No Terras inquest
by Paul Baker

Monday 6th December 2004

Johnson earns first home vicotry despite Hawks fight back

STEVE Johnson won't be holding a stewards' inquiry after Weymouth came close to surrendering a commanding advantage over Havant and Waterlooville.

The Terras boss saw his side race into a three-goal first half lead against the Hawks at the Wessex Stadium before letting their arch-rivals back into contention by conceding twice after the break.

The hosts were left hanging on at the end but Johnson has no plans to get heavy with his players despite their disappointing second half display

"We were superb in the first half," he said, "and that's the sort of football I want us to be playing.

We were quick, energetic and lethal in front of goal and it was a dream to go 3-0 up.

"I have to admit that Havant were pretty poor early on but my lads deserve plenty of credit for the way they took control of the game.

Obviously it was frustrating to fall away the way we did but I think it was fitness, or a lack of it, that let us
down.

"Getting the squad fit was something I identi fied as a priority when I came here because it was clear I'd inherited a squad of players who weren't quite on the money.

But that's something we are working hard at now and so there'll be no stewards' inquiry just yet.

"We'll talk about this game later in the week but for now I want everyone to enjoy the result and look forward to the visit of Weston-super-Mare on Tuesday."

Johnson, who watched Kirk Jackson, Lee Phillips and transfer-listed Lee Charles put Weymouth in front before substitutes David Town and Gavin Holligan replied for the Hawks, heaped praise on his new signings who included mystery man Charlie Welch at left-wing back.

He explained: "Charlie's an 18-year-old who I picked up from Yeovil's youth team on Thursday night and who I kept quiet deliberately until kick off.

He's a talented boy who has come in to help us out and he deserved his man of the match award.

"The other new lads like Kirk, Mark Boyce, Danny Byrne and Roy O'Brien all played really well and Kieren Keene also did okay when he came on late in the game.

"All in all it's been a great afternoon and the people I'm really pleased for are the supporters.

What we need to work on is delivering that first half performance over a full 90 minutes."

Johnson's first home victory came at a price, however, with Phillips limping off after only 20 minutes to be replaced by Charles.

The ex-Plymouth man suffered a groin strain and will now be out for at least a fortnight.

"Lee Phillips scored a cracking goal," added the manager, "and I was gutted that he had to come off just after that.

It's a big blow and he's going to be missing for at least two weeks but there's now an opportunity for someone else to show me what they can do."