GOATACRE captain Brad Dawson is targeting back-to-back third-place finishes in WEPL Premier Two, an achievement he claims would be massive for a club the size of the Goats.

Dawson & Co are just two points behind Thornbury, who currently occupy third spot, heading into the weekend clash with Gloucester City Winget and a good victory will likely leave Goatacre in the same position they finished last season.

For the skipper, that would be a monumental effort, particularly after his team sat second from bottom with seven games of the season gone.

“You never know what Weston might do (Weston-super-Mare play Thornbury on Saturday), you’d hope they’ll put their first team out, but we’ve got to try to get as many points as we can and finish as high as we can,” he said.

“For a club like us and with some of the teams in there, to be challenging next to Weston, Taunton and Thornbury which are big clubs in big areas is a great effort.

“We’re just a little village near Swindon, so it would be great to finish third.”

Sam Parish and Craig Gibbens return to the Goatacre side, with Matt House unavailable and Toby Horton making way, while Dawson admitted his shock at Gloucester’s lowly status this term.

“I’m surprised they’re where they are,” he said. “They got 260 against us, they’re a good team and quite a young team as well. It’s a bit surprising that they’re second or third bottom.

“I think they’re going to have a Gloucester player - probably Ed Young - which will be interesting - but we’ll see how we go.”