Chukki's cheer for tour finale
by Nigel Biddlecombe

Thursday 14th July 2005

A GOAL from Chukki Eribenne early in the second half gave Weymouth their
opening pre-season victory over Shamrock Rovers in Dublin last night.

The former Bournemouth front man struck in the 46th minute as Garry Hill's men
ended their Ireland tour on a high.

The visitors, who showed whole-sale changes from the side that went down 4-0 at Drogheda United on Monday, began well at the AU Sports Ground with Darren
Wheeler causing all sorts of problems down the left.

Twice he got in testing crosses within the opening five minutes and the youngster also shot just wide after being set up by Danny Webb.

The Ericom League outfit's first opportunity came on ten minutes when Bernard Doyle shot straight at Jason Matthews but it was Weymouth who dominated the first half.

Eribenne, Wheeler and Shaun Wilkinson all went close while Webb wasn't far away either following some good build-up play by the outstanding Tony Taggart and Ritchie Hanlon.

A minute after the restart, the Terras got the goal their efforts deserved. Bradley Thomas pumped a long ball into the penalty area, which Eribenne did well to control with his back to goal.

He then turned superbly before unleashing a powerful close range shot that fizzed past substitute goalkeeper John Blake and into the back of the net.

Rasping

The English side then enjoyed an excellent 20-minute spell during which Hanlon and Wayne Purser both wasted opportunities to stretch their advantage further.

Rovers almost got back on level terms in the 71st minute, but Matthews did well to save at the feet of Gary Aberick after the attacker had been put clean through on goal.

At the other end, Blake pushed a rasping drive from Purser on to the crossbar, and the same player was involved in the move of the match when he, Steve Tully, Taggart and Adam Wilde combined to move the ball from end of the pitch to the
other.

That tremendous build-up ended with Wilde's shot being deflected wide and Matt Bound heading the resultant corner inches over the top.

The game then finished as it had begun with the Terras on top, but good defending and wayward finishing saw the score remain at 1-0.

Hill said: "That was a another good work out and we stuck to our plan of giving every squad member a decent run out. The boys worked hard against a very strong Drogheda side on Monday and that put them in good stead for this one.

"Chukki took his goal well and it was nice to get the win. But what was even more pleasing was that Shaun Carey came on for the last 15 minutes and showed no ill-effects following a cruciate ligament injury that has sidelined him for ten months."

He added: "The tour has been a great success both on and off the pitch and I'd like to thank all our fans who travelled to Ireland for their wonderful support."

Weymouth : Matthews, Harris, Taggart, Challis, Thomas, Wilkinson, Hanlon,
Hutchinson, Eribenne, Webb, Wheeler

Subs : O'Brien, Purser, Jackson, Bound, Wilde, Dutton, Tully, Carey