Match Preview: Weymouth v Barnet – Saturday 7th May 2022 – 15:00
In our final home fixture of the season, David Oldfield’s side take on Barnet at the Bob Lucas Stadium in the Terras’ penultimate game in the National League this season.
THE TERRAS
A strong defensive performance and an excellent penalty save by Ross Fitzsimons earnt David Oldfield’s side a point at Roots Hall with a 1-1 draw against Southend United. Skipper Josh McQuoid gave the Terras the lead heading into the break following a fantastic through ball from Omar Mussa to allow McQuoid to slot home. However, Southend United were able to get back into the game, something in which was expected given the wave after wave of attacking play throughout the game. Powell was able to equalise early in the second half, but couldn’t add to their tally, with Fitzsimons saving a penalty to keep it 1-1. The Terras will be hoping to build on Monday’s point and grab three points to aim to finish the season on a high in Weymouth’s final home game of the season.
David Oldfield ahead of today’s clash:
“We must expect another difficult challenge for us today. The opposition have had a better season than us and we have much to prove. We need to make sure we work as hard as we can in a collective performance in our final home match of the season. The supporters have been amazing and we will try very hard to give them something to cheer about at home.”
LAST SIX
SOUTHEND UNITED 1-1 TERRAS
TERRAS 2-4 SOLIHULL MOORS
TERRAS 1-6 WREXHAM
NOTTS COUNTY 3-1 TERRAS
TERRAS 0-0 YEOVIL TOWN
MAIDENHEAD UNITED 2-0 TERRAS
Weymouth currently sit 22nd in the table with 25 points from 42 games
THE BEES
Dean Brennan’s side come into this game off of back-to-back draws in the league with a 1-1 draw away to Altrincham on Monday and a 2-2 home draw with Grimsby last Saturday. The Bees have managed just two wins in their last ten games, with wins over Eastleigh and Maidenhead. However in this period, they have been subjected to a 6-0 away thrashing of Wrexham and a 7-3 away defeat to Dagenham and Redbridge. Barnet are sixteen points better off this season after 42 games than the last which shows signs of improvement, but the former Football League side have failed to find a rhythm so far that has seen them challenging near the summit of the table. Barnet have won 6, drawn 5 and lost 10 in their 21 away games this season and have the third worst defensive record away from home in the league ahead of Weymouth and Dover Athletic.
Player to Watch: Adam Marriott
The 31-year-old forward has scored 16 goals this season for the Bees and will be looking to add to his tally this afternoon to secure three points for Barnet.
LAST SIX
ALTRINCHAM 1-1 BARNET
BARNET 2-2 GRIMSBY TOWN
EASTLEIGH 2-3 BARNET
BARNET 1-3 SOUTHEND UNITED
DAG & RED 7-3 BARNET
BARNET 0-2 SOLIHULL MOORS
Barnet currently sit 18th in the league with 47 points from 42 games
@TerraStatman’s Facts of the Match
“All told we have played “The Bees” 52 times in all games since our first encounter in an FA Cup First Round tie back in 1961. Legend states on that day famous manager Frank O’Farrell led us to a 1-0 victory at home. Little Weymouth went on to have our best ever run in the completion, culminating in the legendary fourth round tie at Preston North End, a 0-2 loss after the first game was fogged off, not that our player Billy Bly realised. The keeper thought we were penning Preston in at the other end of the pitch and was still found guarding the sticks some 20 minutes after the abandonment!
History lesson over and back to Barnet. Eventually the Terras would next play the then Underhill-based-outfit in the Southern League in 1966/67, the season after our back-to-back league titles. But that campaign marked the start of a league rivalry that would continue almost unabated through to the formation of the Conference in 1979 and on until Weymouth dropped out of the league in 1989.
Even though we would narrowly have the measure of our opponents from the capital in the 60’s to the 80’s, in most recent times the Amber & Blacks have enjoyed more success. Since then, our only victory was an FA Trophy win in 1990. The next meeting was a draw, a pre-season friendly at the Bob Lucas in 2003 before a narrow 1-2 loss at The Hive in the FA Trophy in 2019/20 before we returned to league matches on our promotion last season when we failed to score in a 0-1 loss in London before a 0-2 loss in Dorset. In this campaign we again succumbed to defeat 3-1, but did at least score through Brandon Goodship, just five minutes after he came on as a sub in the second half.
And the stellar list of major/recent players who have turned out for both teams today is…
Cliff Akurang, Gary Borthwick, Lee Charles, Peter Guthrie, Anni Iannone, Peter Johnson, Xander McBurnie, Wayne Purser, Phil Sandercock, Tony Taggart, Paolo Vernazza.
Now it’s the final name here that springs out for me…The journeyman Vernazza only played 17 times for The Bees so I don’t know if opposition fans will remember him, but I certainly do when he played in the Claret and Blue. He was clearly a very classy player who I am sure would have enjoyed a much more prestigious career had the fates not dealt him blows of being attacked as a young man during a burglary whilst at Arsenal and other serious injuries. He only played one Conference National season at Weymouth but what a personal spell that was for the Islington man, notching no less than 16 assists during a taxing year for the club when we ultimately finished 18th of 24 clubs.”
