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Morgan doubt mars Dorset delight
By Ian Ridley
13th December 1982
THE JOY of performing one of the great FA Cup recoveries
will be palling for Weymouth today. Being drawn away to Cambridge
United is disappointing enough but they are about to find
out that the man who has guided them there, a talented young
manager by the name of Stuart Morgan, might not be with them
for the third round.
Morgan, 33 years old and four years in charge of the Alliance
Premier League side, intends to apply for the managerial vacancy
at Bournemouth, the Third Division club just along the Dorset
coast who sacked David Webb last week. And Morgan is likely
to be one of the favourites, having been a player there for
three seasons and still in touch with the club.
The comfort for Weymouth will come in looking back at an
astonishing match at Ninian Park where they trailed 2-0 at
half-time before slaying the Welsh dragon - Cup winners in
1927 - with three excellent goals.
The gaps in the Weymouth defence were as big as those on
the terraces in the first period when Gibbins and Hemmerman
scored in the space of eight minutes. But Morgan lifted them,
told them they might as well lose by a hatful as by two and
they hurled themselves forward through the rain.
Iannone, an Italian window cleaner, looped a lovely header
home for the first, Finnegan slid home the equaliser 10 minutes
from time and Pearson turned in the winning goal with four
minutes left after a fluffed goal kick by Dibble was seized
upon. Their win bonus was increased from £15 to £35
but you couldn't put a price on the moments of ecstasy for
players and supporters that followed the final whistle.
For the Cardiff supporters, understandably harsh on their
own team and unexpectedly generous in their applause for the
visitors, I should declare an interest. I have followed this
maddening shower for 20 years through terrible Cup disappointments.
On Saturday it all seemed worth it.
It must also have seemed worth it, too, for people like
Peter Ebrill, who has covered thousands of miles to watch
them (he used to play in our cricket team, and him with a
wooden leg) and Bob Lucas, the team physiotherapist, who played
in that third round match against Manchester United in front
of nearly 60,000 at Old Trafford in 1950 (he used to work
on the buses with my Dad).
And there is Mark Baber, who supplied the cross for the
winning goal (I played against him at primary school). For
all of them you were proud as punch.
Weymouth : Baker, Peter Morrell, Paul Morrell, Elliott,
Arnold, Finnegan, Baber, Pearson, Iannone, Borthwick, Benjafield.
Cardiff City : Dibble, Jones, Bodin, Tong (Giles,
85), Dwyer, Mullen, D. Bennett, G. Bennett, Gibbins, Hemmerman,
Lewis.
Scorers:
Weymouth : Iannone (55), Finnegan (80), Pearson (86)
Cardiff City : Gibbins (28), Hemmerman (36)
Referee : B. Hill (Kettering).
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