CONCEDING just before half-time in the 2-1 defeat to Wealdstone was the “killer blow” for Weymouth, boss Brian Stock confessed.
Wealdstone sent the Terras to their fourth consecutive Vanarama National League loss with a fightback after Ben Thomson had put Weymouth ahead in the 25th minute.
The Stones started their comeback when Dennon Lewis netted in the 47th minute.
It was the fourth occasion Weymouth have conceded in first-half stoppage-time this season after narrow defeats to Barnet, Woking and Chesterfield.
And Weymouth made a poor start to the second half as Jack Cawley headed what proved to be the winner less than three minutes into the latter period.
The inopportune timing of the goals rankled Stock, who told Echosport: “At 1-0 we limited them to space and looked like a team in control.
“The goal just before half-time, it’s the killer blow. We need experience, voices, we need to understand to clear our lines effectively.
“We are causing our own downfall at the moment, conceding poor goals and having to work really hard to score them ourselves.
“We need to learn faster, get one or two players leading the line. Before half-time is an important time in the game.
“Not only that, when we did concede, we looked vulnerable to concede again, which is a concern after what happened (against) Dagenham.
“It’s a frustrating one for me. It’s one I as manager need to look at and understand the reasons why we’re conceding at those sorts of times and maybe implement something for the lads to concentrate right until the whistle.”
Stock called for his side to develop a “winning mentality” to close out leads.
He said: “When you look at the timing of the goal, if we go in at half-time 1-0 up it’s a different team talk.
“Although (at 1-1) we’re still in the game, that winning mentality, that experience is lacking to try and see out games.
“Communication has been poor, which has coincided with us conceding goals at crucial times.
“Even though we’ve come up against a strong, attacking Wealdstone side, we’re still in the game going into the last kick.
“Jack (Bycroft) has pulled off a few fantastic saves and we’ve had a few chances to get something out of the game, which is probably a good sign.”
Stock also praised the contribution of Thomson, who notched his first National League goal with an assured finish from a one-on-one showdown with home keeper Stuart Moore.
“Thommo’s been fantastic coming into the side the last two games,” Stock said.
“He’s led the line very well, held it up, chased lost causes and got on the scoresheet.
“He was feeling quite fatigued in his calves, so he couldn’t carry on.”
Weymouth host Wrexham in league action tomorrow (7.45pm).
