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Terras stay bottom as Hawks punish missed chances

Brad Ash, right, had the majority of Weymouth's best chances Picture: MARK PROBIN
Brad Ash, right, had the majority of Weymouth's best chances Picture: MARK PROBIN

WEYMOUTH 0

HAVANT & WATERLOOVILLE 2

Roberts 78, Wright 84

WEYMOUTH fell to another home defeat - this time undeservedly - as Havant & Waterlooville took a 2-0 win at the Bob Lucas Stadium.

Weymouth had dominated their second-placed opponents without a goal to show for their efforts, Brad Ash striking the crossbar in their best moment.

However, two goals in six minutes deep in the second half demonstrated Havant's greater composure in clutch openings as James Roberts and Danny Wright gave the Hawks all three points.

READ MORE: Weymouth 0-2 Havant - how it happened

Weymouth made two changes to the starting XI that began the 2-0 loss to Dover last time out.

Noa Boutin was dropped to the bench, with Harry Kyprianou preferred at left-back, while Cameron Murray came in to replace injured skipper Xander McBurnie (groin).

That left an open space on the bench for Matty Burrows to fill, while Boutin was also joined in the dugout by Dan Gifford, Luke Nippard and Claudio Ofosu.

Ahkeem Rose was fit to start after being substituted at half-time on Saturday and the Jamaican was one of several players to impress in a bright first half for the Terras.

Keelan O’Connell and Tom Blair both flashed dangerous crosses through the box without reward inside five minutes, the former then getting too much on his delivery after good work from Murray and Rose.

Havant did well to clear two Weymouth free-kicks – all this before the ten-minute mark – and the Terras were then dealt a blow when Murray sustained an apparent injury.

Sure enough, he limped off and was replaced by Nippard after just 11 minutes, although the change did little to quell Weymouth’s dominance.

Rose won a corner and the zippy delivery was diverted on to the crossbar by Nathan Carlyle following a goalmouth scramble.

Brad Ash was unlucky to be penalised for a foul in the area when tussling with the final Havant defender and the striker was unluckier still to see a firecracker clatter the bar from 20 yards as Weymouth seemingly did everything but score in the opening 25 minutes.

For all their superiority, Weymouth allowed Havant a glimpse of goal as Gianni Crichlow lobbed keeper Ryan Sandford, only for Carlyle to scamper back and clear.

Sandford was called upon again to deny Oscar Gobern’s dipping shot and then block James Roberts’ follow-up only for the offside flag to go up.

Weymouth’s tempo understandably slowed towards the end of the half but O’Connell did win a corner after his shot deflected into the side-netting, with the Terras’ corner routine spotted early by the Hawks.

Early in second half there was alarm for Jason Prior, who sustained a nasty head injury and appeared not to move for a good 30 seconds. He was replaced by Wright on 52 minutes.

Havant broke the game up as Billy Clifford and Joe Oastler both earned yellows after Tom Bearwish’s block bizarrely turned into a shot that narrowly cleared the bar from 30 yards.

Weymouth chances kept coming as Kyprianou glanced a header over, before Ash found the roof of the net with his own header and then blazed a good chance off target.

For all Weymouth’s good work, Havant began to creep back in to it and on 77 minutes scored the opening goal.

Havant goalkeeper Ross Worner opted for route one as his booming long ball caught out the home defence, Roberts beating the committed Sandford to it and rolling home.

In a carbon copy of Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Dover, the Terras then conceded a second when Sandford was beaten by Wright’s header from a Clifford free-kick.

Those were Havant’s best two opportunities of the half as their greater clinical edge punished the Terras, who for the umpteenth time this season were too wasteful in attack.

Weymouth had one final chance in stoppage time through Tom Blair but the winger clattered his effort into the side-netting to complete another painful defeat for the hosts.

Terras: Sandford, Howe, Carlyle, Matsuzaka, Kyprianou, Murray (Nippard 11), Bearwish, Blair, Rose (Gifford 65), O'Connell, Ash. Subs not used: Boutin, Ofosu, Burrows.

Havant: Worner, Passley, Newton, Oastler, Nembhard, McCarthy, Prior (Wright 52), Clifford, Crichlow, Gobern (Kalinauskas 65), Roberts. Subs not used: Read, Faal, Burnett.

Referee: Dale Wootton

Attendance: 649