WEYMOUTH 2 (Joyce 46, Yetton pen 65)

BIGGLESWADE TOWN 2 (Poole og 13, Daniel 57)

THE Terras had to hit back twice to claim a share of the spoils against Biggleswade at the Bob Lucas Stadium this afternoon.

Weymouth’s recent tendency to concede soft goals unfortunately reared its ugly head again, but thanks to Ben Joyce and Stewart Yetton, they did make amends to eventually secure a deserved point.

Weymouth boss Jason Matthews made two changes to the side that began last Wednesday’s 4-2 defeat at Cambridge City with Luke Winsper and Jake Green coming in for Scott Walker and George Rigg.

Winsper was returning from injury while Green was making his first appearance since serving a three-game suspension.

Rigg was with Weston-Super-Mare after recently agreeing dual registration terms.

Steve Colwell and Torquay United loanee Jake Hutchings were also making their home debuts for the Terras while another recent signing, Lamar Powell, took a seat on the bench.

Biggleswade, who included ex-Terra Cameron Mawer in their line-up, made a bright start with Craig Daniel firing wide from 25 yards under very little pressure.

The Waders came into the game having won just one of their previous five games but in the early exchanges they certainly displayed plenty of confidence.

Weymouth, on the other hand, looked edgy and on 13 minutes they found themselves behind when Sam Poole’s attempt to cut out Lee Reed’s cross led to an unfortunate own goal.

That setback certainly gave the hosts a jolt and, just five minutes later, they almost levelled.

Stewart Yetton just failed to get on the end of a ball from the right, and when Green fired it back in, Ben Joyce looked certain to score, only to be denied by a goal-line clearance from Steven Gentle.

Suddenly, the Waders were wobbling but the Terras were unable to take advantage with Joyce firing over a free-kick before the pressure eventually died out.

Both teams huffed and puffed after that with very little quality until a mistake by Barry McConnell allowed Sam Reed to break away on 37 minutes.

The Biggleswade forward ran through and had a clear sight of goal but his woeful finish sailed harmlessly wide.

The game had an early end-of-season feel about it, and, at half-time, the home fans displayed their displeasure with a murmur of moans and groans.

The Terras had been very poor, and, after the break, the onus was clearly on them to raise the tempo, which is exactly what they did.

In fact, they equalised just a minute after the restart, when Green’s superb run and cross, and Kelly’s exquisite lay-off set up Joyce to stab the ball home from 10 yards.

Joyce required treatment immediately after that, and the delay seemed to lead to a loss of concentration, as Daniel raced away at the other end, only to shoot wide from an acute angle.

That should have served as a warning sign for the Terras but they did not learn from it and paid the price on 57 minutes when Biggleswade regained the lead.

Once again, Daniel broke away down the right, and when Poole hesitated, it allowed the winger to lift the ball over the onrushing Matthews.

The Weymouth keeper did get something on the shot but the ball looped high into the air before bouncing into the unguarded net. The Terras were now up against it again but their reaction was immediate.

First, Yetton fired over from close range before Evan Key hauled back Hutchings in the box, prompting the referee to point to the spot.

The visitors clearly felt aggrieved about the decision but their protestations failed to unnerve Yetton, who sent keeper Ian Brown the wrong way with the resulting spot-kick, with 25 minutes remaining.

Unfortunately for the Terras, Kelly then pulled up with an injury but it did lead to the introduction of Zima, who was making his home debut following his recent call up from the reserves.

A brief lull then followed before the hosts went in search for a winner in the closing stages, only for Joyce to see his free-kick pushed wide by Brown, deep into added time.

A point apiece was probably a fair outcome on reflection but had Weymouth defended better, they might have gone away with all three.

Terras: Matthews, McConnell, Holland, Colwell, Hutchings, Poole, Kelly (Zima 72), Winsper, Yetton, Joyce, Green. Subs not used: Park, S Walker, M Walker, Powell.

Biggleswade: Brown, York, Iwediuno, Mawer, Gentle, Allinson, Daniel, Key (Mason 74), S Reed (Donnelly 83), Smith, L Reed (Witham 66). Subs not used: Woolf, Peacock.