Terras stun league leaders after lightning start
Summary:
Weymouth delighted their fans and stunned their opponents with a hard-fought victory over the runaway league leaders on Saturday. A quickfire double from Brandon Goodship in the first six minutes of the game put them in a great position. And although the visitors pulled one back shortly afterwards, Watt restored the Terras two-goal cushion before half-time. A dogged defensive display in the second half ensured all three points remained at the Bob Lucas Stadium.
Match Report:
Walton & Hersham arrived at the Bob Lucas Stadium 12 points clear at the top of the table and unbeaten in their last 21 league games – their only defeat so far coming back in August – so expectations amongst the home crowd were muted. Jamie Wells opted for a change in formation with five at the back, making three changes to the team that faced Evesham the previous Saturday. With Genesini not yet recovered from his injury, Pollock replaced him at left-back while Douglas was also added to the backline. Burrows came in for Bennett on the right flank with Gray dropping to the bench.
The game could not have started any better for the Terras. Just a couple of minutes had passed when Burrows picked up Pollock’s cut-back and was brought down on the edge of the area. Despite heavy appeals for a penalty, the referee indicated a direct free-kick just outside the box. No problem for Goodship who stepped up and curled a beauty round the wall and into the bottom right corner.
The home crowd were still celebrating when the Terras doubled their lead just three minutes later. Great interplay between Goodship, Bearwish and Pollock saw Goodship through on goal, and he slipped the ball past the Walton keeper on his inside post to send the home crowd wild. But it was still early and it wouldn’t be long before the visitors were back in the game. Defise picked out Powell’s diagonal run, the striker controlled it with his chest, saw Evans off his line and lifted the ball neatly over him to pull a goal back.
Walton & Hersham really started to dominate the ball from this point onwards, and when Powell fell to the ground after a tangle with Brooks in the Weymouth penalty area the home side were relieved to see the referee award a goal kick. But the Terras were still looking dangerous on the break – Stone and Burrows both stung the goalkeeper’s hands with efforts from inside the box. The last of these resulted in a corner, which Burrows took himself, and was met by Watt who powered his header past the Walton keeper to restore Weymouth’s two goal lead.
The second half saw the league leaders enjoying more and more of the ball, showing great patience in their build-up play, but Weymouth dug in to protect their lead and were very difficult to break down. Walton’s best chance came on 66 minutes when the ball came to Rogalski unmarked in the six-yard box, but somehow he directed his header straight at Evans.
The Terras had a glorious chance to add a fourth goal 5 minutes from time when Pollock sent Gray through one-on-one, but the Walton keeper made himself big and denied the Swindon loanee with a great save. Walton continued to push but, despite 8 minutes of added time, the Weymouth defence held firm and secured a much needed three points and consigned the visitors to their second league defeat of the season.
Reaction:
Speaking to Radio Terras after the game, Jamie Wells said he was “super proud” of his team who “gave everything”. Asked about the way the game panned out, he said “we can be good on our day out of possession, and today we showed that”, adding “we took our chances and got the win we deserved”. Looking ahead, Jamie believes that when the players focus on what they can do as a team, they can “take any challenge on and beat it”.
With the two teams directly below Weymouth also winning on Saturday, this victory was vital to keep them outside the relegation zone, but also now brings three teams above them within touching distance. With 7 points from 4 games under Jamie Wells, the players will look to build on this momentum next Saturday when they visit Basingstoke Town, who beat the Terras at the Bob Lucas Stadium back in November and currently sit safely mid-table.
Lineups:
Terras: Evans; Betts, Douglas, Watt, Brooks, Pollock; Burrows (Gray, 74), Robinson, Bearwish, Goodship (Moss, 88); Stone
Subs not used: Bennett, Robinson, Stavrianos
Goals: Goodship (3, 6), Watt (40)
Swans: Barker; Horan (Jones, 62), Bolger, Defise, Obeng (Amartey, 63), Rogalski, Powell, Wood, Nuur (Alfalahi, 72), Kuaho (Bolton, 86), Fernandez
Subs not used: Lacey
Goal: Powell (12)
Attendance: 736
Media:
Scroll through the match photos here: 17-Jan-2026 Weymouth vs Walton & Hersham | Flickr
Check out our highlights on YouTube here: HIGHLIGHTS | Weymouth 3-1 Walton & Hersham
And the visitor’s highlights are here: TOUGH TRIP TO WEYMOUTH! | Weymouth vs Walton & Hersham – Match Highlights
Match Report by Ian Middlebrook
