PARLEY SPORTS 2 WEYMOUTH RESERVES 2

WEYMOUTH Reserves manager Jake Richmond took the positives out of his young side’s performance, even though they let a two-goal lead slip in the last 20 minutes against Parley Sports.

Carl McClements’ 18th strike of the campaign, along with a goal from Conor Jevon, put Richmond’s charges in the ascendancy going into the latter stages.

But they were pegged back late on and Jevon was denied a potential winner in the dying moments after he was adjudged to have been in an offside position when he tapped home a ball across the box from Ashley Staines.

Richmond told Echosport: “There were two sloppy goals that we switched off for but we played some really good stuff and I was really pleased with the performance.

“I couldn’t really fault the group at all. Parley thumped Swanage 5-0 last time out so we knew we were in for a test, but to be fair we were much the better side.

“In the last 15 minutes we sat a little bit deeper and it cost us in the end. We had more than enough chances to win the game before that. The performance warranted a victory, but we only have ourselves to blame.”

The result sees Weymouth remain at the top of the Dorset Premier League by a single point, but they surrender a number of games in hand to second-placed Portland United and third-placed Merley Cobham Sports.

On his team’s league campaign, Richmond added: “We must have been top now for at least six or seven weeks, and with a young squad we have given every team we have played a good game.

“My players look at the league table but there is no pressure on them from me to win the league, the pressure from me is to perform as well as they can. If they do that we will win more than we lose.

“We have had a very good season and kept a lot of clean sheets, but the success is measured on pushing players through to the first team.”

The Terras’ get their chance to invoke some revenge over Parley when the sides meet again on Saturday.

Terras: Park, Sharpe, Butcher, Poole, J Will, Beals (Asagba 64), G Will, Preece (Staines 50), Nichols (Zima 75), McClements, Jevon. Subs not used: Anstey, Pidgely.