TENBURY Town player-manager Keiran Fish admits he’s happy to take a place among the substitutes this weekend if it means his side can replicate their defensive diligence.

With regular centre-half Fish absent at a wedding, Town kept their first clean sheet of the season in a 1-0 win at home to Holme Lacy Reserves in Herefordshire League Division One.

Sixth-placed Town have games in hand on all the sides above them, including Leominster Town, in fifth, who they visit this Saturday.

Fish said: “From what I’m told everybody had a decent game, they all put a shift in and the Holme Lacy keeper was very good and managed to keep most things out.

“We should have been two or three up at half-time if it wasn’t for their keeper, by all accounts, but the fact we got a first clean sheet is a bonus with myself and Gaz Edwards not being there.

“We had Dean Morris back, who had been out for six to eight weeks with a broken elbow, while Jack Kitchen also had an extremely good game.

“So I’ve been told Gaz and I will struggle to get back in the team and I don’t really mind that if the team has kept a clean sheet.

“It’s the first one of the season so I’m happy to sit on the bench for the next game if everybody has performed well – why should they miss out? It’s pleasing that we have that strength in the squad.

“Obviously, I want to play every minute I can but if someone is performing better, I’m all about giving people a chance to play.

“And if everyone performs like they did last weekend hopefully we’ve got no worries on Saturday – it was quite tight last time we played Leominster but we missed a few chances and still won 3-2.

“If we can beat Leominster, then, on paper we should beat (second-bottom) Dore Valley the week after, and that would, all in all, having drawn with Hinton, make it a pretty decent January.”

Town remain eight points behind leaders and local rivals Tenbury United, who kept hold of top spot with a thumping 7-2 win at mid-table Wellington Colts.

Chris Patton, Mike Morris and Dan Gittens all bagged braces, while Ryan Morris also struck for United, who maintained a two-point cushion over second-placed Hinton Reserves.

United have no game this weekend before visiting third-placed Ross Juniors in a key clash on January 25.