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Nine-man Weymouth win at Mangotsfield
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| WEYMOUTH secured their place in the second qualifying round of the FA Cup in a heated 3-0 victory over Mangotsfield United.Two early strikes from Chris Shephard and Stewart Yetton put Jason Matthews’ men well in the box seat, and substitute Jordan Copp found the net with virtually the last kick of the game for the battle-worn Terras, as they scoop £3,000 in prize money in the process.
But, in a heated cup tie, they were left with 10 men for the entirety of the second period, as Ed Palmer was sent off just short of the interval, and with 20 minutes to go, Weymouth were down to nine as Jacob Wannell was dismissed for his second booking. Player-manager Matthews named an unchanged side from the XI that was successful against Chippenham Town last time out, and they were also given the added luxury of extra places on the bench for the cup, meaning replacement stopper Joe Prodomo was named among the substitutes. For the visiting Terras’ fans who made the trip to Cossham Street, Weymouth put them in dreamland with two goals in the opening three minutes. After comfortably defending a free-kick from Matt Collins, Matthews quickly set the ball in motion to Tim Sills, who got the better of his man to find Chris Shephard on the counter, and the attacking midfielder made no mistake in striking a crisp volley home in just the second minute. And before the hosts could even compose themselves, they were caught cold again as Weymouth ran riot in the early proceedings. Linking up nicely with Ashley Wells on the right hand side, Adam Kelly swung in a precise delivery for Stewart Yetton, who showed the hosts his prowess in front of goal to double the away side’s lead a minute later. A shell-shocked Mangotsfield then steadied themselves and had a good opportunity to make it 2-1. Steve Davies whipped in a neat cross for the head of danger-man Lewis Powell, who already boasted nine goals in all competitions going into the contest, but he could not reach double figures for the season as his effort sailed over Matthews’ crossbar. A period of frustration then saw Mangotsfield’s Shaun Lamb and Geraint Bater both cautioned in the space of four minutes. Shephard then fired a shot well over, and Powell was well in the thick of it after an altercation with Jamie Laird fired up the Terras’ bench, who believed the striker stamped on Laird off the ball. As tempers continued to rise, Laird’s defensive partner Palmer was then given his marching orders on the stroke of half time. The central-defender’s challenge was deemed too reckless for referee Kevin Howick, and he had no hesitation with brandishing a straight red card, leaving the Terras with 10-men for the second period. With Chris McPhee slotting into the back four as a makeshift centre-half, Weymouth had a golden opportunity to put the game to bed. Sills and Yetton worked the ball well to leave Shephard with the goal at his mercy, but he failed to snatch his second of the afternoon. Ross MacNab then went close for the Field as he blasted over, and Yetton struck the inside of the post having beaten home goalkeeper Josh Dempsey, a chance that, if taken, would have put the tie beyond doubt. Weymouth were then denied a third goal once again when a Shephard free-kick was forced home, but the effort was ruled out for offside much to the disgust of Tim Sills, who earned himself a caution for dissent. A second booking was then given to Jacob Wannell to leave the Terras with just nine for the final 20 minutes. But Matthews, who pulled off a late save to deny replacement Reeko Best to keep his clean sheet intact, saw his troops hold firm with a two-man deficit, and put their name in the hat for the next round when Copp smashed the ball into the bottom corner to make it 3-0.
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