TIVERTON Town boss Chris Vinnicombe has signed former Taunton Town goalkeeper Ryan Draper ahead of tonight's Ladysmead clash with Evesham United (7.45).

Vinnicombe had been forced to look for cover for No. 1 Chris Wright after the former Witheridge stopper broke his left arm during Saturday's 2-2 draw at Banbury United.

The Tivvy chief believes Wright could be sidelined for up to three months with the injury and was compelled to plug the gap. And he has snapped up veteran stopper Draper — a former FA Vase winner with the Peacocks — as cover for the next two games.

Vinnicombe will hold further talks with Draper after Saturday's fixture at Cambridge City with a view to keeping him at Ladysmead long-term.

"Ryan's signed for the next two games and then we'll review it after that," said Vinnicombe. "It's a weight off my mind because I wasn't quite sure where I was going to turn when Wrighty got injured.

"He's got a lot of pedigree and a few of the lads have played with him elsewhere. They all speak very highly of him and know he will do a good job for us. He had been speaking to a few clubs after being released by Bideford and funnily enough rang me last week. We're glad to have got him."

Vinnicombe continued: "It's going to be six to 12 weeks before Chris comes back. It will be six weeks before his cast comes off and then a while getting his confidence back and getting back to match fitness after that, so we will need cover.

"It's a shame for him and I hope he makes a quick recovery. It's frustrating for us but that's football for you. It's something you have to deal with and get on with."

Vinnicombe had to turn to centre-back Tom Gardner to play in goal during Saturday's game, after Wright had been taken off midway through the first half.

Gardner made a number of crucial saves as Tivvy overturned a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 at the Spencer Stadium, thanks to goals from Joe Bushin and Mark Saunders.

And the Yellows chief says Gardner served as an inspiration for his side's fightback.

"In the second half Tom Gardner really stood out," Vinnicombe said. "He had already done his normal job at centre-half in the first half and he looked good then.

"But he then pulled off a few really good saves when he was in goal and that was so valuable for us.

"We know he can do a job in goal and his confidence in stepping in helped the players out a lot. He was brave coming out at people's feet, which is something which isn't natural to him, and he kept us in it at times. We were able to build on that and that's what eventually earned us a point."

Adam Mortimer is a doubt for tonight's match having picked up a knock against Banbury. Otherwise Vinnicombe has a full squad to choose from as he targets his first Southern League Premier Division win against a side who have themselves only picked up one victory from their opening three games.

"It would be nice to get our first win," he said. "We were saying after the Banbury game that if we can get a good performance and get three points it would mean we've had a good start to the season.

"We'll go about it like any game though. We'll go out there to win. We'll try our hardest to keep the point we start with and then hopefully things will go our way and, if we can play well, we can get maximum points."

Vinnicombe is likely to include Russell Jee in his squad after the midfielder turned in an impressive performance as a first half substitute on Saturday.

The Tivvy manager is hopeful of keeping Jee at the club after his former club Willand Rovers made a seven-day approach for him.

"Willand have put in seven days for him. But the way he's been playing it's likely I'll talk to him and see what the possibility of him staying is," he said.

"But the finance side of things means that might not be possible. I will speak to the board about it this week."