Weymouth v Dartford
Report
An early first-half goal by Joel Rollinson proved to be enough for Weymouth, as Dartford’s miserable luck at the Bob Lucas Stadium continued.
As 1,087 supporters turned up for the Terras’ first home game of the season, the Darts had two new faces in the starting eleven. Goalkeeper Jack McIntyre, who has arrived on a month’s loan from Accrington Stanley replaced Mitchell Beeney, while Oxford United defender James Golding (also on a month’s loan) took his place in the heart of the Dartford defence.
And, it was the visitors’ defence which came under pressure from the start, as Weymouth began quickly out of the blocks. As the hosts raced into the Dartford box in numbers, Joash Nembhard was the man alert to the danger and back-tracked to put in a timely block on the line within the opening minute.
The Darts responded to the early pressure with an excellent attack of their own after eight minutes, which saw Tyrell Miller-Rodney’s strike blocked. Unfortunately, Brandon Barzey couldn’t keep his follow-up down, and Weymouth edge ahead three minutes later.
The goal seemingly came out of nothing… goalkeeper Jack McIntyre looked to have Joel Rollinson’s deep cross covered. However, as he jumped to catch the ball, he caught his upper body on the upright, and the ball somehow dropped into the back of the net (11)!
The goal spurred on the hosts, who forced loanee James Golding into making an excellent interception, which then resulted in Luke Allen coming close to equalising at the other end (13).
The midfielder came close to scoring again after a long period of Weymouth dominating the ball. But, he couldn’t find the target on this occasion (32), before teammate Tyrell Miller-Rodney found himself in the referee’s book six minutes later.
The visitors came alive during the final five minutes of the half, and were unlucky to not go in level at the break. Miller-Rodney forced an excellent save out of Gerard Benfield (40), before the goalkeeper stepped up to deny Luke Coulson with a fine save three minutes later.
There was very little in the way of goalmouth action during the opening exchanges of the second forty-five, if any, as both sides cancelled each other out.
Alan Dowson was the first of the two managers to react, as he made a double substitution on the hour. Charlie Sheringham and Lewis Manor coming on to replace Brandon Barzey and Tyrell Miller-Rodney. In fact, the latter swap took a little time after the Dartford number five was maliciously shoved into the advertising wall surrounding the pitch! Thankfully, the midfielder looked alright as he left the field.
Dartford’s final substitution saw Maxwell Statham replace Harvey Bradbury after 75 minutes. Meanwhile, the Weymouth substitutions included ex-Dart Norman Wabo coming on for Brandon Goodship (69), Scott Rees coming on for Josh McQuoid (90+2), and Joel Rollinson being replaced by Frankie Monk (90+7).
The longer the game continued, the less likely a second goal looked possible, especially with the blustery conditions getting worse. However, both sides had glorious opportunities to score during the closing ten minutes…
First to come close were the visitors, via Maxwell Statham. The substitute timed his move perfectly to get on the end of Sam Odaudu’s long throw, only to see his effort drift agonisingly wide of the Weymouth upright (80).
Five minutes later saw Jack McIntyre pull off a superb double save to keep his team in the game… but the Darts just weren’t able to capitalise.
The result sees Dartford return to Kent without securing a point in Dorset once again, but there’s many positives to take from the game. Next up is Hampton & Richmond Borough at Bericote Powerhouse Princes Park on Tuesday evening, where Luke Coulson and Co will be determined to register that first win of the season.
TEAMS
WEYMOUTH: Gerard Benfield, Calvin Brooks, Anthony Cheshire, Charlie Rowan, Leo Hamblin, Keelan O’Connell, Josh McQuoid, Tom Bearwish (c), Joel Rollinson, Dan Roberts, Brandon Goodship.
SUBSTITUTES: Scott Rees, Teddy Howe, Norman Wabo, David Sesay, Frankie Monk.
DARTFORD: Jack McIntyre, Tommy Block, James Golding, Joash Nembhard, Sam Odaudu, Jordan Wynter, Tyrell Miller-Rodney, Luke Allen, Brandon Barzey, Harvey Bradbury, Luke Coulson (c).
SUBSTITUTES: Maxwell Statham, Charlie Sheringham, Lewis Manor, Mitchell Beeney, Baris Altintop.
Details
Date | Time | League | Season | Full Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
August 12, 2023 | 3:00 pm | National League South | 2023/24 | 0' |
Results
Club | Goals | Outcome |
---|---|---|
Weymouth | 1 | Win |
Dartford | 0 | Loss |