Tony Vance has had a huge boost to his attacking options as Merstham visit Footes Lane on Wednesday night for a crucial clash in the battle for survival in Isthmian South Central, with the return of attacking midfielder Charlton Gauvain to the squad as the Green Lions look to chalk up a milestone 200th victory in their short history.
Gauvain injured his ankle after a heavy tackle less than two minutes into the Green Lions' first pre-season game in July and had surgery earlier this season. After extensive rehab and fitness work, he is fit to take a place in GFC's 16-man group. Tom Dodds is also back after a hamstring strain that forced him to miss the last two games, and Danny Hale is recalled after missing the weekend's win over Leatherhead. Keanu Marsh is set to go clear of Jacques Isabelle into the top 20 all-time appearance list with his 124th game for the club.
The full squad is as follows: Addison, Marsh, Vaudin, Fallaize, Alvarez, T Martin, Dodds, Merris, L Mahon, Loaring, Gauvain, Wallace, Hale, Allen, Domaille, Murray.
Guernsey have won five of their last seven games to move off the bottom of the table. Chipstead's win over Thatcham Town on Tuesday night means GFC will remain in 15th even with a victory, but would open up a nine-point gap over the relegation play-off places and leave them just four points away from the top half - an important target given that their following three games are against Uxbridge, Chipstead and Southall, all in midtable.
Three points for Merstham would see the Moatsiders leapfrog Bedfont Sports into 17th. Like the Sarnians, they are finding form at a good time with just two defeats in a dozen games since Christmas. They are unbeaten in their last five and have only shipped two goals in that time. It could be a tight game with their last five results being 1-0, 0-0, 1-1, 1-0, 1-1.
The meeting between the two earlier this season saw heartbreak for the Green Lions, as they led 2-0 going into injury time thanks to goals from Matt Loaring and Will Fazakerley, but conceded twice in the dying moments to see a win snatched away from them.
Merstham's last visit to Footes Lane was en route to promotion in March 2015. They left the island with a 2-1 win, Loaring again the scorer for GFC.
Wednesday night's match kicks off at 7.45pm. Fans unable to make it to Footes Lane can keep up with the match on our social media channels, or watch GFCTV highlights later this week. There will also be a full match report on the website.
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