Saints made to fight all the way by impressive Terras
by Matt Pitman

Wednesday 20th July 2005

GARRY Hill reckons Weymouth set the standard for the season ahead with a
creditable performance against Southampton last night.

Nathan Dyer's early strike for Saints was all that separated the two sides in the latest warm up clash at the Wessex Stadium.

The Coca-Cola Championship giants - who contained six first teamers - were made to fight all the way by Hill's impressive outfit.

And the Terras boss reckons Weymouth's switch to full-time training is starting to pay dividends as they kept pace with their more illustrious south coast rivals in front of a 1,500 plus crowd.

Hill said: "The performance was excellent and to only lose narrowly against a side of Southampton's calibre and experience is very creditable.

"We've set a high standard and the challenge is now to consistently perform at a high level over the course of the season.

"What pleased me most tonight was our fitness levels - any neutral in the ground would have been hard pressed to tell the difference between us or Southampton."

Weymouth lined up with just one recognised striker in Kirk Jackson after frontmen Wayne Purser, Chukki Eribenne and Dan Webb were withdrawn late with slight knocks.

Winger Darren Wheeler was pushed forward and the youngster came closest to netting for the hosts in the opening period when his spectacular scissorkick was turned over by Saints keeper Michael Poke.

Southampton, under the watchful eye of reserve boss Kevin Bond, were gifted the lead on 15 minutes.

The impressive Dyer, whose lightning speed down the right flank caused Weymouth no end of problems, seized on a poor header by home defender Tony Taggart following a huge downfield punt by keeper Poke.

Saints, for whom ex-Terra Kyle Critchell enjoyed a steady 90 minutes, nearly doubled the lead through new hotshot striker Theo Walcott.

But it was Hill's side who looked the more likely after that as Richie Hanlon saw a goalbound drive blocked by defender Danny Higginbotham.

Winger Steve Clark again impressed for the hosts who should have got back on terms two minutes after the restart.

Midfielder Shaun Wilkinson was unlucky to see his turn and shot pushed onto the bar by Poke, but from the rebound the Saints keeper bundled over lurking striker Kirk Jackson.

Referee David Phillips awarded a penalty but Poke made amends for his offence by smartly turning away Hanlon's effort to the keeper's right.

Lively substitute Sebastian Carole, introduced at the break for Dyer, had a hand in Saints best chance to double their lead midway through the half.

He found left back Alberto Ferreira whose forceful run led to him cutting back for skipper Matt Oakley to draw a smart save from Lee Barratt.

The usual glut of substitutions broke up the rhythm of the contest after that and the chances dried up at either end.

However, with Weymouth searching for a deserved equaliser, Wheeler skipped away and was only stopped in his tracks by a decent block by defender Darren
Kenton.

Hill added: "When you consider we were missing three strikers we still looked pretty sharp in the final third. Darren Wheeler was excellent playing in a position he's not used to, while Steve Clark destroyed them down the flank.

"I know we lost but there are an awful lot of positives for us to take out of this and overall I'm really pleased."

Weymouth : Lee-Barratt (Matthews 66mins), Thomas (Tully 66mins), Taggart,
O'Brien, Bound, Wilkinson (Harris 6lmins), Clark (Hutchinson 76mins),
Hanlon (Dutton 6lmins), Jackson, Wheeler (Carey 76mins), Wilde (Wilde 14mins).

Southampton : Yoke (McNeil 70mins), Critchell, Ferreira (Odihiambo 73mins),
Prutton, Kenton, Higginbotham, Dyer (Carole 45mins), Oakley, Delap, Walcott
(Condesso 79mins), Surman.