“Of course we want to bounce back, but it will be tough,” Tuffley Rovers manager Neil Mustoe is hoping his side can bounce back at home to fourth place Droitwich Spa after a loss to Roman Glass St. George last weekend.
Seventh place Tuffley host fourth place Droitwich on Saturday, as the hosts will be looking to bounce back from a defeat where Mustoe believes there were lessons to be learnt.
“Last week we came up against a strong Roman Glass side and we showed them a little too much respect, we knew they’d be tough and we sat off them a little bit too long and once we got into the game in that last 25 minutes we were the better team.
“We know we have got the players and a team that can cause problems, of course we want to bounce back but it will be tough.”
When asked about the challenge of facing a side like Droitwich, Mustoe is expecting a tough challenge against a side full of confidence.
We are back in @HellenicLeague Premier Division action this Saturday when we host @DroitSpaFC in a 3pm KO at Glevum Park.
— Tuffley Rovers FC (@TuffleyRoversFC) March 12, 2026
It will be great to be back at home! See you there.#uptherovers pic.twitter.com/9wuH6IlIzQ
“They are a strong team who have been very consistent all season, I don’t think they’ve lost an away game since mid November. They’ll be a decent outfit as they are strong and organised, they will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.”
Even though it is a tough clash against a side higher up the league table, Rovers have won their last two home games and are unbeaten against Droitwich this season.
Mustoe said: “Our home form has been pretty patchy at times but we are starting to pick that up. We beat them at home in the cup and we drew to them away in the league.
“We’ve got good results against them but every game this season has been tough, you can tell by the top five and how close they are, and how close it is down the bottom. Every game is really tough but we’re hoping that the home advantage will be a huge help for us.”
It requires a miracle for Tuffley to reach the play offs by the end of the season as they sit eight points off, with the team in fifth having four games in hand.
Mustoe has no eyes on the play offs but would like to see his side outperform last seasons total, saying that “we’ve got six games to go, 18 points to play for, after Droitwich we’ve still got Slimbridge to go so we can definitely affect how the play offs end up, whether it could be enough for us I don’t know.
“We haven’t won six in a row in a few years, a fortnight ago we made it four in a row, winning five in a row is difficult. If we can finish as high as we can and on more points than last season, that would be progress.”
Rovers host Droitwich at Glevum Park tomorrow at 15:00 where they will be hoping to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat and start a good run for the remainder of the season.
