Hemel Town snap up duo to bolster injury-hit squad

Defender Mat Mitchel-King joins the Tudors from St Neots, and has also had spells at Cambridge City, Histon, Crewe Alexandra, AFC Wimbledon, Dartford and St Neots. In total, Mitchel-King has 93 Football League appearances to his name.

Speaking about his signing, Hemel manager Dean Brennan said: “Mitchel-King is an experienced player who has done a lot in the full Conference.

“I’ve watched him play a lot this year for St Neots and he is a good, physical player who will hopefully bring good, solid experience to the side, which is what we need. Hopefully he’ll be a good signing for us.”

Sean Shields, meanwhile, signs on a one-month loan deal from National League South leaders Ebbsfleet United.

Midfielder Shields has had stints at St Albans City, Dagenham & Redbridge, Chelmsford City and Margate.

Brennan said: “Sean Shields is a player I’ve always admired – I’ve tried to sign him loads and loads of times, and to be fair to Ebbsfleet, they’ve done us a big favour.

“I’m delighted to get Shieldsy in for the month because that obviously helps us out with the injuries we’ve got at the minute.

“He will bring us a real dynamic threat; he’s a fantastic dribbler who scores and creates goals and he’s got a great attitude. I hope he’ll do really well for us.”

Meanwhile, Kettering have agreed to extend Oliver Thorne’s loan deal until the end of the season.

Brennan added: “We would like to thanks Kettering for doing us a favour because we know a lot about Thorney – he’s experienced, he’s strong and hopefully him and Mitchel-King will be able to get their fitness levels up to scratch as quickly as possible.”

Hemel will be looking to get their season back on track when they travel to the South Coast to take on Whitehawk on Saturday.

The Tudors go into the game on the back of four league games without a win following draws with Hayes & Yeading and Weston-Super-Mare, and defeats to Basingstoke Town and Bishop’s Stortford.

Whitehawk have also been struggling recently, with three defeats and a draw from their last four league outings, and only won win in their last 10.

A win on Saturday could see Hemel climb to eighth in the league table, while they could drop as low as 13th with a defeat.