Midsomer Norton sees another big night of football on Tuesday, 12th February, with high-flying Bath City making a quick return to face Welton Rovers in the Somerset Premier Cup Second Round.

The fixture initially took place back in November, with the visitors securing a narrow 3-1 win, but after learning that the Romans had inadvertently fielded an ineligible player, Somerset FA have ruled that the fixture must be replayed.

Over 250 local football fans crammed into West Clewes that evening, but with Bath City’s promotion charge now having picked up even more steam, and Welton themselves on a good run of results, Welton Rovers’ Vice-Chairperson, Gareth Paisey, is hoping the attendance will surpass that this time.

Gareth said: “The first fixture came at a difficult time for us, with the club having suffered disappointing back-to-back defeats and the squad depleted by injury. This time round, we’re in positive form and I truly believe we’ll be a match for a Bath City team who will, hopefully, be distracted by League fixtures and their priority of promotion.”

The stakes are high for Rovers, with a Quarter-Final tie against Taunton Town at stake for the winning side, as Welton look to emulate their 2009/10 season Premier Cup victory.

Another major difference to the previous fixture, just three months ago, is that Rovers will have a different Manager. Nick Beaverstock took over in a caretaker role in December, following the mutual consent departure of former Welton Manager, Clive Scott, and the club has since confirmed that Beaverstock will remain in the West Clewes hot-seat until the end of the season.

Gareth continued: “The impact that Nick has had since returning to the club is more than we had hoped. He has hugely boosted morale in the dressing room and on the terraces, and the hard work he and his assistant, Malcolm Beck, put into their training sessions and match set-up is showing on the pitch, most recently with back-to-back clean sheets.”

In the meantime, Rovers have been carrying out interviews for a new Manager to take the helm post-season. Welton are without a scheduled fixture this weekend, and their match at Chippenham Park last Saturday was postponed due to a snow-covered pitch.

TEAM PHOTO:

Standing: John Carver (Physio), Joe Beaverstock, David Cooper, Will Hunter, Richard Hurd, Joe Battrick, Aaron Seviour, Tom Drewitt, Chris Manns, Harry McLachlan, Aaron Cockerill, Sam Stoppard, Shakeil Green, Steve Dix (Goalkeeper Coach), Ash Bird (Physio).

Seated: Lewis Coleman, Lewis Dixon, Chris Pile, Nick Beaverstock (Caretaker Manager), Joe Garland (Club Captain), Malcolm Beck (Assistant Manager), Alex Wych, Tom Smith, Lewis Russell