MATCH REPORT: Weymouth 4-2 Wimborne Town
Wimborne Town were knocked out of the Dorset Senior Cup after the Terras came from behind to secure a 4-2 win.
Tim Sills heavily rotated the side which drew with Sholing on the weekend, with a youthful starting eleven featuring many of the club’s academy players.
Pathway players Copperwaite, Williams, Jenkins, Toghill and Richardson started, with Wilson, Adair-Charlton and Taylor coming on off the bench.
One of the familiar faces for the evening was Joe Smith, who popped up with a brace at the Bob Lucas Stadium.
The Magpies started sharp with Ajani Burchall, who was playing centrally in midfield, smashing the crossbar from the edge of the box within the first minute of play.
Fin Toghill, who grabbed two against Hamworthy Recreation in the previous round, nearly opened the scoring in the 10th minute, but his shot from just outside the box was saved by the Weymouth keeper, Ben Clark.
The Terras first real chance of the evening came in the 17th minute, after Oscar Abbotson was forced into a diving save to his right to beat away a well-struck free kick.
It was the Magpies who took the lead in the 23rd minute after the ball was played to Joe Smith on the edge of the box, the forward bulldozing into the area before seemingly being tripped, but as the striker fell to ground, he managed to poke out a leg and squirm the ball under Clark. Joe Smith scores (all sorts of) goals!
However, things quickly turned sour after the deadlock was broken, with Ben Scorey landing awkwardly on his knee in the 28th minute and being unable to continue. We hope it’s nothing too serious.
The hosts then flipped the game on its head within a matter of minutes. Ben Moss grabbed the equaliser for the Terras, capitalising on a through ball from the left-hand side, and timing his run to poke underneath Abbotson in the 38th minute.
Then, just three minutes later, Weymouth took the lead after a well-worked counter attack found Barney Stone in the right-hand side of the box who found the bottom left corner of the net with an arrowed finish.
With the Magpies trailing at the break, two substitutions were made at half time, with Broadly Taylor and Kester Wilson coming on for Joe Ryan and Fin Toghill.
However, it was the hosts who struck first in the second period when, in the 49th minute, a mix-up on the halfway line allowed Charlie Finney a free run at goal, who made no mistake with the finish.
Wimborne pressed forward and were given a route back into the game soon after when Burchall was tripped in the box. Joe Smith stepped up for the penalty, firing into the bottom right corner and sending the keeper the wrong way.
Will Fletcher was brought on shortly after, to add to the firepower up front in search of an equaliser.
Abbotson had a few phenomenal moments to keep the Magpies in the game late on, including a double save and another dive at full stretch to deny a long-range attempt.
However, the Terras made sure of their progression to the semi-finals when they grabbed their fourth and final goal of the match just two minutes before the 90 was up.
In a similar fashion to the third goal, a Wimborne free kick was cleared as far as the halfway line, with Stone dispossessing his man and having a free run at goal, keeping his composure and finishing past Abbotson.
It’s the first Dorset derby defeat for the Magpies this season and a disappointing way to exit the Dorset Senior Cup. However, there are plenty of positives to take with eight pathway players in action for a very youthful Wimborne side against a strong Weymouth lineup.
All attention will now be on the league, and specifically this weekend's away fixture against Bracknell Town.
Abbotson; Williams, Scorey (Eccott-Young 28’), Borges (Fletcher 59’), Copperwaite; Toghill (Wilson 46’), Burchall (Adair-Charlton 73’), Jenkins, Richardson, Ryan (Taylor 46’); Smith
Att: 225
Match Report: Tom Whittick
