WEYMOUTH RESERVES 1 BRIDPORT RESERVES 2

SUPER sub Simon Gale turned out to be Bridport Reserves’ match-winner after heading home late on to earn his side all three points at the Bob Lucas Stadium.

And Bees’ boss Shaun Annetts, who had earlier seen defender Chris Herbst cancel out Oliver Clayton’s opener for the hosts, felt the visitors’ victory was fully deserved.

The win moved Annetts’ men up to 11th place in the Dorset Premier League and followed on from their superb defeat of leaders Hamworthy Recreation in the Dorset Senior Trophy a week earlier.

Playing against a strong wind in the first half, the Bees went behind on 26 minutes when Clayton lobbed Ashley Weeks from distance.

The visitors had started the game well and should have equalised after Clayton’s effort, with Josh Baker, Tom Blair, Robin Jones and Matt Condliffe all going close in the space of 10 minutes.

Despite trailing at the break, the Bees were confident that they could turn things around in the second period.

And on the hour mark they were handed a way back into contest when Blair was fouled in the Terras’ box and Herbst converted the resulting penalty.

Bridport then pressed for a winner and almost made it 2-1 when Jones hit the post, while Blair, Condliffe and Baker also had further chances.

But Annetts' decision to swap Gale for Jones on 75 minutes proved a masterstroke.

Baker swung in a corner and Gale climbed highest to head past Steve Boore.

Reflecting on the match, Annetts added: “The scoreline doesn’t tell the true story, it should have been 3-1 or 4-1.

“We defended superbly and carried an attacking threat, and the players deserved massive credit for the way they performed.

“The guys really carried on from where they left off against Hamworthy, and we are on a great roll at the moment.

“We’ve moved up in the league table but we still need more points to get us to where we should be.”

Weymouth stay sixth in the standings and, like Bridport, are not scheduled to play this weekend, although that could change over the next few days.

Terras: Boore, Anstey, Butcher, Carlile, Ayley, Buse, Clayton (Bergin), Cullingford, Hayter (P Ford), Jansz-Baker, Reeves. Subs not used: Asagba, Turner.

Bees: Weeks, Herbst, Stordy, King, Day, Jones (S Gale), Fleet, Bulman, Blair, Baker, Condliffe. Subs not used: L Annetts, McAllister.