PLEASE NOTE - SATURDAY UPDATE: A second revision of the date for the Christmas Draw, which had been planned for half-time of the Dorchester game, will now take place at half-time on the Boxing Day fixture at home to Thurrock, kick-off 1:00pm.

Due to a carpet of thick snow currently covering the pitch at Melbourne, an early inspection has taken place and tomorrow’s game has had to be postponed. A new date for the match is yet to be confirmed. Below is the preview for the game before the postponement.

City will welcome new central defender Grant Cooper into their squad for the visit of Dorchester Town this Saturday, kick-off 3:00pm at Melbourne, as the former Bishop’s Stortford man put pen to paper for Glenn Pennyfather’s side during Thursday night’s training session.

Cooper, 31, re-joined Stortford at the start of the campaign from fellow BSS club Maidenhead United after an initial one-month loan. He had appeared for the Hertfordshire outfit in 2003, arriving from Chesham United, before moving on to Hornchurch and Kings Lynn. Grant arrived at Maidenhead in 2007 and played a part in their success at the time, helping to drag them away from relegation trouble.

His arrival comes at a time when City’s small squad is being tested with injuries in key areas as utility man Simon Glover sits out long-term with a double break to his ankle while left-back Michael Haswell recovers from a head injury he sustained in the midweek FA Trophy replay win at Truro City. With two defenders out of action and league games scheduled to come thick and fast over Christmas, Glenn felt the need to act.

“Grant is a strong defender with a lot of experience at a time when we need cover because of injuries,” he explained. “Simon Glover is out for a good while and Michael Haswell can certainly be ruled out of Saturday at least, so it would only have taken a knock to one of our other defenders to land us in real trouble. We’re pleased to have Grant on board as he’s an excellent centre-half who can play on the left too.”

Dorchester are situated in 17th position in the Blue Square South table having lost eight out of their ten away games so far this season. In contrast to City’s recent record of drawing matches at Melbourne, the Magpies have reached a stalemate in only three of their 20 fixtures and their cause was assisted a fortnight ago with a 2-1 victory over Hampton & Richmond Borough. Town won their opening game 3-0 in style against St Alban’s City but followed it up with a run of seven games without success.

Dorchester Town: Address: The Jewson Stadium, Weymouth Avenue, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 2RY. Phone: (01305) 262451. Position Last Season: 19th in the Blue Square South. Miles from Chelmsford: 182. Approx. Journey Time: 3 hours, 50 minutes. Nickname: The Magpies. Team Colours: Black & White. Ground Capacity: 5,009 (2,846 Covered Terracing). Seats: 697. Official Website: www.dorchestertownfc.co.uk.

Weather Forecast: White Cloud. -1 degrees Celsius. Wind 13 mph.

Blue Square Odds: Chelmsford 4/9, Draw 29/10, Dorchester 5/1 (correct at time of publication).