Bishop brakes Terras hearts
By Adam Summers

Wednesday 22nd November 2006

THE first meeting between these two sides in front of the Match of the Day cameras at the Wessex Stadium was heralded as a fabulous advert for cup football. The sequel at Gigg Lane last night was even better.

Weymouth may have lost but the football they produced during both ties should provide them with a lot of confidence as they bid to stay in the top five in the Nationwide Conference National.

The Football League is the Terras' dream so to hold a League Two side like Bury to a 2-2 draw and then push them all the way in a 4-3 defeat away from home can only be seen as encouraging signs for the future.

Keeper Arran Lee-Barrett got the nod ahead of Jason Matthews while Tony James replaced Roy O'Brien at the back. The Irishman, who has been a key man in the Terras' back four this season, missed the tie due to a thigh strain.

The visitors began the game in promising fashion with Purser and Logan linking well and looking to get in behind the Shakers' defence whenever they could.

Home keeper Aaron Grundy continued where he left off at the Wessex Stadium by looking indecisive when dealing with crosses and there was no doubt that the Terras' high tempo and work rate was clearly unsettling their opponents.

But on ten minutes the Dorset outfit's good start was hit by a sucker punch. A long free-kick by John Fitzgerald was headed across the box by Andy Bishop and Dwayne Mattis arrived on cue to volley the ball past Lee-Barrett.

Boss Garry Hill would have no doubt been disgusted by the ease in which the goal was scored.

Bury suddenly looked full of confidence and moments later a great cross-field pass by Bishop found Mark Pugh whose left foot shot from 20 yards fell just wide.

To their credit Weymouth stuck to their task and on 15 minutes a corner by Abdou El Kholti saw Grundy get caught in no man's land and when his defenders failed to clear Simon Downer was there to head the visitors level.

It was a fantastic response by Hill's men and four minutes later they made it 2-1. Downer threaded a pass into Purser and he curled a superb effort wide of Grundy's right hand and into the far corner of the net.

The early drama was clearly exciting the crowd and on 23 minutes they witnessed another goal.

A deflected cross from the left found a way through to Bishop and he hammered a powerful half-volley into the top-left corner from 14
yards.

Football fans who love the art of defending would have been devastated by the action but the scoring continued with Steve Tully making it 3-2 to the Terras on 30 minutes. The ex-Torquay United man latched on to a great pass by Simon Weatherstone before skilfully flicking the ball past Grundy with his left foot.

Hill came straight out of his dugout after the celebrations where he had a strong word with a couple of his defenders. "Keep it tight" was no doubt the message.

Ashley Vickers produced a superb headed clearance in his own six-yard box before Downer made a great block to deny Jake Speight moments later whose second strike flew over the bar.

It appeared Weymouth had taken their manager's words on board but some of the marking from both sides was still questionable.

The tempo had to drop in the second half and it was no surprise to see a tighter battle transpire. Both sides looked more composed at the back and there was less goalmouth action at either end.

But on 67 minutes another lapse in concentration saw Mattis find freedom in the area and he made no mistake with a low drive across Lee Barrett.

Bury's fans erupted and moments later David Buchanan pulled thE trigger from 25 yards. His efforl whistled just over the bar.

Weymouth's legs suddenly looked heavy so Hill replaced Purser with Shaun Wilkinson on 72 minutes to try to break up Bury's pressure but 60 seconds later Bishop grabbed his second. The blonde-haired striker ran through and found the net despite a touch by Lee-Barrett which had come rushing off his line.

Raphael Nade replaced Downer moments later and on 80 minutes a fine cross by Elam found Logan but after a great turn he could only lift his shot over the bar.

Weymouth showed fantastic character in the final stages but they were unable to muster another goal. The Terras may have left Lancashire disappointed but on reflection they must look at it as another small step in the right direction.

Finally, the Weymouth (approximately 200) fans that made the 540 mile round trip were fantastic. They kept singing throughout and deserve a huge pat on their backs.