What a rollercoaster ride of a season this has been, eh?
We certainly had our ups and downs, and many changes, from our squad, to our gaffer, and, most importantly, our league position.
But despite our setbacks, a certain loss to Bath City coming to mind, there was plenty to cheer about, notably a joint-golden boot shared between our no.10 Brandon Goodship and super-sub Ezio Touray.
Who could forget our dismantling of arch-rivals Yeovil Town for the first time in 36 years, either?
So, with all that being said, here’s the good, bad and ugly from: Your community, your team, your Terras!
WEYMOUTH 1-5 BATH CITY: EARLY-SEASON SETBACK
You don’t need reminding of this result, do you?
The result was a shock, to say the least, especially considering our excellent start to the campaign on Dorset turf.
After that torrid Tuesday night on 7 November, it may have been hard to believe that we had yet to be defeated at home in the league before The Romans came down to visit.
We scored one. They scored five; they ran us ragged. We’ll stop there, as we don’t want to relive the trepidation once again.
But, what if we were to tell you that it was, in the long run, something that would benefit our Terras?
Unsurprisingly, then-manager Bobby Wilkinson, who told us after full time that we “let ourselves down,” and the players unanimously agreed that performances this unacceptable could “never happen again.”
What then resulted was, in the words of Brandon, a “sit-down” between the players and the coaching staff.
“A few home truths were said,” Brandon bluntly added.
But, whatever was said, it worked, and inspired our boys to “head in the right direction.”
Even Bobby was impressed by what he then saw.
“Even in training, their commitment and time levels are changing. They arrive early and stay behind to practice even more,” Bobby remarked to us at the time.
Something had clearly inexplicably changed; from then on, we saw a mere group of players transform into a team of true competitors, full of belief.
It paid dividends immediately in our next game, a precious point earned away at Farnborough, courtesy of a heroic last-minute Jared Thompson penalty save.
Importantly, we would not be defeated by such a high margin for the rest of the season, only losing by three goals once in the process.
That performance, as promised, never happened again.
TO HARRY PARSONS: THE BOY WHO SIGNED
It is now December, and, whilst things were clicking at the back, having conceded just five over our next four league games, there was something that was still lacking just a little up top.
In desperation, Bobby worked his wonders and searched through his contacts, looking to find someone who could get us firing again.
Who he found was a player who he had already attempted to pinch over the summer, and, on 14 December, in came 21-year-old Harry Parsons.
Harry may have already been a Weymouth player at this stage of the season, had he not received an offer from Maidenhead United that he “couldn’t refuse.”
However, we were now in December and Harry was in contact with Bobby once again.
For us, we now had a silky striker who could lead the frontline, and, for Harry, he had the chance to play under a manager who had already shown his “belief” that he could be the one to do it.
It was, well and truly, a match made in heaven.
The chance for Harry to make his impact could not have come sooner; our previous 2-0 FA Trophy defeat to lower-league Hendon was a result we were keen to forget.
So, just two days after Harry became a Terra, he found himself in the starting line-up away to Chippenham Town.
But, when we found ourselves a goal down at halftime, things looked to end the same as they had of late.
However, as Bobby would tell us at full time, something changed in the second half.
Six minutes.
That’s how long it took Harry to score in the second half.
Will Henry was totally helpless, as our new starboy slid the ball underneath the Chippenham shot-stopper.
Did we mention it was his first shot of the game?
The clinicality of our new man not only gave us a glimpse of what we were missing, it appeared to awaken an attacking spark in the other Terras, too.
No one would exemplify the attacking improvement better than Brandon, whose thunderous long-range strike smacked against the crossbar later on in the game.
The main takeaway from this game, in Bobby’s words, was our players’ ability to “bounce back” from blows on the pitch.
The question would be whether they could carry on that momentum.
COMEBACK KINGS: THE START OF A NOT-SO DRY JANUARY
From two losses and one goal in the two games preceding our trip to Chippenham, to four goals, a draw and a win in the two subsequent matches, that question was answered swiftly
The second contest was a fruitful tie away at Weston-Super-Mare, where we edged out as victors in a five-goal thriller.
