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Robins grounded as Weymouth strike twice
SECOND-HALF goals from Jordan Copp and Ben Thomson ensured Weymouth made it a hat-trick of wins in the Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division for the Terras, with a win over bottom side Bideford.
Copp popped up to put home the opener at the Sports Ground on 54 minutes and Thomson added a second late on to give Weymouth three valuable points in their push for the play-offs.
Weymouth went into the encounter knowing that victory over the Robins was a must if they were to keep the pressure on those above them.
But Bideford had been proving a tough nut to crack in recent games despite remaining bottom of the league table.
The hosts had gone into the contest unbeaten in their last three outings, with goalless draws against Stratford and Dunstable coming either side of their shock 2-1 victory over Dorchester Town at the Avenue earlier this month.
Scorer of the winner that night was former Weymouth man Stephen Reed, who was named in the Bideford starting XI.
The Terras brought defender Calvin Brooks back into their side after injury had kept him out of the weekend win against Stratford.
There was no place in the squad for Southampton youngster Kyle Clinton or midfielder Luke WInsper, Jake Wannell was named among the substitutes on his return from illness.
And after dealing with a dangerous free-kick early on, the Terras began their search for an opener.
Midfielder Mark Molesley flashed the ball across goal and Thomson then looked to add to his impressive scoring form of late but saw his effort charged down minutes later.
With the visitors still pressing, Dean Evans then saw his effort at goal fall wide after he had been allowed to shoot from the edge of the area. Bideford’s Dan Harrison then went into the referee’s book for a foul.
At the other end, Bideford’s Ian Sampson then let fly with an effort that looked destined for the top corner only to be denied by a top-drawer save by Matthews. Reed was then also cautioned in what was a feisty opening 45 minutes.
Following the interval, Molesley then cut in from the left and fired wide for the visitors but Weymouth eventually got their breakthrough on 54 minutes as the ball eventually found its way to Copp, who tucked home despite appeals for offside.
The contest then got heated once again as Thomson entered the book, and Bideford’s Matt Andrew his a shot which fell on to the roof of the Terras’ net. Billy Tucker then saw his curling free-kick form 25 yards out go narrowly over.
But the Terras held firm as the away side looked to snatch a point late on and got their reward at the other end when Thomson cut in and fired into the net to seal the game.
