Rick Andrews says there is a ‘good buzz’ in the Stowmarket Town camp ahead of tomorrow’s scheduled trip to Ely City, writes Alex Moss.

A goalless draw away at Brantham Athletic last weekend kept the Old Gold and Blacks in third place in the Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division table.

It was the first time Andrews’ men had drawn a blank in a league game since March last year, and could be seen as a missed opportunity to close the gap on the top two, after Godmanchester Rovers and Histon both dropped points.

But with two cup quarter-finals on the horizon, starting with a visit to Long Melford in the Thurlow Nunn League Challenge Cup on Wednesday, the Stow boss is keen to keep the season alive.

“We want to keep the season alive, the boys all want to do the same and we’re looking forward to the challenges ahead,” Andrews said.

“There’s a good buzz around the camp at the moment. We want to finish as high in the league as possible, and hopefully go further in the two cups we’re still in.

“We went over to Long Melford a few months ago and scraped a point with a goal late on. They will look it as they’re the underdogs and have nothing to lose.

“But I’ve said it about this league many times before, no team has a divine right to win every game. You have to be at it, and if you’re not at your best then you won’t get the results.”

Stow have been hampered this season by an injury list which has yet to ease up, with leading goalscorers Ollie Canfer and Josh Mayhew having been out for the majority of the last three months.

Andrews is hopeful that the duo, who have netted 33 goals between them in 2018-19, could both return at some point this month.

“They’re both making progress and I’m hoping we could have one of them back for the first cup game,” he said.

“Obviously we’d like to see both of them involved again at some point, hopefully for the Brantham game.”