WEYMOUTH 2 FROME 1

RACHAEL Bustin netted a double as Weymouth turned the tables on Frome at Redlands.

Having drawn 2-2 with the Somerset outfit earlier in the season, the Seasiders were anticipating another tight tussle in this West Clubs Women’s League East Division match and so it proved.

Both teams pressed hard early on but it was the visitors that struck first when some tidy passes around the Weymouth defence led to the opening score after just a few minutes.

The hosts were very disappointed with that but they immediately hit back with a period of pressure of their own, only to be denied by the Frome keeper, who made several good stops.

Captain Emily Austin led from the front for Weymouth, winning several short corners in succession, but still the Seasiders could not break through.

At the other end, the home defence recovered from their early slip-up and were extremely disciplined, keeping Frome’s attacks down to a minimum with Alice Craven looking particularly solid between the posts.

At half-time, Austin and coach Andy Stiles then highlighted key areas which Weymouth needed to focus on, and instructed Anneka Rogers and Casey Foot to play more pivotal roles in the middle of the pitch to create width and space for the attackers to run into.

This advice worked well with the Weymouth defence keeping all attacks at bay and the midfield pushing passes out wide to Chloe Van Crugten, Austin and Bustin.

Rogers then intercepted a Frome attack in the home side’s 25-yard box before running the ball almost the entire length of the pitch down the right flank, where she eventually spotted an excellent run from Bustin in the middle.

The resulting pass found Bustin at the top of the D and she did the rest with a diagonal strike into the left corner after a careful piece of control.

Frome were now beginning to get rattled and it eventually led to the umpires calling both captains together for a chat in a bid to calm things down.

Despite that stoppage, Wey-mouth stayed strong and they eventually grabbed what proved to be the winner.

Van Crugten was denied by a couple of fine saves before Caitlin Dive fired a long corner into Jacqui Riddler, who set up Bustin to skilfully run around a player and strike the ball into the far right corner.

That strike infuriated Frome even more and it resulted in one of their players receiving a green card, just moments later, for complaining to the umpire.

Unfortunately for the visitors, the same player then continued to argue and was sent off the pitch for five minutes after being shown a yellow.

After that, Weymouth continued to keep their cool and eventually held on in what proved to be a very physical encounter.

The Seasiders now sit sixth in the East Division, just four points adrift of the top three.

Weymouth: Emily Austin, Anneka Rogers, Casey Foot, Caitlin Dive, Lara Blundell, Wendy Butcher, Lyndsey Melhuish, Chloe Van Crugten, Jo Brazier, Jacqui Riddler, Alice Craven, Rachael Bustin, Emily Sauven, Chloe Carter-Miles.

RESULTS

West Clubs Women’s League East Division: Mendip 4 Team Bath Buccaneers III 1, Swanage & Wareham 1 Bournemouth II 3, West Wilts 0 Wimborne Wayfarers 0, Weymouth 2 Frome 1, Yeovil & Sherborne II 0 Salisbury II 3.