‘DISAPPOINTED’ Weymouth boss Brian Stock felt his Terras side were beaten while trying to play in the right manner as Notts County claimed a narrow 1-0 win.
In a performance littered with positives, Weymouth could count themselves unlucky not to have pocketed a point at least.
Stock’s men faced up well to County’s expansive, possession-based style and defended doggedly in the first half as Jacob Mensah shone in central defence.
Elisha Sam’s deflected cross deceived Ethan Ross to give County the lead, but Weymouth’s Jake McCarthy missed two “gilt-edged” chances as the Magpies just held on to win.
Weymouth’s display was in keeping – if not better – than the previous victories against Hartlepool and Aldershot, leaving Stock with no alternative but to praise his players.
Post-match, he said: “Obviously I’m disappointed to lose the game.
“When you look at the amount of effort the players put in, we’ve thrown everything at a very good Notts County side.
“We’ve had some gilt-edged chances that on another day would probably have gone in the back of the net.
“We’ve lost 1-0 but we’ve done everything in our power to try and win.”
Stock hailed Weymouth’s defensive display, which limited the Magpies to very few clear chances.
He said: “The lads stuck to the gameplan really well.
“They’ve exposed other teams, Notts County, in our league in terms of possession, so we had to be very resolute and compact and understand where and when to press them.
“On the flip side I thought we were dangerous on the counter attack.
“When you look at the amount of possession we had second half, unfortunately we couldn’t turn it into goals. I can’t ask any more from the players.”
Stock felt the winning goal was “fluky”.
He said: “They’ve gone up the other end and you’d probably say it was a fluky goal, it’s deflected and gone in.
“The pleasing thing for me is that we didn’t drop our heads. We kept going right to the end and we looked like a team that are going to score at any moment.
“From where we have been previously this season, I’m really pleased.
“If there is a (good) way to lose a game of football, we’ve just seen that.”
He added: “We’ve had a lot of shots on target, we’ve tested the goalkeeper, we’ve had crosses in the box.
“Previous games, we’ve fallen past the marker. When you look at the way they’ve gone ahead, there’s no legislation for trying to recreate that on a training field.
“A frustrating one, but really pleased with the attitude and desire.
“It took a really awkward deflection. It’s looped over Ethan and it’s just one of those things. We can’t do much about it.”
Commenting on the outstanding performance of Mensah, Stock said: “Brilliant, really good.
“Maybe Dom (Revan) gets more of the highlights because he’s an Aston Villa player.
“I think Jacob has been immense and they’ve built up a really good partnership.
“Although we’ve lost 1-0, we don’t really look like conceding as a team. It’s come a long way from previous performances.
“We defend from the front, so we look at how the striker closes down, how the midfield press, how the wide players tuck in.
“It’s not just the back four that deserve credit, it’s a real team performance.”
