NEW College assistant boss Matt Cosnett reckons that this weekend’s Hellenic League Challenge Cup clash with local rivals Purton could present the perfect opportunity for some of his youngsters to grab their first taste of senior football.

College entertain Purton at the Webb’s Wood Stadium in the first round of the cup on Saturday and Cosnett says that his team are hoping to embark on a decent run in the competition this term.

However, the students will still maintain their policy of shuffling their pack in order to field a competitive side for Saturday morning’s South West Counties Youth League clash with Dorchester Town and that could provide some College youngsters with the chance to dip their toe into Hellenic League-level action for the first time.

“We didn’t do that well in the competition last year (College lost 5-1 to Reading Town in the first round) and it would be nice to have a good run this season,” said Cosnett.

“But we’ve got an important U18s game against Dorchester in the morning, so we need to make sure we have a good side for that too.

“Because that’s the case, it means that a few lads who haven’t played at this level yet may get their chance alongside the senior guys.”

College were beaten 1-0 by Justin Miller’s Purton when the two teams met in Division One West in August and Cosnett is predicting that there won’t be much between the two sides once again.

The College assistant manager said: “We only lost 1-0 that day and the main difference was that we didn’t take our chances and they took one of theirs.

“Purton are a good side and I think they’ll be near the top of the league at the end of the season. They’ve got some experienced players and they’ve also got (assistant manager) Paul Hunt, whose son Ollie plays for us, meaning they know all about our lads.”

Striker Alex Fenton could return for College on Saturday but defenders Alex Baker and Dan Carter are missing.