New faces as Terras fall to Torquay
By Derek Bish

Monday 12th July 2010

TWELVE new players featured for Weymouth as they fell to a 5-1 defeat in their opening friendly at home to Npower League Two outfit Torquay United.

Alex Halloran, who was at Portland United last season, scored the Terras’ only goal after replacing Weymouth Reserves’ captain Ben Reiffer with 18 minutes to go while the 11 other new players also impressed in parts.

And manager Ian Hutchinson admitted he would like to see all of them in action again despite the reversal against the Gulls, managed by ex-Terra Paul Buckle.

Hutchinson said: “We’ve played Torquay and were expected to be given a good hiding but it was a shame near the end that we were very leggy, physically and mentally.

“I’ll be speaking to a lot of them, especially the trialists, to see where they are at and hopefully they will come down again.

“We would definitey like to have another look at them. We have got seven or eight games left so we still have time to build the team.

“There will be players coming in and hopefully we will have a few more in against Crawley this week.”

Weymouth began brightly and some neat link-up play between strikers Jules Emati-Emati and Sam Charles, who were both at Dorchester Town last season, forced a first-minute corner before former Bournemouth midfielder Bradley MacGookin hit a volley straight at ex-Terra Danny Potter in the Torquay goal.

MacGookin was joined in the squad by fellow ex-Cherries’ pair Matt Oldring and Matt Kemble, although the latter would not make his bow until the second period.

Bridgwater Town stopper Tom Manley made a sharp save from Ashley Yeoman midway through the first half but there was nothing he could do about the visitors’ opener that saw his cross-cum-shot from an acute angle re-bound off Simon Radcliffe and go over the trailing custodian.

A flurry of half-time changes – eight in all – by Torquay meant the professional outfit were much more fitter in the second period than their part-time opponents and striker Billy Kee took full advantage to bag himself a hat-trick while Elliot Benyon also tapped in.

However, there was some cheer for the Terras, who scored through Halloran’s delightful chip after Ollie Tribe’s clinical through ball.

Fellow Blue Lewis Whyton also rattled the post, but only after the whistle had gone, while Ugo Udoji (ex-Portsmouth), Ben Gerring (ex-Plymouth), Sam Clarke (ex-Portland) and keeper Ashley Weeks (ex-Chickerell) also showed that there was more to come from them.

Hutchinson added: “It was a good exercise as I thought it would be and there were a lot of good performances from trialists and the young local lads.

“Torquay upped the ante in the second half and we were chasing shadows for long periods but it does not stop me from being disappointed that four of the goals we conceded were very sloppy on our part.”