DORCHESTER Sports and Blandford United lock horns in the quarter-finals of the Dorset Senior Trophy tomorrow afternoon (1.30pm).

Sports welcome the Royals to the Avenue Stadium looking to book a club record-equalling ninth consecutive victory in all competitions.

The prize of a semi-final place is also on offer and any triumph would back up the 2-0 win enjoyed over Blandford at Park Road earlier this season.

Sports’ boss Ashley James told Echosport: “Everyone’s in good spirits and confident mood.

“We’re just looking forward to every game at the moment. We’ve done really well in the cups this year.

“The home record’s really good and I don’t think we’ve won nine games in a row since 2009.

READ MORE: Bournemouth Sports 1-2 Dorchester Sports - match report

“It’s a nice run at the moment and the quality of teams we’re beating is promising. We want to win this one as well and be in another semi-final.

“We can go into the Christmas break in good spirits and look forward to an action-packed next year.”

On Blandford, he added: “They’re a good side. I’m pretty sure they’ll start picking up results soon.

“We didn’t have it easy at their place and we had to play well to get the win. We won’t be taking them lightly at all.”

In the opposing dugout, Josh Feirn, who is expected to step down from the manager’s role after Christmas, is wary of the Royals’ poor form.

Blandford have lost five of their past six games, slipping to 12th in the league.

Feirn said: “On current form it’s a daunting game to go in to. They’re eight games unbeaten now and we’re miles off what we could be.

“The last time we faced them we lost 2-0 and we were 50-60 per cent better than we are now. It’s going to be a difficult game, to say the least.”

Asked if injury or availability contributed, Feirn added: “A bit of both. The injuries didn’t help.

“We’re not performing to what we can. We’re not good enough.

“We’ve gone, in the space of three months, from a team that could potentially compete in the top six to a team competing in the bottom half of the table.

“We’re not good enough. It’s the mentality of the lads, the attitude. I’m not going to sugar-coat anything. They know themselves.

“The lads that are turning up and giving 100 per cent know and the lads that aren’t know.”

Blandford are without Ryan Park, Steve Smith, Mike Johnson, Ash Rimmer, Charlie John, Joe Fitzsimmons, Brad Pike, Sam Watson, Archie McCarthy and Brad Parry.

Taylor Pike and Reuben Stanley are rated as 50/50.

Dorchester Sports welcome five players back including goalkeeper Nick Hutchings, Darren Watts, Brandon Heal, Jamie Samways and Gareth Will.