WEYMOUTH midfielder Charlie Davis was relieved to open his goalscoring account in the Terras’ 2-0 FA Cup second qualifying round win over Chippenham Town last Saturday.
Davis has had to bide his time this season after being struck down with a sickness bug before the Ridgeway derby in late August.
Now fully fit, he made his first appearance in the starting XI since the illness and is hoping to continue the form he showed last season.
He told Echosport: “It was good to finally get off the mark. I got quite a few goals last season and wanted to continue that this year.
“I’ve had to wait for the chance really, being out of the side due to illness.
“It was a good day all round to be back in the starting XI and the way we ended the game as well.
“When we went down to 10 men on Saturday it was a bit difficult after not playing for a few weeks and with the rain battering it down too.
“We’ve had a good rest now so that will help the legs out.”
Assessing his goal, which opened the scoring against the Bluebirds, Davis felt the “whole move” was impressive.
He said: “It came from a throw in our own half. I think team wise the whole move was very good. It was quite an easy finish, Thommo put it on a plate for me.
“We have shown how we can put moves like that together. Our football has been very good.
“With that goal hopefully we showed how we can play when we need to, that was the bit of quality that we needed.”
Reflecting on his time out with sickness, Davis admitted it was one of his “lowest points” after missing the Dorchester derby match.
“I can’t remember that I’ve ever missed a game through illness. I started violently throwing up on the Sunday night. I knew then I wouldn’t be playing and I didn’t get any sleep that night.
“I had to call Moles on the Monday to say I was unable to play. It was even more gutting because of the quality of the team. I knew Josh (Wakefield) would do well.
“He’s been fantastic since he’s played central midfield. We’ve got massive competition for places. Unfortunately for me it was a case of missing out.
“On the flip reverse, Josh has been ill and I’ve staked a claim to be starting,” he said.
Despite going into half-time 1-0 up on Saturday, Davis said that both the players and boss Mark Molesley were unhappy with the performance.
He said: “I think Moles instils that in us. We knew we were better than what we were showing on the ball. The circumstances changed with Calvin being sent off.
“Last year we were criticised for not being clinical enough but on Saturday we showed that. The lads faced up to the challenge really well.”
And Davis feels that good home form and consistency will be “key” if the Terras are to maintain a challenge in league and cup.
He said: “I think having good (home) form is the biggest thing this season. If you win all your home games you won’t be far off winning the league, and we have travelled well this season which is great.
“Getting good home form is vital for us. If we win those home games our confidence will be massive, but the biggest key to success will be consistency for us.
“We’re only as good as the last game. We’re only seven or eight games in and we’ve won nothing yet. It’s an OK start but it could have been better.”
