Terras sink Shrimps
By Adam Summers

Monday 16th April 2007

WEYMOUTH held Nationwide Conference National champions Dagenham & Redbridge to a 1-1 draw in their final home encounter of the season despite playing 76 minutes of the game with only ten men.

Raphael Nade put the Terras ahead but when Brian Dutton was dismissed for a professional foul on 14 minutes it only seemed a matter of time before the Daggers took control.

But Jason Tindall's ten men battled bravely and thanks to some heroic defending and outstanding saves by Jason Matthews they held on until just two minutes from the end when substitute Ben Strevens equalised from close range.

Tindall's men greeted the Daggers on to the pitch by forming a guard of honour but as soon as the whistle was blown the niceties went out of the window.

Dressed in their new strip and having lost 4-1 at Victoria Road earlier in the season, it was clear that Weymouth wanted to treat their fans to one last big home performance.

The visitors immediately went for the jugular, winning an early corner and pushing the Terras back into their own half but the hosts soon settled and began to enjoy some possession of their own.

Sam Saunders tried to catch Matthews off his line on three minutes but struck his effort wide before Weymouth grabbed the lead five minutes later through Nade.

The Ivory Coast-born striker, who was sent-off in the last meeting between the two sides, cut into the box from the right after latching on to a superb pass by Simon Weatherstone. He then bamboozled visiting skipper Anwar Uddin with his quick feet before unleashing a fine drive that beat stopper Tony Roberts at his near post.

The champions replied with Paulo Vernazza poking a shot wide before the Terras lost Dutton on 14 minutes. The defender misjudged a high ball and then pulled back Dave Rainford when the midfielder was clear on goal giving referee Gavin Ward no other choice but to brandish the red card.

Weatherstone slotted back into centre of defence alongside Challis, and Platt retreated to midfield leaving Nade as the lone striker in a 4-4-1.

Nade continued foraging and unsettling the visitors' defence as Dagenham struggled to make their numerical advantage count.

Jamie Tayler tried a lob from inside the box but Matthews made a simple catch before Glen Southam drove a 30-yard free-kick wide.

Despite those couple of efforts Weymouth still looked relatively untroubled even though they were being forced to camp out in their own half for long periods. The league's top-scorer Paul Benson was kept particularly quiet.

Visiting full-back Danny Foster beat James Coutts on the right and shot wide from 25 yards after a long run before Tayler missed the Daggers' best chance of the half when he struck off-target on the stretch on 43 minutes when he perhaps should have done better.

Weymouth continued to work hard at the start of the second half but they nearly lost their lead on 49 minutes when Benson beat Narada Bernard on the right and slipped in Southam. The midfielder made a superb connection with his shot but Matthews pulled off a top-class reaction save before Tayler sliced the rebound wide.

Dagenham continued to huff and puff without any success, and on 62 minutes they made a double switch with Sam Sloma and Chris Moore replacing Saunders and Tayler.

Benson just failed to get on the end of a ball into the box by Southam moments later before the visitors then made their final substitution with Strevens coming on for Paulo Vernazza.

Weymouth gained some respite with a corner on 72 minutes but the Daggers broke on the counter-attack and were only denied by another superb save by Matthews.

A long clearance out of defence found Moore who took advantage of a moment of hesitation by Cottrell before dribbling the ball down the left. The substitute then sent in a low cross that Southam got on the end of but the Weymouth stopper was alive to the danger and made a fine stop.

The Daggers began throwing everything forward and two minutes later Benson was put through. He seemed certain to score but his touch was poor allowing Matthews to smother the ball at his feet.

The Terras then made their first chance of the second half when Nade found space on the left. He darted inside and engineered room for a shot but his right-foot curler fell wide.

Platt picked up a knock and was replaced by Callum Crawley before Matthews reacted well to save a quickly taken free-kick by Sloma.

Dagenham stopper Roberts then went up for a corner in the 88th minute and volleyed over before Weymouth's hearts were broken seconds later when Strevens levelled with a stooping header after a flick on by Benson at the near post. The goal came from a cross after the Terras had cleared a corner seconds earlier that should never have been awarded.

It was a fantastic performance by Tindall's men who once again proved they possess the character and belief to stand up to any test the Conference is able to throw at them.