DORCHESTER Town will mix their senior and under-23 squads for the visit of Bridport this evening, assistant boss James Wood has revealed.

The Magpies host the Bees in the Dorset Senior Cup first round this evening (7.45pm), running concurrently with the under-23s’ trip to Romsey.

Rather than seek to rearrange the under-23s’ game, Dorchester are mixing their sides up based on location.

And Wood is excited to see how the club’s rising stars cope with playing senior football against a Bridport side ranked three divisions beneath them.

He told Echosport: “It’s a competition we made sure we wanted to be in, first and foremost.

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“The pathway we’ve got with our under-23s and 18s, it’s very important we’re in this competition.

“There might be some bodies we need to rest, and some tired legs, but more importantly we need to bring these young players through.

“It gives us the chance to do that. The unfortunate thing is we’ve got an under-23s fixture on the same night.

“We probably will mix the squads accordingly but definitely there will be changes.

“Logistically, the under-23s are in Romsey and we’re at home. Lads that are travelling this way will be here and lads based Southampton, Portsmouth way will be at the Romsey fixture.

“It gives us a chance to look at these young, exciting players coming through our 18s and 23s, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Bridport have struggled in recent seasons, suffering relegation and currently residing in bottom place of the South West Peninsula League Premier East.

However, Chris Herbst’s men won 3-0 against Plymouth Marjon on Saturday and Wood is taking nothing for granted.

“I fully expect it to be a difficult evening for us,” he admitted. “They’re going to give everything.

“We just need to make sure we manage it and conduct ourselves properly.”

Meanwhile, Herbst described the tie as a “free hit” for his charges.

He said: “For us it’s a free hit. We’ve got nothing to lose there. If we can give them a game and stay in it as long as possible, then great.

“They are going well and I always keep an eye on their games because I want the local sides to do well – unless they’re competing against Bridport!

“Everyone’s buzzing for it, hopefully the occasion goes in our favour."

Shaq Gwengwe (ankle) is Dorchester’s only doubt, while Bridport will assess defender Jake Childs.