Preview: USW Men’s 3rd v Gloucestershire Men’s 2nd

by Dan Cope

Date: 21^st February 2018 (14:00)

Venue: Treforest Sports Park

THE University of South Wales Men’s 3^rd host Gloucestershire in what should prove to be a close contest as both teams look to get back to winning ways.

USW suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Bristol in the last game, but despite the result, they impressed and were largely dominant throughout and with a fully fit squad, will be heading into the fixture as favourites.

Gloucestershire, who sit one place below USW in 5^th, lost 5-1 away to Swansea in their last game and will be looking to bounce back from their crushing loss against a determined USW side.

USW can finish as high as 3^rd in the table with two games to go if Bristol drop points to Swansea and Cardiff, so will be aiming to take advantage of Gloucestershire’s poor form which has seen them come away with only four points from five games.

The last fixture between the two sides finished in a scrappy 2-2 draw. USW coach Rob Bailey has recently reshuffled his team with playmaker Iolo Ap Dafydd being moved into defence as Bailey aims to put more emphasis on possession football, which he hopes will break down the Gloucestershire backline.

USW have no injury concerns after midfield maestro Tom Fouracre recovered from a hamstring injury he suffered against Bristol and Raeon Mignott also returns after a toe injury.