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Jem’s stunner gives Dorchester derby honours
A STUNNING second-half strike from Magpies player-boss Mark Jermyn settled the first Ridgeway derby of the season at the Avenue yesterday.
Jermyn’s 72nd-minute winner, a superb left-foot piledriver, was the one major highlight of an encounter that failed to properly ignite in front of a 1,357-strong crowd.
However, Dorchester won’t be too worries about that given the Terras beat them four times in all competitions last term.
The first talking point of the day was the return to the Dorchester side of former skipper Nathan Walker.
Defender Walker joined Gosport Borough in the summer after finishing last season at the Avenue.
However, he was back in the black and white of the county town club again having signed dual registration forms the day before.
Walker went straight into the team as striker Tony Lee missed out following a head injury against Chippenham on Saturday.
Terras boss Jason Matthews made four changes to his team after the 1-1 draw with St Neots.
In came Dean Evans, Pat Baldwin, captain Stewart Yetton and Mark Molesley, with Jordan Copp, Josh Grant, Chris McPhee and Billy Lowes dropping to the bench.
A typical Ridgeway derby atmosphere was evident as the game kicked off, and Evans had the first real chance on 14 minutes, forcing Alan Walker-Harris into a smart save.
Adam Kelly was then on the wrong end of a reckless challenge from Matt Oldring that fully warranted a yellow card.
Oakley Hanger was also cautioned for a foul on Calvin Brooks, but only after Tarbuck had curled an effort just wide on 26 minutes.
Solid defending from both sides meant scoring opportunities were at a premium for the remainder of the half, although Matthews had to be on his toes to catch a Jermyn drive.
The two teams began the second half unchanged as each now kicked towards their own fans at either end of the ground.
A block by Baldwin on Jonah Ayunga earned the former a yellow card, although Jermyn seemed to think the foul denied the Dorchester striker a goalscoring opportunity and was worthy of a more serious penalty.
Having not had much of an impact on the contest, new Weymouth signing Ben Thomson made way for Chris McPhee on the hour mark.
McPhee had the golden touch for his side on Saturday but there was very little for him, or indeed anyone, to feed off in and around both penalty areas.
That was until the 72nd minute when Tarbuck’s corner broke to Jermyn just inside the Weymouth area.
Taking aim with his left foot, Jermyn crashed an unstoppable shot past a helpless Matthews and into the roof of the net.
The home fans went wild as the Dorchester players piled on top of their manager in celebration.
And even with some fresh legs on the field, Weymouth just couldn’t fashion a clear-cut chance in the closing stages.
Molesley tried his luck from range with a free-kick that Walker-Harris tipped over, and the keeper smothered a half-hearted effort by Kelly, though neither attempt really threatened the goal.
