WEYMOUTH 4

FAREHAM 1

THE opening Hampshire League One game of the season at Redlands saw Weymouth, captained again this season by Steve Membury, see off newly-relegated Fareham.

Weymouth welcomed debutants Matt Hicks and Teddy Ruxpin into the side with the former putting in a man-of-the-match performance.

The game started in bright sunshine with the visitors having the early territorial advantage.

This early possession came to nothing as the hosts’ experienced defensive unit, Dave Beaudro, Giles Broadhead, Mike Westlake and Simon Harvey, along with goalkeeper David Civil, remained solid.

However, as the game settled, the hosts took over and the pattern of the game changed.

Weymouth took the ascendancy and intense and disciplined defensive pressing saw Fareham pinned in their own half for long periods.

Soon the pressure told and Weymouth earned a penalty corner. A wonderfully constructed penalty corner drill saw Pat May fire in a powerfully driven flick which was saved by the visiting keeper. Luckily Matt Underhill was on hand to pick up the pieces to score.

With the game being controlled by a buoyant Weymouth side, a rare foray into the home side’s circle had keeper David Civil making a miraculous save to keep his goal intact.

Fareham couldn’t cope with the home side’s work rate, with both the ever industrious midfield unit and slick forward line panicking the visitors into mistakes and frequently giving up possession.

A sudden, sharp downpour caused a brief break in play as visibility was seriously reduced.

On the restart, Weymouth picked up where they left off and a masterfully lifted aerial pass from midfield dynamo Dan Bowles saw Aaron Wilkinson break free in the D and skilfully lob the ball over the keeper into an empty net to make it 2-0 at the interval.

The second half began as the first finished with the Seasiders in control and in possession.

The ever slippery Hicks controlled the space in front of the back four, ably supported by the industrious Membury, Bowles and Underhill.

A lapse of discipline by Westlake saw him yellow-carded and in the sin bin.

This helped Fareham into the game for a brief period, but with a full complement on the pitch, Weymouth went on the hunt for goal number three.

It arrived in the shape of May. A penalty corner was awarded and a low powerful drag flick saw the visitors’ keeper beaten.

A quick play down the Weymouth left then allowed Ruxpin into space towards the opponents’ circle and a sharp cross from May was just out of his reach.

Weymouth’s fourth was the best of the bunch with Hicks launching a sumptuous aerial pass over the Fareham back line into the path of veteran forward May, who was able to touch the ball through the advancing keeper’s pads and slide the ball into an empty net.

Unfortunately, for the home side Fareham managed to score a consolation goal.

A poorly executed aerial pass from the visitors wrong-footed the otherwise solid Beaudro who could not prevent the strike.