SOMETIMES in football, questions are more plentiful than answers.

You could therefore forgive Weymouth manager Bobby Wilkinson for having the same predicament after the Terras’ enthralling 1-1 draw with AFC Wimbledon.

Post-match, Wilkinson was keen to get his media duties done and dusted in order to toast the Terras’ achievement of thoroughly dominating a League Two side placed 58 spots above them in the grand scheme of things.

But there will undoubtedly be questions entering his thoughts.

Could they have won the game?

Why can't they translate cup form and performances into league results?

The second of those is the most pertinent.

This Weymouth team is capable of winning in a high pressure game – we’ve seen their efforts at Havant already this season.

But in conceding an early goal to Ayoub Assal’s fine finish, in playing in front of nearly 3,000 fans at home, and in going on to control a professional team, they raised the bar again.

So high is that bar now that there is a chasm in terms of performance level from this game compared to the lows of Eastbourne and Dartford away.

READ MORE: Weymouth 1-1 AFC Wimbledon - how it happened

If the Terras are to move away from the bottom of the Vanarama National League South, they must show the same drive and hunger to win as they did against AFC Wimbledon.

Wilkinson was asked about this very topic in his round of interviews, ahead of a midweek trip to St Albans.

“The key is the league,” he openly admitted.

“For some reason we are dominating in the FA Cup and we’re just below par in the league, let’s not lie about that.

“If we keep working extremely hard – it doesn’t happen overnight, I’ve been here six weeks – we just have to keep working as a team, as everyone together.

“I asked the fans to make this a fortress. We have to get them off their seats, something to cheer for. I think we’ve done that.

“But we have to go to St Albans and put on a good performance. If you can’t win it, don’t lose it, but we’ve got to start picking up points.”

Wilkinson, then, is plainly aware of a worsening league situation that currently has the Terras ten points adrift of safety after 14 matches.

What the FA Cup has given them is a platform to kick on in the league.

And with that league situation in mind, a quick glance at Weymouth’s remaining fixtures in 2022 make for eye-watering reading.

Including cup ties against AFC Wimbledon and Worthing, the Terras will have seven away days in nine games after this Saturday’s home game with play-off contenders Braintree.

It makes for a punishing schedule at what is already a punishing time of year with a hectic festive programme.

Therefore, how quickly Wilkinson can sort Weymouth’s league form will determine whether they are in a full-blown relegation battle or a late push for the play-offs in 2023.

Even more importantly, they cannot waste the platform they have given themselves – as has happened after previous wins against Welling and Winchester.

Wilkinson must find a way of harnessing both the energy of this cup result and the potential evident in Weymouth’s squad.

His task is harder than it appears. Even David Oldfield, like Wilkinson a manager with a superb track record, failed to crack the code.

If he can be the codebreaker Weymouth so dearly need him to be, then Wilkinson might just start turning performances into points.

Then, and only then, will there be more answers than questions.