WEYMOUTH captain Jake McCarthy believes the step up to the Vanarama National League South has led to the Terras being punished more often for their mistakes.
McCarthy, who scored a header in the 4-1 win against St Albans last Saturday, was speaking prior to the impressive victory over the Saints.
Asked what the main difference was between the conquered Southern Premier South and the National League South, McCarthy, who holds the skipper’s armband in the absence of the injured Josh McQuoid, was clear.
“In the National League South you get punished a lot more,” McCarthy told Echosport.
“If you were to lose the ball, overplay or give a team a chance you’re normally punished, whereas the league below you might get away with one or two mistakes.
“Then, you get punished on the third or fourth one. But if you let a good player have too much time on the edge of the box, you get punished.
“That’s what we’ve found with the game against Wealdstone. They’re at the top of the league and any half-chance they were getting they seemed to be directing towards the goal.”
Commenting on the Terras’ upcoming FA Cup second qualifying round clash at Sholing on Saturday (3pm), McCarthy admitted Weymouth are keen to mount a cup run.
He said: “It’s always good to have a positive start to the cup and a good cup run for the club. The players always want to get as far as you can.
“You saw what happened last year with the lower league teams matching up with the Premier League giants, so you never know.
“It would be nice to do well in the league and have a cup run alongside it.”
