CHARD Town will again be without skipper Taoufik Ben Salem when they entertain mid-table Devizes Town on Saturday (ko 3pm), writes Colin Dunford.

The skipper is completing the second of a two-match ban, having sat out the 2-2 draw at Cheddar.

Steve Friend, Jake Wolfe and Scott Jakeman – who all picked up knocks at Cheddar – should be fit, while Scott Martin and Shaun Wells-Burr should also be available.

This weekend’s opponents are 14th in the table, six places and six points behind the Robins, but they won the reverse fixture 2-1 in November.

Tom Slater gave Devizes the lead after just two minutes, and although Scott Jakeman equalised for Chard, Jack Hobbs won it for the hosts.

Chard manager Paul Down said: “It will be good to play at home again [after three successive away games] against an unpredictable Devizes.

“We lost narrowly away to them, and will be looking for revenge to keep our good run going.”

Reflecting on the Cheddar draw, Down said: “It was another good point against strong opponents.

“It was probably the right result, although many felt Cheddar’s second equaliser [a penalty] was for a foul outside the box.”

He added: “It was another good day for the in-form James Boyland.” 

CHARD have announced that their Good Friday fixture at home to Wincanton Town will kick off at 1pm.

And the club have won the ‘Most Sporting Team’ award in the Toolstation Western League First Division for March.