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Generals strike to see of Jason’s troops
TWO strikes either side of the break from visitors Chesham United ensured Weymouth slumped to a painful defeat on what was a disappointing evening for the home side at the Bob Lucas Stadium.
A Ben Thomson goal 11 minutes into the second period gave Jason Matthews’s men a glimmer of hope around the hour mark, but two further Generals’ strikes in the final quarter of an hour ensured the Terras were hit for four and defeated by another side in the lower echelons of the league table.
Having had what manager Matthews described as a “mid-winter break” for his side in the build up to the contest, Dean Evans came straight back into the heart of the Terras’ midfield to replace Shane Krac.
George Rigg also returned to take his place in the side, meaning Billy Lowes was left to settle for a place on the bench. There was no Chris McPhee in the squad through illness and Jake Wannell was banned.
Chesham went into the contest looking to hand a gift of three points to manager Andy Leese, who celebrated his birthday on the evening. Also sharing the big day was midfielder Matt Taylor, who turned 21 on the evening of the game. He was named in the away side’s starting line-up. Named on the bench for the hosts was veteran striker Barry Hayles.
In the early exchanges, it was Shane Gore in the Chesham goal who kept things goalless. He produced a fine save to deny the hosts an early breakthrough and, moments later, found himself called into action once again.
A neat piece of skill from Weymouth’s Mark Molesley allowed him to thread the ball into Stewart Yetton but the Terras’ striker could not make the most of what was a glorious chance on seven minutes.
And just two minutes later, it was Chesham who dealt the first blow. A Dave Pearce corner to the back post was not dealt with by the home side and that allowed Joe Gater to come up from the back, rise highest, and head the Generals into an early lead.
In a bid for a second, Kabongo Tshimanga then tried to loft the ball over Weymouth keeper Matthews after wriggling away from his man on the edge of the box but could not get it right.
At the other end, Rigg swung in a free-kick to the head of Thomson, whose effort caused problems before the Generals managed to scramble the ball away.
But, after another spell of Weymouth pressure, the hosts conceded once again in disappointing fashion.
A long throw was hurled into the Terras’ box and, after a flick on and some pinball in the area, Curtis Ujah put the ball into the bottom corner to make it 2-0 in Chesham’s favour. Matthews’ men received a feisty reaction from the home crowd as they reached the break.
Following the interval, Weymouth came out positively in a bid to get back into the contest.
Molesley fired wide after his powerful run had the Chesham defence in trouble and, shortly after, his back heel teed up Yetton, whose shot deflected just off target. Evans then headed over after leaping well to meet a corner.
And, after controlling the early stages of the second half, Weymouth got one back. A slick corner routine eventually saw the ball stood up for Thomson, who made no mistake in nodding home.
Adam Kelly was then booked as his frustration with match official Will Bull boiled over, he was shortly replaced by Chris Shephard, who made his return from injury.
That change almost paid dividends for the hosts as Shephard picked the ball up, found space on the edge of the area, and forced a sharp stop from Gore to his right.
It was soon becoming the Will Bull show as he turned down a penalty claim from Chesham’s Taylor, all the midfielder ended up earning was a caution.
And, on what was a frustrating night for the Terras, they shipped a third on 78 minutes. A free-kick was sent in and fell to Bossman, whose deflected strike nestled in the bottom corner.
And, throwing men forward in search of getting back into the contest, Hayles popped up to score with just five minutes left to condemn the Terras to their third league defeat in a row.
