weymouth v merthyr

Weymouth up 1-0

No Prosser Traylor or reffell according to twitter

Now 2-0 down

H/T Down 2-0

According to texts received and Weymouth's Twitter:

Chappelle replaced Hugh on 78 minutes
Wright sent off for second bookable offence and Weymouth make it 3-0 from resulting free kick.

Weymouth miss a penalty.

Full time score - 3-0

rustic wrote:Weymouth miss a penalty.

Saved by Garner according to text now received.

It would have been a tall order to get something from this game with a weakened side. I don't know for sure, but I suppose Jarrad Wright's suspension for the sending off will take effect from the start of next season.

Elsewhere, Poole beat Dunstable 3-0 and are champions. The three teams below Merthyr all lost so we stay in 11th place.

Chesham and Cambridge both have four games to play this week.

News just in is that because there are no play-off or relegation issues involved the league season is being extended so that Cambridge's fixture at Stratford and Chesham's game at St Neots which were postponed today can be played on Tuesday 26th April.

Merthyr Imp wrote:News just in is that because there are no play-off or relegation issues involved the league season is being extended so that Cambridge's fixture at Stratford and Chesham's game at St Neots which were postponed today can be played on Tuesday 26th April.

Extended!!!  Season finishing on 23/4 is a joke.  Season should finish on the 2nd Sat in May, that still leaves plenty of time for the play off's. With 46 games to play a season this is just common sense.

It was always going to be a hard task to get a result in Weymouth who are a side pushing for the play offs and are arguably the best side we’ve seen at the Park this season. To arrive with 4 players who could have very well all started not there for various reasons meant it was a step too far.

Jones, Reffell, Prosser & Traylor all missed the game due to injury, illness and work commitments etc. which meant a reshuffling of the side in midfield and upfront. Hugh came in to play left midfield and Bowen got a start in the middle as well with Mclaggon ploughing a lone furrow upfront supported by Jenkins and Brown when they were able. Our bench consisted of Clarke, Bloom and 2 of our Development Team, Chappelle and Davies.

Merthyr didn’t start too badly and Hugh broke down the left and got the ball into the area but it was cleared and as he turned to follow the ball, Mr Blake, the referee, fell over much to the amusement of the crowd. Further Merthyr attacks came to nothing and Weymouth hit back when an attacker broke into the Merthyr area but his shot was blocked by Baggridge.

Weymouth were starting to take a hold of the game and following a good cross by Shephard from the left, Rigg headed the ball wide of the Merthyr goal. Then in the 16th minute, Weymouth took the lead. A lapse in concentration by Wright – possibly the first such lapse all season – allowed Copp to steal the ball, halfway inside the Merthyr half and he gave it to Shephard who ran towards the Merthyr area and he slipped it back to Copp who sent it past Garner, giving him no chance.

Merthyr tried to hit back but the Weymouth defence held firm and in the 25th minute, Weymouth doubled their lead. Shephard did well to latch onto a return pass from Thompson with the Merthyr defence split wide open and he slipped it past Garner and Merthyr were 2 down. Davies was booked for protesting presumably for pointing out that a Weymouth free kick which led to the build up for the goal was taken with a rolling ball.

Although on the back foot Merthyr tried to get back into it and after a foul on McLaggon just outside the Weymouth box which was taken by Brown towards Wright but his header went over the bar. Jenkins sent in a good volley just wide of the Weymouth post and the game was end to end with Merthyr giving as good as they got but neither side created anything of note for the rest of the half.

The second half was a cagey affair and early on, McLaggon got in a header from a Brown free kick which went just wide of Matthews’s right hand post. From another free kick, a cross went into the Weymouth area and McLaggon seemed to be pushed over but the referee waived away the Merthyr appeals and the ball ended up in the arms of Matthews.

A long ball into the Merthyr half saw Wright booked for holding down a Weymouth attacker but the free kick was held by Garner. Garner was called into action when Brooks broke down the Weymouth right and came inside but his shot was well saved by Garner going down to his right. Shortly afterwards, Hugh was replaced by Chappelle.

With about 7 minutes left, Weymouth made the game totally safe when Wright was given a second yellow card after tussling with a Weymouth attacker and from the resulting free kick Cooper headed it home to give Weymouth a 3-0 lead. There was still a bit more excitement to come when from a Weymouth corner there was a scramble in the Merthyr area and Chappelle was adjudged to have fouled Rigg. Rigg, himself, took the kick and Garner made an excellent save going down to his right.

That was the last action of the game with Weymouth enhancing their play off credentials with a good win over a battling Merthyr Town.

It was not the prettiest of games with both defences largely on top and the 3 goals were as a result of a defensive lapse, a free kick taken earlier in the build up with a rolling ball and a silly foul needlessly given away outside our area. When you consider the players we had missing and one or two on the pitch who weren’t fully fit it was not a bad performance and the boys did battle away. My MOTM is Evans.