Unsurprisingly, Brandon and Harry were the difference-makers, the former anticipating a through-ball from our new star man by NUTMEGGING a powerless Max Harris to score the winner.
For a man, in and out of the team at the start of the campaign, now well and truly our goal machine, proof that we were moving upwards was staring right at us.
But, now it was New Year’s Day, and having only played The Seagulls five days beforehand, vengeance was envisioned by the visitors.
Finding ourselves 3-1 down with less than 15 minutes to go, Weston had looked to atone for their Boxing Day-blues.
That was until Super Sub Ezio marched onto the pitch.
In a matter of seconds, he found Brandon, who slotted past Harris to pull one back.
Then, with just two minutes of regular time on the clock, a bullet header from our killer forward brought us level, earning ourselves a valiant point.
Bobby told us after the final whistle that this was an example of our players’ “belief,” even when finding themselves behind.
This level of desire would continue for the next month, where we produced 10 goals over an awe-inspiring FOUR wins in five games.
The sole defeat was an unfortunate one, as we narrowly lost a mid-January 2-1 contest away to Tonbridge Angels, in a game where our second-half menace did not reflect the final score.
“Confident” was a word that Bobby would regularly use to describe this group of players around this time.
For anyone who had the privilege of watching the mighty Terras in the early months of 2024, they would certainly understand why.
APRIL FOOL’S DAY: THE GLOVES ARE OFF
What followed after January were a few twists and turns.
February followed, where commanding captain Calvin Brooks suffered a serious knee injury, keeping him out for the remainder of the campaign.
His absence proved to be a gaping hole in our defence, as we then conceded 15 in our next five games.
In swift fashion, we brought in young shot-stopper Harvey Wiles-Richards, on loan from Bristol City, as we looked to put an end to our leaky defence.
Harvey’s heroics were successful, letting in just three in as many matches following his arrival.
However, as our progression appeared on the right track once more, an unexpected statement was announced.
On 27 March, it was revealed that we would be parting ways with Bobby and his coaching staff with immediate effect.
This meant that we would see ever-popular goalkeeping coach Jason Matthews take charge for the time being.
Importantly, though, we were now set to play the next set of games without a permanent manager at the helm, one of those being our most important of the campaign.
With derby day looming on the horizon, we had just five days to prepare to face those lot up the road.
It was a fixture that hadn’t been kind to us for some time, having not seen us achieve full bragging rights since 1988.
Yet we were powering through our recent setbacks, atoning for our heavy November defeat with a crucial point earned in Bath as Jason sat in the dugout.
So, with it finally being matchday, almost 5,000 of us were in the Bob Lucas Stadium, roaring and ready.
As Jason rightly told us before the game, “it’s such a massive occasion for everyone.”
This rang true no better than with our players, who ran The Glovers ragged from the very start.
Winning every second ball and dominating with it at our feet, it certainly wasn’t our arch-rivals who looked like a team at the top of the table.
Joel Rollinson, at one point, even managed to nutmeg the opposition, before winning a foul in the process.
But the highlight of the game was undoubtedly Dan Roberts’ cheeky finish, and even cheekier celebration, shushing the dumbfounded Yeovil supporters.
If anyone had questioned the desire and togetherness that those close to the club had been talking about before this game, they certainly couldn’t do so now.
This proved to be the only goal of the intensely-fought contest, as a spectator was unfortunately taken seriously ill towards the end of the second half.
But nothing could be taken away from our boys, who made our town proud.
In the crowd watching was newly-announced gaffer Mark Molesley, whose return was greeted by the adoring Terras faithful before the game.
Since Mark has returned to the dugout, results haven’t yet gone to plan, as we remain winless in our first five games under his spell.
But, if his previous tenure here is anything to go by, exciting times surely lie ahead for: Your community, your team, your Terras!
Article by
Jack Webb
