Terras return to winning ways in Devon
Summary:
Weymouth started an important run of games with a resounding four-goal victory on the road at Tiverton. A clever finish from Reid in the first half set the Terras on their way, while second-half goals from Brooks, Burrows and Bearwish secured a vital three points in their battle against relegation.
Match Report:
Facing a ‘must win’ game after four defeats in a row, manager Jamie Wells opted to revert to a back four for this fixture. This meant Douglas dropping to the bench. Burrows came in to start on the left of midfield, which freed up Goodship to play behind Reid who started up front, with Pollock dropping to the bench. Meanwhile Oakley Hanger was fit enough to be named in the matchday squad for the first time since November.
The Terras started the game with real intent and were soon creating chances. Brooks was the first to trouble the Tiverton keeper with a bullet header from a corner at the back post, but Ross was able to push it away. Tiverton took some time to get a foothold in the game, but on 15 minutes Coulibaly got into a dangerous position and flashed the ball across the face of goal, but Wellington was unable to get on the end of it.
Weymouth resumed their pressure, and after 25 minutes Swann drove in the penalty area against his old team and fired in a shot which Ross parried away. Just a minute later the Terras took the lead through Reid – reacting to a dangerous ball headed towards the 6-yard box by Burrows, he got in front of his marker and flicked the ball over Ross with his right boot.
The remaining 20 minutes of the first half passed by with few chances and little quality, but Tiverton were certainly not out of it. The home side started the second half brightly, with Stephens offering some creativity, but the wind was taken out of their sails after 54 minutes when Weymouth doubled their lead. Carson’s corner from the left was deflected into the path of Brooks who poked it home from close range.
Burrows extended the Terras’ lead 8 minutes later, showing great persistence after a tangle on the edge of the area, he protected the ball, got back to his feet and found space to fire his shot into the bottom corner. And Burrows would also be instrumental in creating the fourth goal a few minutes from time, when he charged down the left wing, beat his defender to the byline and picked out Bearwish at the back post for a simple finish.
A welcome return to winning ways for the Terras, made more impressive by the fact that, despite propping up the table, this was Tiverton’s heaviest home defeat of the season.
Reaction:
Speaking to Radio Terras after the game, Jamie Wells said it was “nice to get back to winning ways … during the week we worked heavily on attacking … and today proved that what we did worked well, with four different goalscorers”. On the performance of Matty Burrows, Jamie said “he was absolutely excellent and vital for our performance today”. And with regard to the players returning from injury, he said it was “nice to be able to pick from a full squad … we want competition for places and we’ve certainly got that now”.
This win sees Weymouth close the gap on the teams above them, although remaining in 19th place in the relegation zone – one point from safety but only 3 points away from 13th place. They now have the distraction of a Dorset Senior Cup final against Dorchester Town, before hosting relegation rivals Hungerford at the Bob Lucas Stadium on Saturday.
Lineups:
Terras: Evans; Betts (Hanger, 82), Brooks, Hutchinson, Carson; Robinson, Bearwish; Swann (Pollock, 63), Goodship (Genesini, 81), Burrows; Reid (Neale, 76)
Subs not used: Douglas
Goals: Reid (26), Brooks (54), Burrows (62), Bearwish (86)
Tivvy: Ross; Wilkins (Biss, 73), Wood, Down, Koerner, Billington, Hall (Kennell, 47), Stephens (Jordan, 83), Wellington, Coulibaly, Horne (Collins, 73)
Subs not used: none
Attendance: 410
Media:
Watch Jamie Wells’ post-match interview here:
Scroll through the match photos here: 7-Mar-2026 Tiverton Town vs Weymouth | Flickr
Match Report by Ian Middlebrook
