Boys cut down by Diamonds
By Adam Summers

IT was a case of men against boys at the Wessex Stadium as Rushden & Diamonds put a brave Weymouth youth side to the sword as the Terras’ deepening crisis sank to an all-time low.

Weymouth boss Alan Lewer had no other choice but to call upon the Terras’ Under-18s to fill the void left by the majority of his senior squad, who the previous day refused to play due to the club not having the correct medical insurance cover.

Only Scott Dixon, Jordan Collins and Jordan Vincent began the Blue Square Premier encounter for the Terras with any professional experience under their belts, with a total of just eight first-team appearances between them.

And it was Collins that was handed the captaincy as the hosts lined up in a 4-5-1 system in a bid to stem the inevitable tide from Rushden, who began the contest looking to end a winless run of eight games.

The difference in stature and physical appearance between the two sides was very noticeable as both sides lined up and it did not take long for the Diamonds to register their first effort, which saw Michael Corcoran strike wide from 20 yards.

Weymouth keeper Joe Prodomo was then forced into a brave save at the feet of Cor-coran before Lee Tomlin sauntered through the middle and sent a long-range shot just wide.

To their credit the Terras were working hard and on six minutes they replied with a strike on the turn from the lively Ryan McKechnie. The 20-yard effort fell off target but brought huge applause from the home fans.

Ben Reiffer and Shola Dadson then linked up with a fantastic one-two to force Rushden keeper Dale Roberts to rush off his line and gather, but just seconds later the away side took the lead.

Tomlin found space and drove a shot in from 20 yards that Prodomo did well to stop with an outstretched hand but Michael Rankine was quickest to the rebound to slot home from two yards.

Three minutes later and it was 2-0 with Corcoran’s flick from a corner being saved again by Prodomo only for Tomlin this time to follow up to double the advantage.

Despite their tender years Weymouth refused to fold and on 17 minutes Reiffer tested Roberts with a shot from 25 yards which the keeper gathered comfortably.

Rushden then responded with a header from Chris Hope that Dadson did well to clear off the line before Tomlin raced into the box on 18 minutes and added a third for his side with a cheeky lob over Prodomo.

Rushden continued to pour forward with ease and after Marcus Kelly had a shot cleared off the line, Prodomo had to be alert to deny ex-Terra Simon Downer with a great reaction save from close range.

Another goal was clearly on the cards and after Jordan Vincent cleared a goal-bound strike from Andy Burgess from just inside his own six-yard box, Hope popped up to head home from the resulting corner on 33 minutes.

The pressure continued with Prodomo making a fine save to deny Tomlin before following it up with an even better one to push Corcoran’s 25-yarder wide of the right post just prior to the break.

The Terras received a rousing round of applause from their supporters as they left the field at the interval but the one-way traffic continued at the start of the second half with Rankine climbing high to nod in a fifth from close range from Burgess’ fine cross on 48 minutes.

Burgess then had a curler tipped over by another terrific save from Prodomo before Rob Wolleaston took advantage of a poor pass by Terngu Agera to blast an unstoppable shot into the top left corner.

Kelly added a seventh with another stunning strike five minutes later but the Terras continued to work hard and moments later a chance fell to McKechnie but he could only balloon the ball over the top from 15 yards.

Substitute Sam Smith then struck the bar for Rushden on 74 minutes before Kelly completed his brace 60 seconds later with another fine finish to take the tally to eight.

The Terras understandably tired in the final stages and with three minutes left Kurt Robinson ran unattended before smashing a thunderbolt that found the left corner despite Prodomo getting a hand to it.

At the final whistle the home fans once again showed their respect for their young team by putting their hands together and clapping them off the field but how long such a situation is allowed to go on remains to be seen