Match Preview
In an important game for sides at both ends of the table, Weymouth welcome Duntable Town to the Bob Lucas Stadium for their Evo-Stik League Southern Premier match on Saturday afternoon.
The Terras will be buoyed by a hard-fought 2-1 victory away to Biggleswade Town last weekend; a bullet header from Thiago Caze da Silva and a wonder-goal from Brandon Goodship were enough for Weymouth to bring home an important 3 points. Dunstable Town had a difficult afternoon away to Tiverton Town last weekend which saw them defeated 7-1, the Blues weren’t helped by losing highly thought-of goalkeeper Will Hunt to injury and Peter Kioso to a red card.
Weymouth’s good form continued last week, they have won 5 out of their last 6 games, the only defeat coming away to Hereford. Weymouth have been impressive at both ends of the pitch scoring 13 goals in their last 6 games and only conceding 5. Dunstable Town have lost 5 and drawn 1 in their last 6 games, their draw coming in an impressive performance away to Dorchester Town.
Dunstable Town’s current manager, Tony McCool took over at the club in July 2017. McCool, who has previous coaching experience with Norwich, Bradford, MK Dons, Luton Town and QPR, has been given the difficult task of keeping Dunstable Town in the Southern Premier Division whilst working without a playing budget. At the moment he has lead the Blues to 23rd, 4 points ahead of relegation rivals Gosport Borough.
After King’s Lynn Town’s 1-0 victory over Slough Town in midweek, the Terras are unable to climb any higher in the table this weekend, and thanks to a 5 point gap between the two sides they are unable to be caught by Kettering Town regardless of results.
In the Top 6 of the Southern League Premier Hereford travel to Basingstoke Town, Slough Town are away to Bishop’s Stortford, Kettering Town will be visiting and Stratford Town, and Chesham United are also away as they travel to St Ives Town. King’s Lynn Town have their second home game this week as they play hosts to Farnborough.
Current League Standings
| # | Team | Pl | HW | HD | HL | AW | AD | AL | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | Pts |
| 3 | Weymouth | 37 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 23 | 6 | 8 | 80 | 42 | 38 | 75 |
| 23 | Dunstable Town | 37 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 30 | 24 | 119 | -95 | 13 |
Team News
Weymouth have no fresh injury concerns.
Harry Baker looks to have recovered from his head injury as he was praised by Mark Molesley for his appearance off the bench away to Biggleswade Town.
Speaking to EchoSport Molesley said: “It was great to see Harry Baker back around us after something like that, it was a bit of a horrific challenge on him and at one point we were fearing the worst but it is great to get him back out.”
Molesley explained: “He was really unlucky not to score straight away with a great run across the line and fingertips from the keeper just put it on to the post and agonisingly just bounced back out.
“It was great to have him back involved.”
Mark Cooper continued his quest for match fitness last week as he was involved in Melksham Town’s 8-2 victory against Wells City in the Toolstation Western Premier Division.
Discussing Cooper’s playing time at Melksham Molesley told EchoSport: “There is no point in me carting him around the country and him sitting on the bench because when we need Coops I need him match fit and ready to go.
“At the moment he is getting some match fitness and then getting himself back up to speed and ready to push for a place with us.”
News From The Terras
Speaking to theterras.com Mark Molesley said “In our last meeting, Dunstable taught us a valuable lesson. I don’t think we performed drastically bad at Dunstable if we are being honest but of course, it was disappointing to lose.
“We need to make sure we approach the game as we do with all the others and show them the respect they deserve. If we play to our ability then we have every chance against anyone in this league.
“It’s about having the drive and hunger in every game and my players have had that throughout the season. ”
When quizzed about the team news the Weymouth manager said “As I said last week, the snow probably did us the world of good. If anything I have a bit of a headache this Saturday.
“I don’t think anyone in the squad deserves not to be playing. At It’s up to me and my staff in terms of what we do with the squad. When players get opportunities it’s up to them as individuals to take them.”
News From The Blues
Dunstable Town are likely to be without keeper Will Hunt who looks to have suffered ligament damage on his ankle from last weekend’s fixture to Tiverton Town, although the Blues initially feared he may have broken it. It will be a huge blow for Dunstable Town to lose Will Hunt, who was highly praised for his performance in their 2-1 win over Weymouth in January.
Manager Tony McCool has a lot of faith in his young squad, predicting them to have bright futures in the game, saying “The good thing is I know that these young guys have got so much better. They have grown and matured so much and I know that they will have great times in football.
“When it happens it might surprise people, especially those that doubted them. It won’t surprise me!”
Ones to Watch
Arel Amu and Andrew Osei-Bonsu
Despite Dunstable Town’s lowly position in the league table, Arel Amu has still managed to bag himself 9 goals this season, 7 coming in the league, and was one of the goal scorers in Dunstable Town’s 2-1 win over Weymouth at Creasey Park.
Amu started his career at Luton Town and made a handful of cup appearances for the Hatters before spells at Barton Rovers, Arlesey Town and Welling United. Dunstable Town, who sit 4 points off the bottom of the table, are going to need Amu to remain in form if they are to stay up.
Andrew Osei-Bonsu is an ex-MK Dons midfielder who was awarded the away man of the match in Dunstable Town’s last outing away to Tiverton Town. Osei-Bonsu caused problems for Dorchester Town as Dunstable Town came away from the Avenue Stadium with a point in February.
The Stats Say
Weymouth have met Dunstable Town 8 times over the past 4 years, Weymouth winning twice, losing twice and drawing 4 times. It is worth noting that in that time all 3 meetings between the two sides at the Bob Lucas Stadium have finished in a draw; the most memorable of these was in February 2017 when Weymouth found themselves 3-0 down after 38 minutes and had to rely on a 93rd minute equaliser from Ashley Wells to salvage a point.
In the previous 8 meetings between the sides there have been 27 goals, 15 to Weymouth and 12 to Dunstable Town.
Brandon Goodship’s goal last weekend now means he has 9 goals in his last 9 games for Weymouth and is 3 goals ahead of Hereford’s John Mills in the race for the golden boot.
Admission Info
Adults – £11
Concessions – £8
Children (Under 16s) – £3
Bob Lucas Stadium,
Radipole Lane
Weymouth
Dorset
DT4 9XJ
Last Time We Met
The Terras are hoping to bounce back from last time they met this weekend’s visitors as it resulted in a 2-1 loss away at Creasey Park. The home side took a 2-0 lead with Dunstable Town’s star player Amu getting the second. Brooks scored a late conciliation but it wasn’t enough to bring home a point on the day.
Since the victory over the Terras, Dunstable Town have only picked up 1 point in 7 which came away at Dorchester Town.
Dunstable Town: Hunt, Kioso, Okito, A Ward, Trif, Ogden, Young, Ward, Black, Amu, Osei-Bonsu, Collins. Subs: Williams (88), Ladipo (81), Sonuga (70), Lamptey
Goals: Young (25′), Amu (66′)
Terras: Dennis, Wells, Sa (McCarthy 53), Zubar (Baker 68), Buckley, Carmichael, Brooks, Ngalo (Davis 62), Thomson, Goodship, Baggie. Subs not used: Boore
Goal: Brooks (72′)
Attendance: 121
Terras Man of the Match: Josh Carmichael
