WEYMOUTH battled to earn a point away to Braintree Town in the Vanarama National League South on Saturday but Terras boss Mark Molesley said his side did not perform at their best.
The Terras’ unbeaten run stretched to six games thanks to a late equaliser from substitute Yemi Odubade, but Molesley says it wasn’t a vintage Weymouth performance.
Weymouth travelled to Hemel Hempstead on Tuesday night and had their longest trip of the season on Saturday against Braintree in Essex. They now look ahead to another midweek roadtrip to Havant and Waterlooville on Wednesday night (7.45pm).
Molesley has previously said the league can be “abrasive” and again alluded to the effect this congested fixture list is having on his team.
He said: “We are disappointed, I don’t think we played as well as we could have. Whether the long journey took its toll with the two away trips this week and another one on Wednesday, maybe that had an effect but I don’t know.
“We just came up short a bit. We created some good opportunities in the game and the boys huffed and puffed, they showed the right attitude and mentality, but we looked a bit tired to be honest.
“But, it’s still a point on the road when we haven’t played that well.”
It was a difficult game for both sides, with very few chances created by either team on a cold afternoon.
Molesley criticised the conditions but praised the mentality of his players: “It was really windy and quite a bobbly pitch, they started off well and made it a difficult afternoon for us.
“Once we got the first five minutes out of the way we started to dominate possession, but our execution was just below par today.
“The boys always work hard and try and do the right things but it just didn’t quite happen today.
“Their goal from our point of view was really poor. They broke on us and countered but we managed to get bodies back, unfortunately it took a double deflection and squirmed in.
“After that the character and resilience the boys showed in coming back in difficult conditions was good.”
Molesley was full of praise for the impact that Yemi Odubade had in coming off the bench to score late on and rescue a point for the Terras.
“That’s what we needed,” he said. “Someone with a clear head front of goal and Yemi has shown that he has that this season.
“It was a difficult game to get into because in those conditions there were never any real clear strikes of the ball but Yemi sat a couple of defenders down and coolly dispatched it past the goalie.
“It was another important goal from Yemi and he has had a knack of scoring important goals for us this season.”
Terras fans may have been expecting to see new signing Jaidon Anthony, who joined the club on deadline day in a loan move from Bournemouth.
However, the Weymouth faithful were made to wait to see their new star as he picked up a slight injury in training.
Anthony spent ten years in the Arsenal academy before moving to the Vitality Stadium.
He helped The Cherries lift the EFL Youth Alliance Cup and EFL Merit League Two title in his first season at the club and has just signed a new contract with the Premier League club.
Molesley said of his new signing: “He’s no stranger to me, I worked with him as a young player and he is a very talented footballer. He can play out wide or in any attacking roles. We do need to improve in the final third because we dominate possession but we can score more goals.
“He is a good technical player, a skilful player. He’s a young lad out for his first loan so I’m sure the Weymouth fans will enjoy watching him play.”
