Harriers 0 Weymouth 2
Date: 17-01-09
Venue: Aggborough
att: 1569
away fans: 94
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Harriers lose their way
The Harriers seem to have lost their way in recent weeks or was it today a case of Weymouth showing us the way? The Terras have been struggling in mid table all season while we have always been in, or around, the play-off places but on today's God awful showing the rôles should really be reversed.
With Stefan Moore earning a starting place in the side, following an excellent showing in the Trophy win at Ilkeston, it was an unchanged team from mid-week. Again Matt Barnes-Homer was on the bench. For Weymouth they were welcoming Lee Phillips back to their club after he signed for them from Rushden a few weeks ago.
In growing windy conditions we were struggling to make any kind of headway against the visitors. They had already realised the obvious that to play in these kind of conditions then you need to pass the ball and not hoof it everywhere. We, on the other hand, are thick!
To be honest there isn't all that much to write about for the first half. Weymouth, for all their possession, didn't really threaten Adam Bartlett's goal too much with just an excellent drive from Ryan Williams that flew just over the bar before Stuart Beavon opened the scoring.
With two minutes of the first period left Beavon picked up the ball on the edge of the area, swept past our static defenders and sent a shot across Bartlett and into the net.
HT: 0 - 1
We were expecting an improvement for the second half but now the wind had changed to a swirling one and football was being made harder to play. Well it was for us. Didn't seem to bother Weymouth though.
We did get our first shot on target through Justin Richards but a few minutes later Beavon had increased the lead for his side and doubled his tally for the day. The goal came following a free kick that had come back off an upright and wasn't cleared properly. Beavon picked the ball up ran back towards the goal to fire in a shot into the right-hand corner.
Straight away we started to put our game together now that we had gone two goals behind and Richards curled a shot in that the visiting keeper, Danny Knowles, only just managed to put around the post. Martin Brittain took the corner but mis-judged the wind and it went straight back out.
Yates immediately made a change with Matt Barnes-Homer coming on for the lifeless Brian Smikle and from then on we started to look more up for it. Richards again got into the area but was robbed before he had a chance to shoot. Yates then made his next change by taking off Lee Baker to bring on David McDermott - Andy Ferrell took over the left back post.
McDermott was now supplying what we had been missing with his speedy runs into the area but the frontline men were not on his wavelength and hesitated far too much when a chance to shoot arose.
Weymouth were still trying to take the game to us and Beavon almost achieved a hat trick when he again broke free but then put his shot across the goal and out for a goal kick.
With the time now running down Richards came close with a shot that stung the keepers fingertips and then Chris McPhee went down the other end to do the same with Bartlett.
Let's face it. It was just another bad day at the office for us and we have shown as against Ilkeston in midweek that we can play and pass the ball well. We just don't do it in consecutive games.
Keith Lowe
