By Alfie Lumb
The Terras stunned high-flying Dartford, beating the 2nd placed side 3-1 at the Bob Lucas Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
It took Weymouth just 2 minutes for the Terras to notch the first shot on target. Tom Blair swung a cross into the back post, taken down by Harvey Slade. The Weymouth wing back took on a shot through a crowded penalty area which was cleared off the line by Tom Bonner, but only as far as Harry Kyprianou. The wing back on the opposite side to Slade took on a shot from range which had deflected into the path of Ahkeem Rose, but the forward was flagged for offside by the official.
Ten Minutes into the game the visitors had a chance to find an opener. Alex Wall was steaming through the defence and a slip from Nathan Carlyle allowed Wall to take a long ball down and work his way into the area. Carlyle had recovered however, and chased down Wall before he could take the shot on goal, executing a perfectly timed tackle to clear the danger.
The Terras got the opportunity to take the lead in the 24th minute after Ahkeem Rose was scythed down in the area. Referee Neil Pratt did not hesitate pointing to the spot. Rose stepped up to convert the penalty, and did so cooly, slotting it past Ben Dudzinski who had guessed the wrong way.
Four minutes later, the visitors came close to drawing level when Luke Coulson was found with a long ball but Oualah did well to come off his line to clear the danger.
Weymouth were doing well to clear their lines, with Brendan Willson and Carlyle putting their bodies on the line to deny a goal with the ball going behind for a corner in the 43rd minute. Despite possession being in Weymouth’s favour, Dartford got back into the game from the resulting corner as it was played short to Pierre Fonkeu. The Ex-Terras forward had never scored in the Bob Lucas, but did so in Black and White, poking the ball past Oualah at a tight angle in a crowded penalty area.
Dartford played a plethora of offside traps in Weymouth’s next 3 plays, winning a set-piece off each long ball attempted to find a way to break. They did so in the 52nd minute down the far side with Kieran Murtagh who thread a ball forward to Wall in the area. The striker took on a shot first time in order to catch Oualah out at his near post but the keeper did well to parry the ball away from close range.
Bradley Ash gave the Terras the lead again in the 64th minute, courtesy of a fantastic assist from Xander McBurnie. The two players were in unison throughout the attack, combining well with each other. Ash plays a one-two pass with McBurnie, with the Terras midfielder prodding the ball delicately into the space that Ash was running into. The Forward opened up his body to take on the shot first time, curling it around Dudzinski.
The Terras extended their lead in the 77th minute through Tom Blair. The Terras winger had been devastating all game on the left side, and converting a set-piece from over 25 yards out with his right boot, beating Dudzinski with a curling, unstoppable effort.
Dartford tried to get a goal back late on through Malachi Napa. The substitute gained ground in the Terras final third but his effort was tame and straight into the gloves of Oualah.
Late into added time, Blair had worked his way into the area well before taking on a shot, but the ball went inches over the crossbar.
