Rice knock is no grain of comfort (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Rice knock is no grain of comfort

9:06am Monday 1st February 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

BASINGSTOKE Town manager Frank Gray has been handed a setback with the news that influential wide man Robert Rice is to be out for a month.

Rice has been one of the Camrose club’s most consistent performers this season but, unfortunately a persistent thigh problem has progressed into a haematoma, which requires four weeks of rest.

Gray said: “Rob has been good for us this season, whether we have asked him to play at right back or on the wing.

“He will be missed but we have to get on with it.”

Town’s home game against Staines was postponed due to a frozen pitch on Saturday and their next match is tomorrow night, when they travel to Bishop’s Stortford for a Blue Square South |fixture.

Jide Ogunbote would almost certainly have been Gray’s first choice to replace Rice on the right side of midfield but he must serve the final game of a three-match ban, which is likely to result in Jahson Downes getting the nod.

The Town boss also has problems in the centre of defence.

Ashley Mitchell has returned from a spell on trial at Inverness Caledonian Thistle but Gray is sweating on the fitness of both Sean Hankin (hamstring) and Lewis Christon (back), who would have been struggling had Saturday’s game gone ahead.

Basingstoke ended a barren run of just one win in 12 with a 2-1 victory at Chelmsford last time out – a performance Gray is determined to build on.

“It will not be easy and we have to go up there with the same attitude we had at Chelmsford,” he said.

“If we can put in a performance like we did there, I will not be disappointed.”

Stortford go into the game having won just one of their last nine Blue Square South fixtures and having lost 4-0 at home to Welling on Saturday.

“That can work either way for us because sometimes teams can lack confidence in their next game, or you can be hit on the rebound,” Gray said.

“We have got to be aware of all that but concentrate on our own game.”

Gray felt that Saturday’s game, which fell to frozen pitch following a referee’s inspection at 1.30pm, might have gone ahead had the |officials waited before passing judgement.

“We were very disappointed but the referee made the |decision,” Gray said. “We thought it might have been playable by 3pm but we had to accept his decision.

“Maybe in the long term we need to look into getting some sheets to cover the pitch near the stand, which always seems to be the problem area, but there was nothing we could do yesterday.”