Terras suffer defeat in Surrey as depleted squad hits more setbacks
Summary:
Weymouth suffered a heavy defeat at Chertsey on Saturday, but the 4-0 scoreline was by no means a fair reflection of the game that took place. The Terras dominated the first 45 minutes and will consider themselves very unlucky to have gone in at the break a goal behind. Nevertheless, an improved performance from Chertsey in the second-half, combined with some clinical finishing, secured all three points for the home side and consigned Weymouth to their fourth consecutive defeat on the road.
Match Report:
With several players on the injured list Steve Claridge already had limited options for team selection, but news that Ben Clark had been taken to hospital on the morning of the game created an additional problem. With no other goalkeeper available, defender Calvin Brooks was drafted in to wear the gloves, despite still recovering from injury himself.
Despite this setback, the Terras started the game on the front foot and dominated the early exchanges. Robinson won a free-kick on the edge of the area inside the first 5 minutes, which Goodship struck over the bar, and 5 minutes later Watts forced the Chertsey keeper into a good save.
The big talking point came just 12 minutes into the game. From deep in the penalty area, Bearwish fizzed the ball across the face of goal for Pollock to stab home, only to see Olorunfemi make a desperate goal line clearance. All the Weymouth players and the fans behind the goal were absolutely convinced the ball had crossed the line before it was cleared, but the referee’s assistant kept his flag down and play continued.
To make things worse, Weymouth found themselves a goal behind less than 2 minutes later – McCoy with a clinical finish after controlling Lee’s cross from the left wing. The bad luck continued shortly afterwards as Genesini sustained an injury and had to be replaced – Moss coming on to play on the left wing, while the versatile Pollock dropped into the left-back slot.
Still the Terras stuck to their task and continued to create a number of chances in the first-half, the best of which came towards the end of the 45 minutes, but both Watts and Pollock (after a long run) hit their efforts over the bar.
Weymouth continued to create openings at the start of the second half, but on 59 minutes it was Chertsey who scored to double their lead – a simple finish for Wilson after more good work from Lee on the left wing. A few minutes later Lee was nearly on the scoresheet himself, but his shot came back off the inside of the post. Then on 69 minutes Casey headed the third goal from Abisogun’s cross and Chertsey were now firmly in control.
Weymouth tried to get back into the game. A long range effort from Goodship tested Wynne-Roberts in the Chertsey goal, and a couple of corners in quick succession put him under more pressure, but they were still unable to find the net. Then, as the Terras pushed forward, they were left exposed at the back and Wilson took advantage of a loose ball to break away and make it 4-0 with 7 minutes left on the clock.
Reaction:
After the game Steve Claridge praised his players, saying “they were brilliant for 45 minutes, absolutely fantastic …”, but commenting on the second half he conceded “you want to mix things up, make a few substitutions, but we just don’t have that luxury …”.
Unfortunately this was to be the last game for two of our young players, Callum Watts and David Mantle (who heads back to Coventry City). Both players have been a credit to the Terras during a difficult period for the team and we wish them all the best with their future careers.
The defeat sees Weymouth slip down to 20th place in the table, after Dorchester’s victory over Hungerford, but they are still only 3 points away from 13th placed Basingstoke, and just need a couple of good results to pull themselves out of immediate trouble.
Next up the Terras will be hoping for a change of fortune as they take a break from league action to host Wimborne Town in the Dorset Senior Cup on Tuesday night.
Lineups:
Terras: Brooks; Betts, Mantle, Douglas, Genesini (Moss, 16); Robinson, Watts, Bearwish; Goodship (Stavrianos, 89), Stone, Pollock
Subs not used: none
Chertsey: Wynne-Roberts; Olorunfemi, Harrison, Casey, Wilson, Lodge (Birch, 75), Lee, McCoy (Montague, 64), Abisogun (Fisher, 75), Ridgley (Robertson, 60), Berry (Wiltshire, 84)
Subs not used: none
Goals: McCoy (14), Wilson (59, 83), Casey (69)
Media:
Watch Steve Claridge’s post-match interview here:
Scroll through the match photos here: 06-Dec-25 Chertsey vs Weymouth | Flickr
Look out for the match highlights here: Chertsey Town FC – YouTube
Match Report & Photos
Ian Middlebrook
