Grays Athletic 0 Weymouth 2
Tue, October 9, 2007. Kick off: 7:45 PM
Match Report By Martin Candler
Despite having the second best defensive record in the Blue Square Premier, Grays‘s chronic inability to find the back of the net has resulted in an alarming slide down the table. Against an honest, hard-working Weymouth outfit, Grays began the match in lively fashion. Opting for a front three strike force of Aaron O‘Connor. Danny Kedwell and Gavin Grant, the Blues dominated the opening half with some fine attacking football and should have been out of sight by the half-time whistle. In the 9th minute, Ernie Cooksey struck a powerful shot just wide; two minutes later Grant turned his marker and sprinted towards goal but his hurried shot was woefully wide. Then O‘Connor had a great chance but shot straight at the Weymouth keeper, Scott Doe. Soon after, Grant fired wastefully over the bar.
Weymouth, for their part, kept plugging away and in their front pairing of Jefferson Jefferson and Gavin McCallum always carried a goal threat, although the Grays defence, with the returning Jamie Stuart and the commanding Jon Ashton looking so sound at the back, they were allowed few opportunities.
In the 50th minute the game changed completely when a deep cross from the right was met with a crisp half-volley from Jamie Coutts, ghosting in at the far post, to give the Terras a shock lead. However, instead of re-grouping and rolling up their sleeves to get back into the game, it must be said, that too many Blues heads went down far too quickly, as if there was a collective belief that the game was already beyond them. The cohesion and spirit shown in the opening half rapidly dissipated and for the first time in the match Weymouth gained the upper hand. In the 63rd minute the gangling Jefferson scored with an unchallenged header to double Weymouth‘s lead. Grant then shot wide when he should have done better and in the dying embers of the match, Kedwell finally escaped his marker to slam the ball against the post. Sub Mark Marshall, following up, screwed his fierce drive wide which, for the Grays faithful, encapsulated the whole evening; chances created but no one able to convert them.
The evening was further soured, in the opinion of many Grays fans behind the Weymouth goal in the second half, by the foul-mouthed abuse by a few homesters towards the end, directed at the admittedly less than innocent visiting keeper for his blatant time-wasting (for which he eventually received a booking).C‘mon lads, we share your frustration and passion for the game but surely we‘re better than that!
Grays Athletic: Flitney, Murray, Ashton, Stuart, Gross, Hearn, Thurgood, Cooksey (Marshall 81), Grant (Lawson 63), O'Connor (Watson 66), Kedwell.
Subs Not Used: Knowles, Haverson.
Booked: Murray, Ashton.
Attn: 779
Ref: I Cooper (England).
Match Pictures:
Graeme Truby (Official Photographer):
Gavin Ellis (TGS Photo):
|
