WEYMOUTH manager Mark Molesley insists the table-topping Terras will give Dorchester Town “the respect they deserve” ahead of their Ridgeway derby clash at the Bob Lucas Stadium today (1pm).
Molesley also spoke of the “great job” that counterpart Steve Thompson is doing with the Magpies ahead of their meeting in the Evo-Stik Southern Premier South.
Weymouth warmed up for the battle with their arch-rivals by beating Chesham United 5-0 away, but Molesley expects a “difficult game” against the “well-organised” Magpies.
He told Echosport: “We take each game as it comes, we’ll give Dorchester the respect they deserve.
“I think Steve Thompson’s doing a great job down there. He’s got them well-organised and they’re a good strong Southern League outfit.
“Add the spice of a derby into it as well, it’s going to be a difficult game.
“We can only concentrate on ourselves, though. It’s what our attitude is like and what our work-rate’s like in the game.”
Molesley again expressed his hope that the Terras’ faithful could turn out in force for the derby once more.
He said: “I really hope the fans come and see it. I hope they come and get behind us because they really make a difference. They stayed with us against (Taunton) when we came back late and we scored late again (last) Saturday.
“The boys keep pushing and they go to the end, that certainly helps by being cheered on by our home faithful.”
Commenting on the Terras’ thumping of pointless Chesham, in which striker Brandon Goodship scored his fifth hat-trick for Weymouth, Molesley felt his side put their “stamp” on the game as it endured.
He said: “Chesham are a good outfit. They pushed us hard for the play-off spot last year. I think they’re in a false position at the moment. They haven’t quite nicked the results their performances deserved, so we weren’t taking them lightly.
“We knew we were in for a good game and it was a bit nip and tuck at the start, as you’d expect away from home. I felt we grew into the game, started to really establish ourselves and put our stamp on the game as it went on.”
Weymouth went ahead in the 41st minute through a Goodship penalty after he was adjudged to have been fouled in the box, despite protests from Chesham.
Molesley said: “Brandon was away. (The defender) probably ended up getting the ball, but he slid through Brandon first. Where the guy had slide tackled it only landed to Antonio Diaz, who was one-on-one with the keeper anyway.
“I think he only stopped the inevitable, it would have ended in a goal whether he played on or not.
“We scored goals at key times and killed their momentum. Our back four defended really well and I thought Jordan Seabright made some great saves at pivotal times.
“We got everything that we wanted out of an away performance, a clean sheet, both strikers scoring goals, a hat-trick for Brandon – everyone played their part in a good away win.”
But Molesley remained grounded, adding: “There’s a lot more to come in the group. There’s still plenty to work on – we’re certainly not getting carried away.
“We’re certainly not the finished article. We’ll be striving to keep getting better.”
