LIAM Miles and Craig Roper will miss Chickerell United’s huge semi-final clash against Hamworthy Recreation at Weymouth College tomorrow.

Chickens’ boss Maurice Welch had hoped Roper would be fit enough to replace the suspended Miles in the midfield holding role but the 26-year-old picked up a knock for the reserves last week, which has ruled him out of a long-awaited return to first-team action.

Welch has very few options in terms of plugging the gap but he is still confident that his men possess the weaponry to shoot down Rec and set up what would be a mouth-watering Dorset Premier League Cup final against local rivals Portland United.

He said: “It is a massive game and one we are all looking forward to.

“We had a little training game on Wednesday, which went well, but we do have one or two problems, particularly in midfield where we will be without both Liam and Craig, which is a bit of a blow for us.

“Hamworthy Rec are very good in the middle and they like to push men through with guys running off the front two so it is vital that we get that area right.

“For me, that is where their main danger comes from. They like to pump balls up to Cris Rigler and then feed off him and we will need to ensure we stop them getting any joy from that.”

Rec have beaten Chickerell twice in the league this season but with the villagers having defeated Swanage Town & Herston last Saturday to stretch their unbeaten run to eight games, tomorrow’s tie holds no fear.

Welch added: “There were actually the last team to beat us back in January. They won 2-0 and also defeated us 1-0 in our third game of the season but we have shown throughout the campaign that we can compete with the best in this division and we will be looking to take the game to them.

“In both those games we did not have Nick Etherington or Andy Hall and they are both big players for us so hopefully with them in the side and the confidence we have gained over the past couple of months we can get the result we are after.”

Rec are fourth in the Dorset Premier League, just six points and two places above the Chickens who hold a game in hand.

Chickerell (from): A Weeks, Henley, Biles, Graham, Hastie, Sibley, Smith, Evans, D Welch, Hall, Etherington, White, Beads, Coltart, L Weeks, J Welch.