Peter Jeffries is confident that Blyth Spartans will get back to winning ways against Halesowen Town and has backed himself to keep his place in goal – despite suffering an injury during Tuesday’s 1-0 loss at Marine.
Jeffries was caught on the hip in a mid-air collision five minutes after the half-time break and received treatment. The goalkeeper looked to be struggling badly, but showed real determination to stay on for the rest of the game – after Spartans had decided not to name a substitute stopper on the bench.
However, he came through Thursday’s training session at Croft Park unscathed and now Jeffries is confidently backing Blyth to put Tuesday’s disappointment behind them by claiming all three points at Halesowen.
Jeffries said: “I think we’ll win on Saturday, to be honest. Everyone was disappointed with what happened on Tuesday, so now we’ve got something to prove again.
“It’ll be a competitive game, but we’re going to win.”
The 29-year-old is also backing himself to maintain his place between the sticks ahead of Adam McHugh – as he appears to have made a complete recover from the knock he picked up in midweek.
Jeffries said: “I’m feeling good. It’s fair to say my hip was pretty knackered after the other night, but it’s fine now and I’ll be alright for the game against Halesowen.
“I was coming out to collect the cross and I’ve not seen him coming. I was already up and he’s caught me in the hip, but things like that happen all the time.
When asked if the lack of a substitute goalkeeper was the reason for him staying on and completing the game, Jeffries said: “Yes, basically. Obviously, they couldn’t bring anyone on.
“Tom might have brought me off if he’d had Adam on the bench, but I wouldn’t have wanted to come off anyway. It would have been up to the manager at that point though.
“That said, after Thursday night’s session, I’m confident of keeping my place in the team. I’m fit and I’ve not done anything wrong to be dropped.”