PORTSMOUTH UNIVERSITY 1

WEYMOUTH 0

LACKLUSTRE Weymouth suffered their first defeat of the season after falling to basement boys Portsmouth.

With five wins to start the season, a confident Dorset side went to HMS Temeraire to take on a student outfit that had yet to register a point in Hampshire Division One this season.

With very few second XI players able to travel and first-team regulars Mike Westlake, Giles Broadhead, Matt Hicks and Luke Drewitt all unavailable, captain Steve Membury only had 11 players available for the trip meaning a rare return into the back four for Matt Underhill and extra game time for promising teenagers Ben Simpson and Florian Ziegenbalg.

Weymouth looked to assert themselves in the early exchanges, controlling possession and territory for most of the first 10 minutes.

However, they were not able to turn this dominance into many clear-cut chances and it was the home side who had the best of the early opportunities.

A short corner was toed wide by David Civil in the Weymouth goal before another attacking foray by the home side resulted in a comical, yet costly few minutes for the home side.

Portsmouth’s centre-forward did well to beat his marker and round the keeper before firing a hard shot from the top of the circle.

Only defender Underhill stood between the ball and goal and off-balance, he had no time to get his stick on the ball as it slammed into his foot, the shot ricocheting wide.

After some consultation, the umpires awarded a penalty goal, ruling that it was only Underhill’s illegal deflection that prevented a certain goal. An understandable decision perhaps but there is no ‘penalty goal’ rule in hockey.

After repeated protestations the umpires did eventually relent, awarding a justified penalty stoke to the university side but harshly sending Underhill for a 10-minute stretch in sin-bin for his ‘deliberate’ foul.

The subsequent penalty was despatched to the keeper’s right and while Civil went the right way, he was only able to glance the ball into the side-netting.

Portsmouth looked to make their man advantage count heading into half-time, winning another short corner that beat Civil for pace but was expertly blocked by the ever-green David Sainte-Bernard on the line.

The second period saw a Weymouth side become increasingly frustrated that they were unable to break down their hosts.

This frustration seemed to lead to some poor decision-making and hit-and-hope passing that was readily picked off by the home side. Weymouth often coughed up possession in their own half, the defence battling admirably to keep these attacks at bay.

The one time that Portsmouth’s goal-scorer was able to break free, Civil was out quickly to pull off a full-stretch stick save on a rifled shot that looked like it was already past him.

Weymouth kept knocking and were rewarded with a series of penalty corners in the last 10 minutes.

Unfortunately, the corner routines did not quite gel on the day and those strikes that were on target were kept out well by a keeper in inspired form and a resolute defence.

Even at the final whistle, Weymouth were awarded a penalty corner which was eventually cleared legally at the third-time of asking by the University side.

Weymouth captain Membury reflected on a disappointing game for the Seasiders.

He said: “On reflection we did not treat the game with the same attitude that has been so successful in the first five games of the season. Civil pulled off a ‘worldy’ of a save to keep us in it in the second half but we just didn’t have the cutting edge.”

Now second in Hampshire Division One, Weymouth return to league action on Saturday with a home fixture at Redlands against sixth-placed Havant.

On Sunday they begin their National Vase campaign away to Trinity Mid-Whitgiftian of Surrey Division One.

Weymouth have previously won this competition twice having beaten Tring 3-0 in the 2001 final at the old National Hockey Stadium and Old Bordenian in 2003.

Weymouth: Civil, Simpson, Beaudro, Underhill, Harvey, Membury (capt), Bowles, Andrews, Ziegenbalg, Wilkinson, May

Bookings – Yellow: Underhill; Green: Bowles