BOSS Jason Matthews says Weymouth need to be wary of free-scoring Winchester City and prolific striker Warren Bentley when the two sides meet tonight in the FA Trophy (7.45pm).
The Citizens have found the net more times than any other side in the Southern League this season, with Bentley already up to 15 in Division One South & West.
Bentley and Zac Glasspool, another danger man in Winchester’s ranks, scored in their side’s 2-1 win at North Leigh on Wednesday as Paul Masters’ men climbed to sixth in the table.
While this evening’s hosts are in good form following three successive league victories, Terras’ player-manager Matthews knows his troops will be more than ready for battle at the Denplan County Ground.
However, as well as being without the injured George Rigg and Mark Molesley, Jake Wannell (hamstring) is extremely doubtful, while Chris Shephard is rated at 50-50 to be involved due to illness.
“I know Winchester are quite a free-scoring side and have had a good start to the season,” said Matthews ahead of the first qualifying round tie.
“They have got Warren Bentley, who has been scoring for fun, and they have just turned down two big bids for him.
“We need to be wary of him and the likes of Dan Cann and Zac Glasspool.
“Like any game away from home, it is going to be an extremely tough one, but it would be nice to have a run in the competition ourselves.”
Going into more detail about Wannell’s problem, he added: “It’s a big blow for us as we have a couple of players injured as it is. We’ll keep monitoring him but it’s unlikely he will be fit for the game.”