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Gulls swoop late on to deny brave Terras
By Nigel Biddlecombe
INJURY-HIT Weymouth were cruelly denied a point at Plainmoor
last night when Torquay struck an 89th minute winner.
With nine players on the sidelines the Terras fielded a much-changed
side last night, with Jason Tindall handing Scott Doe and
Gavin McCallum their first starts of the campaign.
Former Weymouth midfielder Paul Buckle, now manager of the
Gulls, made fellow ex-Terra Lee Phillips his captain on the
night.
Weymouth - playing with the advantage of a strong wind -
got off to the best possible start when they scored from their
first foray into the Gulls' half.
Jefferson Louis put James Coutts free on the left and the
Terras' midfield man found Nick Crittenden with his cross
into the penalty area and he stroked the ball past Simon Raynor.
Just minutes later Paolo Vernazza took a free-kick from wide
on the left and the home defence were in disarray as Kevin
Nicholson headed the ball on to his own crossbar before going
out for a corner.
Despite the Terras having to soak up a considerable amount of
pressure the home side were unable to create many clear-cut
chances.
The best of those that did come their way falling to Phillips
who saw his 12th minute header fly over the bar, while Jason
Matthews easily dealt with his drive from 20 yards minutes
later.
had a lucky escape when a corner from Nicholson found Chris
Zebroski in plenty of space, however his header bounced into
the ground and over the crossbar.
With two minutes of first half stoppage time played Justin
Roberts produced a fantastic goal-line clearance to deny Tony
Bedeau and Vernazza's corner was cleared from the line at
the other end - although the referee saw fit to award a goal
kick.
Torquay continued to exert pressure on the visitors straight
from the restart with Bedeau hitting a free-kick just over
and Matt Hockley driving into the side- netting after a mix
up in the Terras' defence.
The equalising goal came in the 51st minute when Nicholson's
long throw was helped on by Tim Stills into the path of Zebroski
who beat Matthews with a first- time shot.
Far from buckling under the pressure Weymouth hit back just
four minutes later when Conal Platt, a half-time substitute
for the injured Crittenden, drove home following a corner.
The Weymouth man earning himself a caution from Mr Malone
for his over-zealous celebration.
Although it was Torquay who had the majority of the play
Weymouth - with McCallum's speed causing the home side problems
- looked dangerous on the break, but the pressure was to pay
off for the Gulls when Phillips nudged home following a goalmouth
scramble in the 71st minute.
The referee's assistant indicated that the ball had crossed
the line after the man in the middle seemed happy to allow
play to continue.
Platt and Vernazza combined well to free McCallum in the
80th minute, but Hill produced a saving tackle to deny the
ex-Dorchester man at the expense of a corner.
Vernazza took the corner which was met by Louis, who could
only watch as his header looped over the crossbar.
Just as it seemed the Terras would take a surprise and welcome
point disaster struck in the 89th minute.
A weak clearance was collected by Danny Wring, who hit his
cross deep into the Weymouth area catching the visitors' defence
flat-footed thus allowing Kevin Hill to head across Matthews
and into the net.
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