WEYMOUTH manager Mark Molesley lauded the impact of substitutes Harry Baker and Josh Wakefield after the Terras’ 2-1 Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division victory at St Ives.
Losing 1-0 with 20 minutes remaining, Molesley’s men overturned the scoreline thanks to two superb assists from Wakefield, who set up Brandon Goodship for his ninth goal in six games before providing a cross for Baker to head home an 89th-minute winner.
Having seen his substitutes win a sixth successive game for the Terras, who moved into third place in the league, Molesley told Echosport the duo brought “the baton home”.
He said: “It shows how important the subs have been (this season). It’s a squad of 16.
“When those subs came on they really did bring the baton home and they both played important parts in securing the three points.
“I think it’s just bringing on that fresh energy and players of good quality. Sometimes it’s about some players starting the game and doing the best they can.
“When the game opened up they came on and showed their quality, it’s a squad effort. That shows our togetherness and our team spirit.”
But despite Goodship’s run of form and Baker’s late winner, Molesley was keen to stress the “sheer quality” of Wakefield’s assists.
He said: “Josh changed the whole dimension of the game with two moments of sheer quality to get the goals.
“The pleasing thing with Josh is that the best is still to come from him. He’s got undoubted quality.
“As the season goes along he’ll get fitter, stronger and he’ll prove to be a fantastic acquisition for the club.”
And Molesley was also pleased by the Terras’ reluctance to stray from their tried and tested style of play in the closing stages.
“They worked hard, St Ives. Sometimes you don’t get your rewards until late in the game. We knew that they wouldn’t be able to keep us out all game.
“Sometimes it takes until later on when they’re stretched and tired. We had to be patient. It was windy with the conditions and they stuck at it. They kept knocking on the door.
“We didn’t change it and do things we weren’t working on. We kept being brave and it came off against a really dogged St Ives side.
“There wasn’t a lot of space to play around them, but we finally got our gaps and took our chances when we had to,” he said.
