REDDITCH UNITED 2

Stuart Hendrie 11, Osborne pen 81

WEYMOUTH 0

WEYMOUTH’S turbulent campaign in the Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division ended with a disappointing defeat at The Valley.

Redditch put Weymouth on the back-foot for the majority of the contest and would have won by a much bigger margin had it not been for three goal-line clearances from Rhys Baggridge and some excellent saves from Tom Manley.

The latter also gave away two penalties in the contest, one of which he saved, and was eventually sent off in what could prove to be his final appearance for the club.

Terras’ boss Brendon King made two changes to the side that started the 2-1 victory over Hitchin Town last time out with Ollie Tribe and Mark Ford coming in for Jamie Beasley and the injured Warren Byerley.

Redditch went one step further by making a trio of switches with Graham Hyde choosing to hand starts to Kyle Nott, Sam Adkins and Joe Hull.

Aaron Stringfellow, Tom Warmer and Jamie Grimes were the men that made way for the Reds but one big name the ex-Sheffield Wednesday midfielder did keep faith with was Lee Hendrie.

The 34-year-old, who made more than 250 appearances for Aston Villa, joined the club back in March on non-contract terms.

Not only did his father manage Redditch from 1991-95 but his brother Stuart has also been lining up alongside him of late after securing a loan move from Hinckley United.

With both sides having secured survival the previous weekend, this promised to be an open encounter but it was the hosts that were on top for the majority of the first half.

Stuart Hendrie saw an effort cleared off the line by Baggridge in only the second minute before Hull struck a post just moments later following a superbly-delivered corner from Lee Hendrie.

For a moment, it appeared Wey-mouth had weathered the storm but on 11 minutes the Reds got the reward their start deserved when Manley made a fine save to deny Jimmy Deabill, only to see Stuart Hendrie fire home the rebound from the right-hand corner of the box.

Despite that setback the Terras then finally began to get a foothold in the game but it was Redditch that continued to create the chances with Manley saving an attempt from Lee Osborne and Hull somehow shooting over from close-range.

Osborne then saw another shot hacked off the line from that man Baggridge again on 39 minutes before the visitors finally carved out a couple of openings just before the break.

First, Stephen Reed fired over from distance before his corner was met by Ben Gerring, whose strike was kept out by a fine piece of goalkeeping from Dean Coleman.

Despite those couple of late moments of encouragement, the Terras clearly needed to raise their game in the second period but the Reds continued to remain on top.

Manley was booked for picking up and disputing a debatable back-pass early in the half, which led to Baggridge making a third goal-line clearance from the resulting free-kick, before the Terras’ stopper then appeared to bring down Osborne for a penalty.

The visiting fans felt the winger had dived but Manley went on to save the resulting kick from Adkins to keep his side in the game.

Despite that let off, an equaliser from Weymouth continued to look unlikely and after Manley had made another excellent stop to turn away a cross-cum-shot from Stuart Hendrie, the Reds finally put the game to bed with 10 minutes remaining.

Once again Manley was in the thick of the action, this time racing off his line and upending Joey Halsall for another penalty.

The Terras’ stopper also picked up an injury in the collision but he failed to escape the inevitable red card, which led to rookie keeper Chris Povall coming off the bench and replacing Matt Groves.

Osborne tucked away the spot-kick and should have gone on to add another with four minutes remaining when he somehow missed an open goal after more fine work from Lee Hendrie.

It was typical end-of-season stuff by Weymouth but the manner of the performance is still likely to rile certain supporters, who continue to question whether King and Groves are the right men to take the team forward.

Redditch: Coleman, Knott, Robinson, Adkins (Forde 83), Hickman, Hull, Hendrie, Halsall, Deabill, L Hendrie, Osborne. Sub not used: Bedford, Warmer, Moses-Garvey, Stringfellow.

Terras: Manley, Baggridge, Jeannin (Holland 80), Napper, Gerring, Poole, Duff, Tribe (Wells 70), Groves (Povall 79), Ford, Reed. Subs not used: Dixon, Beasley.

Bookings: Redditch – Deabill (foul 71)

Weymouth – Reed (foul 49), Manley (dissent 53).

Sent off: Weymouth – Manley (professional foul 79)

Referee: Craig Taylor

Attendance: 371