POOLE TOWN LADIES 0

WEYMOUTH 2

Ackerman 71, Wilson 80 pen

WEYMOUTH took full advantage of their second chance in the FA Cup third qualifying round, as they put in an absolutely stunning display to shock South West Premier Division side Poole Town 2-0.

The result sees the Terras create history in qualifying for the first-round proper for the first time since re-forming.

Following an injury crisis over the last few weeks, Weymouth were finally able to welcome back a lot of key players. Annie Redding, Dani Ackerman, Kristina Manktelow, Ruby Clark, Jasmine Wareham, and Sophie Bonfield all returned to the fold. In changes to last week’s starting XI, Charlie Wilson, Ruby Clark, and Annie Redding started, with McManus and Sewry on the bench, and Johnson missing out as she nurses a knee problem.

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Last week Weymouth got off to a slow start and Poole were 3-1 up before the abandonment for players’ safety with lightning lurking in the area.

This time, the game had a different feel about it from the very start as the Terras were pressing Poole high up the pitch and forcing them into mistakes.

Just five minutes in, Manktelow forced the home goalkeeper to tip one wide of her post low down to her left, before she turned her marker and shot over the bar from the edge of the box on 12 minutes following good work from Ackerman.

Weymouth continued to pose the early questions, with Gracie Billing seeing a shot held by the goalkeeper, and Ackerman seeing a free-kick from around 25 yards gathered at the second attempt.

The high press continued to cause problems, and with a quarter of an hour gone Manktelow forced a defender into a mistake on the edge of the box. She played the ball across to Ruby Clark who saw her stinging shot blocked by a recovering defender, before the follow-up header was gathered by the goalkeeper.

Poole had their first real foray forwards on 25 minutes as they worked it well down the channel, but the ever-dependable Emma Potter was there to race back and block the attempted cross behind for a corner which Weymouth cleared.

The Terras were dominating the midfield battle and moving Poole around with slick passing football. Just after half an hour, Manktelow played a through ball into the path of Redding who ran into the box, but a brilliant defensive challenge thwarted her before she could hit the shot.

Ten minutes before half-time, Poole had their best chance when a header from a corner was claimed by Osment on the bounce.

But it was still Weymouth doing most of the running, they just could not find a breakthrough. On 39 minutes, more slick passing from Weymouth led to Ruby Clark playing the ball around the corner into the path of Ackerman, but she could only fire it into the side netting from a tight angle.

Three minutes before the break, Weymouth came their closest yet to an opener. Ackerman showed good feet to skip past a couple of defenders and find Manktelow in space on the edge of the D.

She hit a powerful shot which cannoned back off the crossbar, it looped up and fell for Billing who hit a first-time shot on the angle, flying the wrong side of the post.

Weymouth picked up in the second half where they had left off. With 49 minutes on the clock, Annie Redding found Ackerman who held off the attentions of two defenders and forced the home goalkeeper into a good save before the resulting corner was cleared.

After injury stoppages broke up play, there were 71 minutes on the clock before Weymouth took the lead.

It was a goal typical of Ackerman’s quality. She received Mantelow’s throw-in level with the Poole box and showed sublime close-control to glide past the defenders to engineer a one-on-one chance before calmly rolling it across the goalkeeper into the net to give Weymouth the lead their dominance had deserved.

Poole had to go for broke now but Weymouth’s game management from then on was exceptional. They continued to dominate possession and forced a string of corners which would result in the second goal with ten minutes remaining.

As Ackerman’s corner was swung in, Freeman was fouled in the middle of the box and the referee showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot.

Skipper Charlie Wilson stood over the ball, emphatically hammering it to the goalkeeper’s right to double the lead.

Poole tried to throw some bodies forward and Potter was there again to block a shot behind for a corner, but the Terras simply did not give Poole any hope.

Some seven minutes of injury time were played, during which time Ackerman forced another good save from the home goalkeeper.

There was still time for one more corner which resulted in Wilson hitting the crossbar from close range as Poole struggled to clear their lines.

The final whistle brought sheer jubilation for Weymouth and utter disbelief for Poole.

Their reward is a home game against Keynsham Town, the Somerset side playing two divisions above the Terras.

Terras: Osment, Potter, Freeman (McManus 90+6), Barnard-Irons, Billing (Wareham 87), Manktelow, Wilson, Ackerman, Bywater, Clark (Bonfield 49), Redding. Subs not used: Taylor, Sibley, Howard-Hachem, Sewry