Heybridge Swifts will turn to their burgeoning reserve team once again to fill the gap in the strike force left by Chris Bryan’s departure.

Bryan joined Chelmsford City last week and teenage centre forward Tom Holdstock is to be blooded in to the first team after impressing for the reserves and in training.

“We can’t afford to get someone in but a couple of the under-18s have been doing well for the reserves,” revealed coach Barry Lakin. “We’ll give Luke Callander, Jack West and Tom Broadhurst a chance to cement their positions, with the young lads on the bench.

“Tom (Holdstock) has been on the bench a few times. We like his overall work rate and his intelligence on the ball for such a young lad.

“He’s been training with us and he doesn’t look out of place. He’s a local lad and he really wants to play for Heybridge.”

Bryan has said it wasn’t an easy decision to leave Scraley Road after three years at the club, he said: “It was a difficult decision. But I’m not getting any younger for me this is the last roll of the dice to play at a decent level of football.

“I got a cruciate ligament injury when I was 16 and didn’t play football for five years and I’ve only played seven or eight games this season after breaking my ankle.”

Swifts have turned to their youth set up on several occasions this season with midfielder Ryan Malin, currently out injured, the latest to break in to the first team in recent weeks.

Like most Non-League games at the weekend, Swifts’ home match against Harlow Town on Saturday failed to beat the weather.

Lakin said he had received a text on Friday afternoon saying the fixture was in some doubt and chances of playing were 50/50.

“It got colder over night and was called off,” he said. “But when league teams around you are having their matches called off you haven’t got much hope.

“When you’ve not got a game, you find yourself scratching around with nothing to do. You want to get playing again.”

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