Recap
Frome Town 0
Weymouth 5
Osborne 14′ Redding 25′ Screen 28′ Wilson 67′ Thornicroft 77′
South West Women’s Regional League East Division (25/02/24)
Weymouth continued their tremendous post-Christmas form with an emphatic victory at Frome Town, which stretches their unbeaten run to 5 league games.
Gracie Billing and Tegan Standen both missed out due to illness, so Ellie Porter and Laura Luxton stepped up from the development team, whilst Ruby Clark and Lucy Roberts also returned to the fold.
The Terras raced into a 2-0 lead inside 4 minutes in the reverse fixture, and they had their first chance of this game within the first 5 minutes when Bianca Osborne headed Lucy Roberts’ free kick straight at the goalkeeper.
Frome then went close to taking the lead on 10 minutes when Weymouth conceded a free kick near the corner flag, and the delivery was headed onto the near post and bounced to safety.
And it proved a valuable stroke of fortune, as on 14 minutes, Weymouth took the lead. Wilson played a perfectly weighted through ball which split the home defence. Bianca Osborne ran away from the defenders and just reached the ball ahead of the goalkeeper – calmly rolling it into the net for the opening goal.
Wilson then saw a stinging effort well blocked by a brave defender, before on 21 minutes, a Frome free kick was half cleared to the edge of the box and the follow-up shot rolled across the face of goal and behind for a goal kick.
A minute later Frome managed to get in behind the Terras back line, and their striker was bearing down on goal, but Lauren Ellis did superbly well to race back and stop the striker getting her shot off, before Heybourne cleared the danger.
Frome were well in the contest at this point, but then Weymouth took the game away from them with 2 goals in 3 minutes.
First, on 25 minutes, neat inter-play in the corner led to Clark playing it around the corner for Redding, and from an acute angle between the 6 yard box and the edge of the penalty box, she curled a beauty of a strike around the goalkeeper and into the far corner to double the lead.
Then on 28 minutes, a magnificent move led to Wilson finding Roberts in acres of space on the left wing. She sent a devilish cross into the 6 yard box, and Emily Screen showed the hunger and poacher’s instincts of a striker in form, as she slid in and prodded the ball under the goalkeeper to make it 3-0.
Frome steadied the ship a little and tested the Weymouth defence with a few set pieces, but the Terras stood firm and took their 3-0 lead into half time.
Weymouth came out looking for more goals in the second half and Bianca Osborne had 3 good oppurtunities. The first a shot from a corner which took a big deflection off of a defender, but the goalkeeper did well to react and make a sharp save. Then a minute later she beat the offside trap and forced the home goalkeeper into a good save from a tight angle. The ball came back for Osborne who had another shot which the keeper held onto.
Then it was Emily Screen’s turn to go close twice in quick succession – first charging down a clearance from the goalkeeper and seeing the ball deflect half a yard wide of the goal, then having another shot from just inside the box well saved.
Weymouth continued to dominate. They really should have had their 4th goal on 59 minutes when porter found Webb with a fantastic cross-field ball. Webb raced down the wing and found Thornicroft all alone in the box, but her first time shot was straight at the goalkeeper.
A minute later, Screen rose highest to head Webb’s corner onto the roof of the net, as Weymouth racked up the chances.
On 63 minutes Frome had their first forray forwards of the second half, and it would produce their best chance of the half. A breakaway resulted in a ball across the edge of the box which evaded 2 strikers and 2 defenders, before a Frome player finally got on the end of it, and the first time dipping shot was tipped over the bar by the ever-alert Heybourne.
Weymouth finally got the 4th goal that their pressure had deserved on 67 minutes, albeit in rather fortuitous circumstances, as captain Wilson’s cross took a slight deflection off of a defender and looped beyond the reach of the goalkeeper and into the far corner of the net.
Kaydee Thornicroft had been a thorn in the host’s side throughout the game and really deserved a goal. On 71 minutes Weymouth cleared a Frome corner and Thornicroft ran two thirds of the pitch on her own, but her shot was well saved by the home goalkeeper again.
She would finally get the better of the keeper on 77 minutes though. Weymouth were awarded a free kick in the left channel. Lucy Roberts’ ball into the box was nodded down by Osborne and Thornicroft was in the right place to sweep it home and cap a fine afternoon’s work for the Terras.
The Terras’ attacking play had been sublime, but their desire to keep another clean sheet was encapsulated perfectly in the last minute of the game. Potter was caught out by the slippery surface and Frome had a player over and looked certain to have a shot on goal. Step forwards Annie Redding. The experienced midfielder made a lung-busting sprint back to show the striker away from goal and stop the shot, ensuring another shut-out for the defence.
A fine away win with five different goal scorers and a third clean sheet in four games for Issy Heybourne. It was a confident, assured, and well-drilled performance from the Terras. They played some terrific football on a difficult surface but also did the basics well and earned the right to play.
A fourth win in five lifts the Terras back above Purton into 5th place in the table, and with just two games to go they’ll be looking to continue this fine form through to the end of the season.
Next up for Weymouth is their final home game of the season on 10th March against second in the table Royal Wootton Bassett.
The development team’s Dorset league fixture against Blandford was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. They travel to Poole Town reserves on 3rd March.
Terras starting xi: Heybourne, Potter, Luxton, Ellis, Webb, Redding, Thornicroft, Wilson, Roberts, Fowler, Osborne. Subs – Screen, Clark, Perry, Porter
Player of the match – Bianca Osborne
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Weymouth Women 1st