BRIDPORT v MERTHYR TOWN

DAN Wise is expected to shake off a minor knock and take his place on the field for tonight’s visit of promotion-chasing Merthyr Town (7.45pm).

The Bees’ midfielder scored what proved to be the winning goal at Odd Down on Saturday but saw his afternoon cut short when he was withdrawn as a precautionary measure.

However, boss Trevor Senior is confident his dead-ball specialist will be fit to feature at St Mary’s Field this evening.

He said: “We’ll check on him but he should be okay, he just got a kick on the ankle.

“Chris Clarke could be out through work commitments but Chris Senior is available again and we may possibly bring Darren Lock and Jamie Morgan into the squad.”

The Welsh outfit may be favourites to claim all three points tonight but the Bees enter the Toolstation Western Premier Division clash in high spirits, having claimed 10 points from their last four outings and kept three successive clean sheets.

Senior is also drawing confidence from recent meetings with the Martyrs.

He added: “We got a 2-2 draw at their place last season and we drew 3-3 with a last-minute equaliser in November. They are a good side going for promotion and they are now in the semi-finals of the Les Phillips Cup.

“They were a Conference side a few years ago and they are looking to get back to where they were.

“It should be a cracking game and a good test for us. But the pressure is off and we can go into the game with a bit of confidence.

“They would be considered favourites but with the way we have played in the last four games I fancy us to get something.

“The last four games have been absolutely vital as we’ve picked up 10 points from 12, which has been a nice return.”

As tonight is only their second home fixture in little over 10 weeks, Bridport’s manager is also hoping for a large turnout.

He said: “We were down to play Merthyr on a Saturday but it had to be moved due them still being in the cup.

“They won’t bring quite as many fans on a Tuesday night as they would on a weekend, which is a shame, but I would imagine they will still bring a coach-load.

“Hopefully we will get a few home fans as there haven’t been many home games this calendar year.”

Bees (from): Filkins, Condliffe, C Clarke, J Charles, Hill, Hayter, Senior, Luke, Wise, Richardson, Watts, Legg, Evans, Cummings, Hailu, Morgan, Lock.