Droylsden F.C.-The bloods on the net!

DROYLSDEN 1 - 3 WEYMOUTH

BLUE SQUARE PREMIER - Saturday 15 September 2007

Report by Gary Owen

Bloods' boss Dave Pace remained upbeat, despite seeing his side fall to their seventh successive defeat. "I thought today's performance was encouraging – there were some good signs in there, and we mustn't let our heads drop" he explained afterwards.

"They had four shots on goal, and scored from three of them – that's an indication of how clinical the finishing is at this level. But we're falling behind in games and then shooting ourselves in the foot. Having said that, I'm confident we can pull through, and there are many positives to build upon. We pushed them all the way, and I was disappointed to see a goal struck out for offside – things just aren't running for us at the moment" said Pace, as he reflected on his team's stuttering start to the campaign.

The Terras were pinned back for long periods in the second half, as the hosts looked to get something from the game, but in the first half it was Jason Tindall's side who took control.

Stuart Beavon showed signs of things to come when he beat Daniel Warner and Colin Cryan on 7 minutes, only for his shot to be easy for Paul Phillips.

On 14 minutes, though, he went one better, when he collected the ball from a throw-in to run along the edge of the box, wait for his moment, and turned to shoot into the corner leaving Phillips rooted to the spot.

Droylsden recorded strikes on goal from distance through Gareth Morris free kicks, but it was the Terras who seemed to have the more threatening cutting edge. Substitute Nick Crittenden beat at least four Droylsden defenders, but Phillips was able to turn his shot away for a corner, which Beavon headed wide.

The Terras extended their lead in rather bizarre fashion, when Crittenden's thunderbolt was parried upwards by Phillips. The ball returned to earth on the goal line, but it bounced up into the roof of the net despite the valiant efforts of Phillips.

That could have signalled an onslaught, but the Bloods responded well by forcing a goal back through Jody Banim, who pressured Justin Roberts and lofted the ball over the stranded Matthews on 60 minutes.

Droylsden then virtually camped-out in the Terras' half, but the equalising goal failed to arrive. Morris saw another free kick deflected just over the bar, but the hosts succumbed to the sucker punch on 90 minutes, as the Terras counter-attacked with clinical precision. Danny Phillips galloped away down the left flank, and played the ball square for the advancing Coutts, who capped a man-of-the-match performance by rounding Cryan and slotting under the body of Phillips to make it 3-1.

Weymouth boss Jason Tindall was not best pleased, though. "I'm not happy – we should have had the game sewn-up by half time. We didn't defend well, and we had to work hard for it in the second half. We should have shown more confidence. Fair play to Droylsden, though – they put us under some pressure, but we should have handled it a little better. Having said that, we've won the game, but we have let our standards slip" On the question of his injured players, he added "Ashley Vickers and Paolo Vernazza are both fit, so it's possible I will change things if I think it's the right thing to do."

Beavon summarised matters afterwards, when he said that "it's our first win on the road, and we'll build on that – we haven't played well, but we've got the three points."

TEAMS:

DROYLSDEN: Phillips P. 6, Halford 7, Warner 6 (Tandy, 74’ 6), Cryan 6, Murray 6, Morris 7, Lynch 6, Murphy 6, Smith 4 (Fearns, 60' 5), Gibson 5 (Salmon, 60' 7), Banim 7.

(4-5-1)

Subs. not used: Burke, Senior (G/K)

WEYMOUTH: Matthews 7, Critchell 8, Browning 7, Roberts 6, Kitamarike 6, Jombarti 5 (Crittenden 21' 8), Platt 7 (Doe, 65' 6), Robinson 7, Coutts 8, Beavon 8, Louis 7 (Phillips D., 74' 6).

(4-4-2)

Subs. not used: McCallum, Douglas

REFREE: Mr. M. Brown (Kingston-upon-Hull, East Yorkshire)

ATTENDANCE: 578