Weymouth 1 v 1 Bracknell Town
Following a disappointing result away to Sholing the Terras were hoping to take all three points away from Bracknell Town who were sat at the foot of the league when they arrived at the Bob Lucas Stadium. But after a sluggish first half, everything quickly unravelled after the break when the Robins went ahead with a goal from their Captain, Seb Bowerman. Despite it looking like Bracknell Town would take all the points back with them to Berkshire, the Terras equalised with a penalty in the 90th minute, splitting the points, and saving Weymouth from another home loss.
FIRST HALF
Weymouth got the game underway, playing from left to right with Goodship kicking off the game. The game had barely started when McCarthy was quickly fouled in the centre circle, awarding the Terras with an early free kick. The ball was delivered high towards the back of the 18 yard box, making contact with a Weymouth player, but going over the byline, providing an equally early goal kick to Bracknell.
Following some poor defending from the Terras the Robins were awarded the first corner of the game early on. Taken from the left-hand side, Clark punched the ball away but ultimately the Robins went offside, and it was a goal kick for Weymouth and a chance to get the ball back up towards the Bracknell end.
The opening 10 minutes of the game was a slow pace with lots of loose balls and throw-ins for both teams. There was a lack of cohesion and confidence from the Terras with lots of long balls on the pitch with free kicks given away to the Robins who had early chances on goals as the game continued.
The Terras showed some signs of improvement around the 20th minute. New signee Cook showed some excellent play however, he was clipped at the edge of the area, awarding the Terras a free kick and sending Bracknell Town’s Charlie Street into the referee’s notebook with the first yellow card of the game. This moment provided an opportunity for Weymouth to take a chance on goal, and when Goodship took a right-footed shot it went straight against the 4-man Bracknell wall and giving them a throw in.
The Terras took the throw-in quick giving Bearwish a chance with a strike that went straight against the goalkeeper, tipping it over the bar and awarding a corner to the Terras. Carson took the corner from the right-hand side, floating the ball in towards the 6 yard box, but it was headed down and wide by Douglas. Taking a deflection on the way through, it gave a second corner to the Terras which was taken from the left-hand side by Goodship. Taking the ball short this gave Hanger a chance to score but ultimately the ball bounced wide.
The Robins quickly responded with a corner of their own, taking it from the right-hand side and in towards the near post, but Weymouth headed it away. Gyebi soon after had his chance on goal, hitting the crossbar but the Robins quickly had a shot of their own. It was however some excellent defending from Douglas that sent the ball away from the top right corner, and so the score remained at 0-0.
At around 22 minutes a drinks break gave all the players a chance to take stock, but when the game got back underway, a challenge against a Bracknell player from Luke Cook got his name in the referee’s notebook.
Bracknell Town went on to show themselves to be the stronger side. They created an opportunity with a header from Pavey that went wide, followed quickly by another attempt on goal and a corner in the 30th minute. Taken from the left-hand side deep towards the back post a free header hit the side netting, almost putting Bracknell ahead.
The first half continued and the Terras struggled to keep possession of the ball, however around the 35th minute the Terras were awarded a corner following good work from Cook. Carson delivered a right-hand side corner, floating the ball in towards the back post but Weymouth were unable to convert it into an opening goal.
As the game continued, Bracknell took a short corner but it was good work from Goodship who flicked the ball behind, stopping Bracknell Town, who had plenty of room at the edge of the area, from taking the lead. The Robins were awarded a further corner and the ball was drilled in towards the goal but Clark performed an excellent save. There was a third consecutive corner for Bracknell, however drilling the ball towards an empty penalty spot made it a wasted opportunity.
As the first half came to a close, neither team were able to score and get ahead. Despite Bracknell showing to be the better side as they entered the break, Weymouth did have some good chances on goal but were unable to keep possession and coordinate their efforts to respond to any opportunities provided.
SECOND HALF
The second half opened with no immediate changes to the line up and there was an early opportunity for Weymouth to play forward, and Robinson took a fair shot from 35 yards, but the ball sailed wide of the goal.
Some poor defending from Weymouth gave Bracknell Town an attempt on goal, followed by a corner in the 49th minute. The corner was cleared away by Robinson but there was a header from Pavey that brought the Robins very close to scoring a goal.
Weymouth changed their shape for the second half to a 4-3-2-1 and showed some improvement ten minutes in with an attempt on goal by Bearwish. They continued to show some press and were awarded a well-delivered corner that was hooked goalwards by Robinson but unfortunately it went over the crossbar.
As the second half continued, the Robins were awarded a free kick and it was in the 60th minute that they took the lead with a goal from their Captain, Seb Bowerman.
The Terras, now trailing and facing another home defeat, made the first change of the game in the 63rd minute when Robinson made way for Tom Hewlett. Sprinting off the pitch, Robinson wasn’t showing signs of injury, however an energised Hewlett joined Cook up front on the forward line.
On the 67th minute, two Bracknell players went down, causing the game to pause and make way for the Robins to make their first substitution. Weymouth resumed the game with a thrown in, and despite Carson making a good run up field, Bracknell Town continued to put the pressure on to double their lead.
The Terras received their second booking of the match with a yellow card for Hewlett in the 70th minute after he instinctively took a swing for the ball and subsequently took a Bracknell player down too.
Hewlett continued to show some good work, taking the ball down the right channel, spinning away from the defender, and despite a great touch on the ball he was unable to get it towards the byline. Hewlett’s efforts did provide the Terras with a corner from the right-hand side, however, before it could be taken, Bearwish was showing signs of discomfort. Weymouth made their second change of the match, bringing on Sneap with 17 minutes of play remaining. The corner was taken by Carson, but there was some excellent defence by the goalkeeper. Bracknell Town proceeded with their attack and soon made a double change of their own.
With 15 minutes remaining, Weymouth needed to find an equaliser to level their chances of getting back into the game, but the Robins continued to put the pressure on and almost doubled their lead in the 79th minute, but luckily for the Terras the ball went wide.
This was followed by some good work from Goodship who was pressing forward but this was met with some solid defence from the Robins. It was however in the 82nd minute that Goodship’s game came to a close to make way for Odiaka to come on.
Continuing to try and find a second goal and secure their lead, Bracknell made a double change in the 84th minute, maximising their substitution allowance as they entered the final minutes of play.
As the game neared its conclusion, Clark took a goal kick up the field that was redirected by a Bracknell player toward the area. McCarthy received the ball, but when he attempted to shoot, a challenge from Bracknell Town resulted in his leg being taken out, and the Terras were awarded both a penalty and a lifeline. McCarthy placed the ball, and taking six steps back, he took the shot, driving the ball into the back of the net on the 90th minute, levelling the score.
With 6 minutes of injury time added on, both teams tried to find a winning goal to secure all the points, but neither was able to find the opportunity with both teams sharing the points at the final whistle.
Match report by
Jayne Degiorgio
