WEYMOUTH 1 (S Walker 9)

HUNGERFORD TOWN 3 (Brown 32, 66, Draycott 39)

STEFAN Brown and Alan O’Brien led the crusade as Hungerford silenced the Terras at the Bob Lucas Stadium this afternoon.

Weymouth failed to contain the fleet-footed duo throughout and duly paid the price despite taking an early lead through Scott Walker.

Brendon King made two changes to the starting XI that began the 1-0 victory at AFC Totton last Tuesday night with Jamie Symes and Luke Burbidge coming in for Barry McConnell and Dave Allen.

McConnell dropped to the bench while Allen and fellow midfielder Danny Clay both missed out through illness and injury respectively.

There was also a new face in the squad in Carl McClements, who was called up to the bench after netting 14 goals for the reserves in just 12 outings.

With Hungerford having won six of their previous seven in the league this was always going to be a tough encounter for the Terras, particularly with just a point separating the two sides ahead of kick-off.

The hosts lined up 4-4-2 with Michael Walker and Ashley Wells in the full-back berths and Ben Joyce alongside Symes in the centre of midfield, but it was the Crusaders that made the slightly better start.

The Weymouth defence was stretched a couple of times in the early exchanges but Hungerford’s final ball was lacking and, on nine minutes, the Terras shocked them by grabbing the lead from their first real attack.

Burbidge cut in from the right and slipped in Scott Walker and he did the rest with a thumping finish past Paul Strudley from 20 yards.

That goal instantly lifted the home faithful and just two minutes later they were almost celebrating again when Wells struck the underside of the crossbar following another slide-rule pass from Burbidge.

The Crusaders looked completely stunned but after seeing Scott Walker go close again with a deflected free-kick, they almost levelled when O’Brien got in behind Michael Walker and sent over a low cross, which Nathan Walker could only slice against his own post.

The game was opening up more and more, and moments later Burbidge threatened again with a positive run and shot that Strudley saved well down to his right.

Another goal was clearly on the cards and it was Hungerford that grabbed it on 32 minutes, when Brown cut inside Poole and unleashed a thunderbolt from 20 yards which flew into the net off the underside of the crossbar, giving keeper Jason Matthews no chance.

Stewart Yetton then struck the outside of a post from a corner at the other end before Brown got away again, only this time to be denied by a fine save from Matthews.

There was just no let up to the action and six minutes before the break the Crusaders grabbed another.

This time Brown nudged on a corner from O’Brien and there was Mark Draycott to poke home his seventh league goal of the season from close range.

After taking the lead and getting on top for a spell the Terras trudged in at the break looking a little forlorn and their afternoon very nearly got worse when Draycott’s deflected effort struck a post on 50 minutes.

Draycott then fired wide before Luke Brewer sent a header just over the crossbar as the Crusaders continued to search for that killer third goal.

And after Ben Joyce had curled an effort wide from 20 yards at the other end, the visitors got what they were after on 66 minutes when the impressive Brown headed in a second from O’Brien’s excellent cross.

It was now a long way back for the Terras but they kept going and almost pulled one back moments later when Poole nodded down a corner, only for Yetton's volley to be blocked by the legs of Strudley.

The same player then shot over on the turn from 18 yards before a triple substitution on 80 minutes saw McConnell, Matt Groves and McClements replace Wells, Symes and Ford.

Scott Walker fired a shot straight at Strudley shortly after that desperate switch, but the late comeback never materialised as Hungerford saw out the remaining minutes with relative ease.

Terras: Matthews, Wells (McConnell 80), M Walker, Symes (Groves 80), N Walker, Poole, Burbidge, Ford (McClements 80), Yetton, Joyce, S Walker. Subs not used: Cafer, Winsper.

Hungerford: Strudley, Horgan, Hopkins, Boardman, Day, Brewer, Stow, Herring, Brown, Draycott, O'Brien (J Clark 88). Subs not used: Goodger, Rees, Legg, M Clark