ABDULAI Baggie was praised by Weymouth manager Mark Molesley for his calm late winning goal against Taunton Town on Tuesday night in the Evo-Stik Southern Premier South.
The two teams had been deadlocked after Matt Wright had opened the scoring for Taunton as part of a ferocious start from the away side, before Brandon Goodship equalised in the 59th minute and Baggie fired home in the 90th minute.
Molesley said: “Baggie was very dangerous on Saturday, he set up two goals and tonight (against Taunton Town). He has come good in the last minute.
“True character to him, he was certainly a threat but his end product probably did not get quite get the rewards for his hard work throughout the game and again he probably could have lost his confidence but he didn’t.”
Molesley in particular praised Baggie’s ability to stay calm when the pressure was on to find the back of the net so late into the game.
Molesley said: “He had his calmest moment at his most pressured moment and that was really pleasing for me as a manager.
“He came good in the end and when the pressure was really on he found the net for us so a great start from him this season and from all of the boys.”
The fiery atmosphere lent itself well to a match that did not disappoint, with both sets of fans producing an electric feel to the match prior to kick-off and Baggie’s goal sent the Bob Lucas Stadium into elation but Molesley took time to thank the crowd.
“I really thank them for coming out, because they did make the difference.
“You know what they stayed with us, that is what I was so proud of.
“They really stuck with us and after that first 20 minutes they could have jeered and they could have booed and they could have got on our backs.
“But they didn’t and they could see that after 20 minutes a couple of bits started to click and they really got behind us.
“I said to them at half-time you have lifted the crowd with the last part of the first half they are behind you and they are pushing and they are willing you on and they stayed with us until that last minute and that is the difference.
“They pushed us on and we all went together.”
The win also marked the end of a remarkable run for the Terras’ opponents Taunton Town, who had been on a 35-game unbeaten run in league competition.
When asked if that added extra satisfaction Molesley said: “Yes definitely, but we definitely did not take them lightly.
“We knew exactly what we were going to be playing against and that is what made it so disappointing that first 20 minutes.
“But I can only praise the character and the belief and if we can cut out those poor starts because we had it again on Saturday (in the 3-2 win against Harrow Borough) because we started poorly on Saturday and we started poorly again tonight (against Taunton Town).
“If we can stop giving the team a leg up and show the performance for the last 60 minutes then we can start turning a 60 minute performance into a 90 minute performance then we are on the right track.”
Despite his side’s good start to the season Molesley iterated how much work they have to do, but is pleased with the character and spirit his side have shown believing that it will take them a long way.
Molesley said: “We have got a lot of work to do, a hell of a lot of work to do to improve that.
“We are nowhere near the finished article, we have got to keep training and keep working hard and like I said as long as we have that belief, that team spirit and that character it will carry us a long way.”
