McPhee struck from close range on 36 minutes before Ryan Williams wrapped up the result with seven minutes remaining after a mistake by visiting keeper Stuart Coburn.

Alty’s best chance fell to Greg Young who headed against the bar in the first half but on the whole the Terras defended well, keeping their first clean sheet for 12 games.

Weymouth boss John Hollins made two changes to his starting XI with Danny Knowles replacing Richard Barnard between the posts, and club captain Williams coming in for on field skipper Anton Robinson, who took a seat on the bench having only just recovered from illness.

Altrincham included ex-Weymouth ace Lee Elam in their side.

The visitors entered the match on a seven-game unbeaten run while the hosts were looking to bounce back after the previous Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Cambridge United.

The Terras made a lively start by playing at a high tempo and starving their opponents of any space but they failed to create any meaningful chances in the opening 15 minutes despite enjoying a lot of possession around the Alty box.

In fact the hosts’ first real opening came courtesy of a poor clearance from Mark McGregor.

The ball went straight to Williams who picked out McPhee at the back post but his header under pressure fell just wide.

Altrincham continued to look lethargic and on 23 minutes a shot from McPhee deflected into the path of right-back Cameron Mawer who did superbly to lift the ball over Coburn only to see it fall the wrong side of the far post.

The visitors were still offering very little and Mawer got in again 10 minutes later. This time the impressive defender played a one-two with Pierre Joseph-Dubois but his effort found the side netting.

Slowly but surely Weymouth were beginning to turn the screw and after Stuart Beavon had pulled a shot just wide from 18 yards, he then set up McPhee to slide in the opener from inside the six-yard box nine minutes before the break.

Alty immediately responded and from their second corner in succession Young headed against the underside of the bar from eight yards before Colin Little sent the rebound straight into the arms of a very relieved Knowles.

That stirred up the Terras again and a flurry of efforts very nearly saw them grab a second. Williams had a wonderful strike deflected just wide of the right upright before Joseph-Dubois fired an attempt across goal after Alty failed to clear.

Williams then cut inside and saw a shot diverted over the bar by Young and from the resulting corner McPhee went close with a header that Coburn did well to hold.

The final opportunity of the half went to Stephen Reed who made a rare break into the box only to see his strike go straight at the keeper.

After a slow start to the second half Alty replaced Chris Senior with Dale Johnson and his arrival seemed to open the game up with Little going close with an overhead kick that Knowles did superbly to hold diving to his left.

Weymouth responded to the visitors’ boost in energy by making a double switch with Robinson and Michael Malcolm replacing Sam Cutler and Joseph-Dubois.

Seconds later Reed fired a 25-yard shot wide of the left upright before Robinson cut in and struck a low drive towards the near post, which Coburn did well to stop.

Mawer then fired a wild effort wide before Beavon saw a looping header saved as the Terras looked to kill the game off.

Alty continued to huff and puff but it was still the home side that looked the more likely to get a second.

And after Robinson had fired wide after some clever inter-play with Beavon, Williams pounced on Coburn’s inability to hold the ball on 83 minutes to comfortably slot into an unguarded net.

Malcolm tried to put more gloss on to the scoreline with a half-volley that was well saved as Weymouth finished strong to complete one of their most accomplished performances of the season.

* WEYMOUTH fans are being urged to turn out in large numbers tonight when the Terras’ Under-18s entertain Havant & Waterlooville in the third qualifying round of the FA Youth Cup (7.30pm).

Weymouth who have defeated Christ-church 1-0 and Moneyfields 4-1 in previous ties this season will be the underdogs at the Wessex Stadium tonight as Havant & Waterlooville have had the upper hand over them in the past few encounters between the two sides.

Joint managers Tim Davis and Andy Harris will be hoping to have a full strength squad to choose from and will be looking for the same sort of performance as the previous round when the Terras overcame Moneyfields and won many plaudits for their neat passing style of football.

Admission is £2 for adults and free for children.