Hedderman will relish battle for places in Shipston ranks

FOOTBALL

STEVE Hedderman will happily let battle commence for places in Shipston Excelsior’s line-up for their home game with bogey side Coventrians tomorrow (Saturday).

Despite having only 12 fit players for last week’s win at Continental Star, Hedderman was delighted with how the team responded. With a field including two 16-year-olds, plus a 40-year-old, Shipston battled to a 2-1 victory which Hedderman described as “the biggest three points of the season”.

He will again await any late updates on fitness and availability but he says any additions to last week know they will need to fight for their shirts.

“We were without half-a-dozen regular starters last week and we had to put some square pegs into round holes,” said Hedderman. “But every player put in a shift, they worked for each other and I was delighted they got their rewards.

“There’s a battle there for places now when we get players back.”

Fifth-placed Shipston, though, will have an extra incentive when they face Coventrians at London Road tomorrow. Coventrians have held sway in their recent meetings, winning four of five contests including a 3-2 win at the end of September when the hosts netted an 80th-minute decider

“They are our bogey side,” said Hedderman. “They have won four of the last five times we’ve played them but we had chance after chance earlier in the season. We had ten to 15 opportunities but we weren’t clinical enough.”