DESPITE a resilient showing, Weymouth lost 4-3 to Gillingham after bossing much of the game.

Goals from Pat May (2) and Matt Underhill were just not quite enough for the away side to get anything out of a pulsating encounter.

The Seasiders travelled to top-of-the-table side, Gillingham, knowing a win would put them back up to the summit of the Hampshire Area Division One.

The Seasiders started the game strong and were piling on the pressure with shots coming from all over the circle.

The only problem was that the Weymouth attackers always seemed to hit the keeper.

Gillingham then had a rare piece of possession which resulted in them scoring the first goal of the game.

The goal was very scrappy and after it hit a Weymouth foot, their striker slipped it into the goal.

After this, Gillingham had a good spell of play for 15 minutes but, during this time, Weymouth had a penalty corner awarded to them for a foul in the circle.

Patrick May saw his drag flick blocked and the ball fell to Simon Harvey.

Harvey passed it to Daniel Bowles who played a ball across the circle, to find May, who waited for the keeper to gamble before going round him and putting it in the bottom corner. May’s strike levelled the game despite being against the run of play.

The hosts continued the pressure and were rewarded with a penalty corner.

Goalkeeper David Civil got a good hand to the drag flick but only enough to guide the ball into the top corner, meaning the table toppers were ahead by one goal at the break.

Weymouth came out strong after the half-time interval and were dominating Gillingham in all areas of the pitch.

Weymouth’s hard work paid off when they were awarded another penalty corner.

This short corner saw a slip left to Daniel Bowles, who in turn drilled a pin-point ball across to face of the goal to a diving Underhill. His strike made it 2-2 – something that the away side deserved after their strong start to the second half.

However it wasn’t long before the home side were back in front.

Gillingham’s third goal was the result of Weymouth struggling to get the ball out of their own circle.

The away side managed to clear the ball but could only find a host stick.

He picked it up and managed to slap the ball under a diving Civil.

Despite the scoreline, the Seasiders were still running the show throughout the second half.

Bowles went on a mad few minutes playing the ball into the circle hoping to get a deflection.

He was winning fouls all over the pitch and the tactic soon paid off.

He picked up the ball on the left-hand side and put one of his famous disguised passes into the circle to find May.

May deflected the ball into the roof of the net making it 3-3 in a thrilling encounter.

A momentary lapse of concentration for the Weymouth defence saw a Gillingham striker lose his defender in the circle.

Civil came out to try and defend the shot but the striker took it past him to then smash the ball across the goal into the side netting making it 4-3 to the home side with just six minutes left to play.

Weymouth continued to pile on the pressure and kept pressing but Gillingham’s defence held up as the game finished 4-3.

The hosts stay top of the table and Weymouth, without a win for three league games on the bounce, are now in third place.

Weymouth host the City of Portsmouth on Saturday, hoping to get back to winning ways.

n Man of the match: Daniel Bowles

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