Weymouth 2-1 Frome Town – Evo-Stik Southern Premier, Tues 22nd Nov

In a game similar to the encounter early in the season at Frome, this was a rip-roaring, no holds barred encounter that saw Weymouth take an early lead.

Weymouth opened the scoring through Charlie Davis, doubled their advantage early in the second half through Ben Thomson and, after Nathan Summers had pulled one back for Frome, only a good save late on from Jason Matthews stopped Aiden Kirby from earning Frome a share of the points right at the end.

Frome’s squad was missing Kris Miller and Marcus Mapstone from Saturday’s game, and with Mitchell Bryant out for a few weeks, new signing Ollie Knight took his place on the bench, with Aiden Kirby and Mike Bryant starting as strikers.

With one side just outside the play-offs and the other just outside the relegation zone, the fact that it’s Frome closer to the top is a testament to Josh Jeffries and his team who are continually performing minor miracles each week.

After two days of rain the pitch was in remarkable condition and the match started with George Miller volleying just wide of the post after a Jon Davies cross had led to a corner.

However, it was Weymouth who took the lead in the 4th minute as two corners in quick succession led to Charlie Davies curling an unstoppable shot into the far corner from twenty yards. A brief stoppage for injury to Sam Teale occurred after ex-Robin Ben Thomson had caught him late, but then Davies went on a trademark run that took him half the length of the pitch and finished with a low cross that was very nearly swept home by the lunging Mike Bryant.

In what was turning into a robust, physical game that was being well refereed, some lovely link up play from Frome allowed Connor Roberts through on goal, only to be pulled back by the linesman’s flag in what looked like a very tight decision.

As the game turned into an end to end affair, Weymouth started to look threatening as they came forward and were starting to create chances, especially when Frome got the offside trap all wrong and only a desperate tackle from Chris Gregan cleared the danger.

As the free kick tally began to mount, Ben Thomson shot wide from the edge of the area and, with Phillips saving well from Stuart Fleetwood just before half time, the whistle blew with Weymouth probably just deserving their lead, though it was unlikely that the score was going to stay at 1-0 until the end.

As the second half started the two sides exchanged corners with Nathan Summers going close with a header from a Frome effort, but the all important next goal came to Weymouth in the 54th as Kyle Phillips saved Thomson’s first shot, then performed miracles to save Jordan Copp’s follow up but was powerless to save as the rebound was tapped in from close range by Thomson. With more than a suspicion of offside about the goal, the match video will make interesting viewing.

However, Thomson very nearly tied the match up shortly after as he hammered a great chance over the bar from close range.

With Copp missing an open goal, Thomson heading wide, two great saves from Phillips to deny Weymouth attackers and Roberts making a great saving tackle to deny Thomson again, Frome were struggling to ride out the storm that Weymouth were throwing at them.

However, ride it out they did, and after a strong Roberts run had produced a corner, Davies swung the ball in and there was Summers rising above everyone to head home from 12 yards to make it 2-1 and make it a very interesting last quarter.

Now it was Frome’s turn to make the chances. George Miller couldn’t quite get enough onto a shot to trouble Matthews after Ollie Knight had set him up, then Roberts hit a shot inches over from just inside the Weymouth area.

Right at the end a golden opportunity presented itself as Aiden Kirby was put through one-on-one with the home keeper, only for Matthews to produce an excellent save that meant not only did Weymouth take all three points, but probably considerably eased the pressure on the goalkeeper/manager as well.

Chris Gregan was awarded the H&B Tyres Man of the Match for an impressive performance at left back. Crowd: 367. Entertainment Value: 5/5