If Truro City are to have any hope of staging a remarkable escape act off the bottom of Blue Square Bet South this term, today's home game against Hornchurch is the sort of contest they really need to be winning.
Truro are in administration and are so short of players that filling their substitutes' bench is a luxury they can only dream of at present. Thanks to their ten-points deduction, their three wins and two draws from 13 games this season has left them with only one point.
Unsurprisingly, they are well adrift of the table. The visitors to Treyew Road today are two places above City, with 14 points in the bag.
Hornchurch, whose squad includes former Yeovil Town striker Wayne Gray, have had their problems with injuries and suspensions lately. They fielded a very depleted side in Tuesday's 2-0 home defeat to Chelmsford City.
On the same evening, Truro went down to a 4-1 loss at Farnborough, and the Cornish side are not going to have all of their small squad fit and ready to play today. Top scorer Stewart Yetton will be out of action for a while because of a knee injury which requires an operation next week.
Fellow front-runner Andy Watkins will only play against the Urchins today if he passes a fitness test on the hamstring strain which forced him off at half-time in Hampshire on Tuesday, while midfielder Marcus Martin, who scored City's goal at Farnborough, has an ankle issue but is set to appear this afternoon.
So is central defender Jake Ash, who has been suffering from flu, while striker Kieffer Moore is likely to make his return after a head injury.
Right-back Dan Green is also expected to play against Hornchurch, but it is due to be his farewell appearance for City. He is set to follow former Truro central defender Arran Pugh to Dorchester Town.
Truro player-manager Lee Hodges, who has a groin injury, was an unused substitute at Farnborough, but the only other occupant of the bench did get a run-out.
City were given permission by the Football Conference to sign non-contract defender Todd Hanrahan from Ivybridge Town at the start of the week, and he replaced Watkins at the start of the second half on Tuesday. He is set to retain his place in the squad today.
With Truro unable to sign or borrow players who are under contract elsewhere due to their transfer embargo, Hodges was glad to be able to increase the size of his squad. "The boys are digging in for the club, they're giving it everything they can, but we need some bodies," he told BBC Cornwall.
