Heros bow out
By Harry Walton

Monday 14th November 2005

GALLANT Weymouth bowed out of the FA Cup last night when they were finally beaten 2-0 by Nottingham Forest.

The double European Champions were forced to travel down to a packed Wessex Stadium by Weymouth's brilliant 1-1 draw at the City Ground and the Division 1 side were made to fight all the way in a first round replay where they were often second best.

Terras manager Garry Hill paid tribute to his players and said he was proud of the way they had played.

He added: "They gave everything and the club, the town and Dorset has some thing to be proud of. This is a great springboard for our promotion push"

Chairman Martyn Harrison said: "Seeing 6,500 supporters in the stadium was a fantastic sight and it was a shame the lads could not pull off a shock.

"We've run a top Coca-Cola League One side very close and under Garry Hill we have come a long way in six months."

Weymouth ran out to a huge roar from the capacity 6,500-crowd which turned the Wessex into a terracotta cauldron.

There were air horns, trumpets and rattles, painted faces, exotic hairstyles, jesters' hats and hundreds of scarves and flags' supporting Weymouth's biggest day for years.

Fans' devotion was summed up by 12year-old Jordan Wilson from Portland. He spent an entire day making a special Weymouth FA Cup flag and said: "The atmosphere was great."

There was almost a carnival air to the night as the crowd cheered every Weymouth pass and shot and when the Terras hit a post their supporters roared them on and gave them a standing ovation at half-time.

But Weymouth's dreams were ended by two second-half goals in a pulsating cup tie which finished with the Terras deservedly taking a lap of honour in front of their adoring supporters.

As the fans streamed away from the Wessex they were full of praise for the fighting performance they had seen.

Weymouth's cross-channel swimming star Mervyn Sharp, sporting a colourful fuzzy wig, said: "They were brilliant."

And John Ryan, who won the Echo-Sky Sports competition for six tickets and a tour of the television giant's broadcasting operation, said: "Everyone of them were heroes. It was a great night."