake is waiting on international clearance from the Welsh FA and Ash Smith (dislocated knee) is out. Camp, Tennant, Edwards and Pratt are all in line to make their debuts.