Weymouth Women enjoy Island Double Header

Weymouth Women 2

Ackerman 8’, Beasley 61’

Bournemouth Sports Ladies 3

25’ 66’ 70’

Friendly (24/04/22)

Report: James Spring

Weymouth Women’s first team hosted Southern Women’s League runners-up Bournemouth Sports in a friendly at Portland on Sunday, as they look to build towards next month’s County Cup final.

It was set to be a real test for the Terras against a higher league side, and they were missing player-manager Tasha Sibley, defender Ash Taylor, and striker Sophie Webber-Green.

But it didn’t stop Weymouth from flying out of the blocks and taking an 8th minute lead when Cimon Barnard-Irons set up Dani Ackerman who rifled into the roof of the net from just inside the box after Bournemouth Sports failed to properly clear a corner.

The Terras could have made it 2-0 a few minutes later when Charlie Wilson raced through one on one with the goalkeeper, the keeper spread herself well to smother the shot.

Lily Beasley then saw an effort go wide of the mark at the back post as Weymouth made all the early running.

The higher division visitors gradually grew into the game and equalised on the 25 minute mark when their striker managed to beat Osment to a ball into the box and roll it into the bottom corner.

Bournemouth Sports would dominate possession for the rest of the first half but Weymouth were able to maintain their shape and discipline and ensure they went in level at the break.

Bournemouth Sports began the second half well and Osment did well to hold onto a dipping long range strike.

A few minutes later she was able to jump to tip an attempted chip onto the crossbar and hold the rebound.

The Terras withstood the pressure, and they retook the lead just after the hour mark. Kristina Manitelow picked the ball up in the centre circle and set off on a driving run at the centre of the Bournemouth defence. Weymouth had a 3 on 2 break, and Manktelow laid the ball off for Lily Beasley on the edge of the box, and she curled the ball around a covering defender into the far bottom corner of the goal to make it 2-1.

Unfortunately the lead would only last for 5 minutes as Bournemouth Sports bundled home an equaliser from a corner after a game of pin-ball on the box which saw a couple of efforts blocked on the line before they eventually forced it home.

Having done a lot of running in the sweltering conditions, Weymouth were visibly tiring as the second half wore on, and Bournemouth took advantage with a quick switch of play which resulted in their pacey forward running through to slot home to put them 3-2 up.

Bournemouth’s superior fitness showed in the closing stages as they kept possession well, but Weymouth continued to defend valiantly with several excellent tackles and blocks to keep the Terras in the game.

It ended in defeat for Weymouth but plenty of positives for them to take from a hard fought game against an exceptional side. The defeat certainly didn’t dampen any spirits as the Terras lifted the Dorset Women’s league trophy after the match.

Terras: Osment, B.Barnard-Irons, Whiting, Potter, C.Barnard-Irons, Sapsford, Wilson, Manktelow, Ackerman, Beasley, Howard.

Subs: De Havilland, Johnson, Clark.

Weymouth Women Development 8

Clark 33’ 56’ 70’, Wootton 36’ 61’ 66’ 79’, Locke-White 90+5’

Shaftesbury Ladies Recreational 0

Weymouth Women’s young development side signed off their debut season by maintaining their 100% winning record in the league with an entertaining 8-0 win over Shaftesbury.

There was little to choose between the two sides in the first half an hour with very few clear goal-scoring opportunities to choose from, but on 33 minutes Weymouth made the breakthrough when Laura was played through the defence and ran through into the box before unselfishly squaring to Ruby Clark who made no mistake to open the scoring.

Just 3 minutes later Katie Wootton doubled the lead as Weymouth went in 2-0 to the good at half-time.

Weymouth took complete charge in the second half. Ruby Clark added her second and Weymouth’s third on 56 minutes, before the start of a dead ball masterclass from Katie Wootton.

On the hour mark, Weymouth got a free kick on the right flank on the edge of the box. Katie Wootton stepped up and her free-kick flew over the goalkeeper into the far corner.

Five minutes later Wootton was over another free-kick around 25 yards out, and the result was the same. She struck a powerful strike that looped over the wall and over the goalkeeper into the net for 5-0.

Just four minutes later Wootton turned provider when she set up Ruby Clark for her own hat-trick, before Wootton came up with another moment of magic on 79 minutes.

It was another free-kick, this time in a central position 35 to 40 yards out. It looked too far out for a shot this time, but Wootton hit an absolute rocket that flew over the goalkeeper into the net for 7-0.

And Wootton rounded off a scintillating display by setting up Caprice-Locke-White to add Weymouth’s 8th of the afternoon in injury time on an excellent day for Weymouth Women at Grove Corner.