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Saints left stunned by red-hot Mark
THE Terras recorded a second successive league victory on the road on Saturday thanks to their red-hot striker.
Mark Ford netted a brace against St Albans City to take his incredible scoring streak to 10 goals in his last five games in all competitions, but he was not the only one to perform for the visitors in what was a fantastic team performance.
The Saints hit back twice and also missed a penalty but Weymouth never stopped working and eventually edged the gripping encounter in the closing stages.
Brendon King made two enforced changes to the Terras’ starting XI with Ashley Wells and Craig Duff coming in for Barry McConnell and Dan Smith.
McConnell missed out due to his brother’s wedding while Smith was ruled out through illness. Their absence also saw youngsters Charlie Holland and Louis Smith grab places on the bench, which also included the returning Lewis Clarke.
As for Wells, this was his first outing for the senior side since breaking an ankle in a pre-season friendly against a Bristol City XI back in July.
The Terras made a bright start with Craig Duff breaking into the box on seven minutes, only to get the ball stuck under his feet at the vital moment.
Having lost 5-1 in their previous outing at home to Stourbridge, the visitors looked determined to make amends which was epitomised by their work rate in the opening exchanges.
Home keeper Nick Jupp then pushed an effort wide from Ford before the Saints responded with an attempt from a corner that Kyle Critchell did well to hack away from close to the goal-line.
It was very even in terms of possession but as the half wore on the hosts started to carry more of a threat with Juan Onieva shooting just wide on 33 minutes.
However, the Terras were still holding their own and just two minutes later they took the lead when Ford continued his incredible goalscoring exploits by turning in Scott Walker’s pinpoint cross.
Not for the first time this season though, Weymouth then conceded just a minute later when Curtis Ujah scrambled a free-kick past the hapless Simon Evans.
That equaliser was a real kick in the teeth for the away side but that was not the end of the sudden influx of drama as Ben Joyce replied with a stunning lob to regain the Terras’ lead in the 38th minute.
Weymouth were now full of confidence but when Ford fired just wide after a fine piece of link-up play with Joyce, the Saints responded again, only this time Onieva’s attempt struck a post.
With St Albans having lost just one of their previous six at home in the league, the Terras could expect another backlash in the second half, and it duly arrived when a 51st-minute cross found Onieva unmarked at the far post, and this time he made no mistake.
Despite pulling back level again the hosts maintained the pressure and just two minutes later they had a great chance to go in front when Sean Shields was upended in the box for a stonewall penalty.
Ex-Fulham forward Barry Hayles stepped up to the spot but his effort was palmed away by Evans before Ryan Watts blazed over the rebound, much to the travelling fans’ relief.
Having dodged that bullet the Terras then slowly regained their composure and after a brief lull in action, they almost went back ahead on 76 minutes when Duff latched on to a cross from Critchell, only to see his shot on the turn saved by Jupp.
David Ijaha then wasted a good opportunity for the Saints, which he fired wide, before that man Ford came up with the decisive strike with just five minutes remaining.
This time the ex-Blandford United man latched on to a through ball from Stephen Reed before rounding Jupp and slotting the ball into the empty net to send the Terras’ faithful into raptures.
