Poole Town have been knocked off the top of the southern premier league after they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at home to Bideford on Saturday.
It’s only their second home defeat of the season, and it comes against a side who the Dolphins thrashed 6-0 back in January.
Two goalkeeping howlers from Nick Hutchings ultimately proved costly.
The first goal came in just the 10th minute, when Hutchings failed to hold onto a shot from the edge of the box, and Bideford striker Billy Tucker was on hand to pick up the pieces and slot the ball home to give the Robins an early lead.
Hutchings tried to protest that the ball had been unfairly kicked from his grasp but his protests fell on death ears.
The Dolphins keeper must still have been reeling from that first mistake eight minutes later when he gifted the visitors another goal – this time failing to hold onto a header and letting the ball run through his legs. A quite remarkable opening twenty minutes which left the home crowd stunned.
The hosts tried to muster a response, and came to within inches of halving the deficit when Richard Gillespie saw a header come back off the post before being hacked clear by a covering defender.
And the Dolphins probably began to think it wasn’t going to be their day when Luke Burbridge hit the same post moments later after the Bideford keeper could only parry a Steve Devlin shot into his path.
Bideford held firm through the second half until a minute from time, when Poole finally got one back through Luke Roberts. But it was too little too late, and Poole suffered just their second home league defeat of the season.
They were knocked off top spot by Corby Town who won 1-0 at Redditch despite having their goalkeeper sent off early in the second half.
But the Dolphins remain six points clear of Weymouth after the Terras went down to a 1-0 defeat at Paulton Rovers.
A Shayne Anson header in just the tenth minute proved decisive, and the Terras also saw Tim Sills sent off just before half time for, well who knows what really? He went up for a header with an opposing defender, who went down and started rolling around as if he was on fire, and to the surprise of even the home side the referee produced a straight red card.
Despite their numerical disadvantage the Terras put in a good battling performance, and were unlucky not to take a point from the game.
They certainly had their chances. Stewart Yetton found himself one on one with the home keeper after a defender got himself into a mess, but the Weymouth skipper failed to keep his composure and blazed his shot over the crossbar.
Chris McPhee did force the Paulton keeper Kyle Phillips into a save early in the second half with a powerful drive from the edge of the box.
Despite their constant pressure throughout the second half, clear cut chances were at a premium, and their best chance of the second half again fell to Stewart Yetton, when a free kick fell his way but his shot struck the post before going out for a goal kick.
The Terras huffed and puffed but never really threatened to blow the defence down, and they fell to yet another defeat.
The defeat sees them drop to fourth in the table behind in-form Truro City, who they visit on Easter Monday.
Weymouth have only themselves to blame. Yet again they gave themselves a mountain to climb by conceding a soft early goal, and they are not helping themselves with all the suspensions they pick up either.
Tim Sills’ sending off was the eighth red card Weymouth have recieved this season, and whether they were all the right decision or not, that number is inexcusable, and if the Terras are to get back to the sort of form they were in through the first half of the season, they must keep eleven players on the field.
The only Dorset club to avoid defeat on Saturday were Dorchester Town, but their 1-1 draw with Frome Town would probably have felt like a defeat after the Magpies conceded a late equaliser at the Avenue.
It was another scrappy affair at the Avenue with not much riding on the game, but with a quarter of an hour remaining it looked like Dorch had grabbed all three points when Ben Watson headed home at the back post after Tarbuck refused to give up on a lost cause and put in a perfectly weighted cross.
But with just four minutes of time remaining, Frome grabbed a point.
Lewis Haldane saw his effort from Mark Cooper’s cross saved by Alan Walker-Harris, but the striker managed to stab the ball over the line at the second attempt to earn the visitors a share of the spoils.
The draw leaves the two sides seven and eight points above the drop zone respectively. You would say both sides were safe now, but they’ll be keeping an eye on Arlesey Town who pulled off a shock win at Chesham on Saturday, which moved them to within four points of safety with a couple of games in hand.
But one of those games in hand is on Tuesday night at home to Poole Town. The Dolphins know a win could put them back on top of the table if Corby fail to win at Slough on the same night, and they’ll be itching to put Saturday’s result behind them.
Weymouth will look at Tuesday night’s games with great interest, as they themselves don’t play until the weekend. But Saturday represents a perfect opportunity for them to get back to winning ways and get some confidence flowing through the camp again when they welcome basement boys Burnham to the Bob Lucas Stadium.
The two sides met three times in a week earlier in the season, with two FA Trophy ties ending in goalless draws, before the Terras won the league match 2-1 at The Gore.
Despite Burnham’s impressive performances in those games, they haven’t won a match since December 23rd, have conceded three goals in each of their last five games, and they currently sit five points adrift at the foot of the table.
In fact they could be relegated this weekend if they lose at the Bob Lucas Stadium and Biggleswade win.
Nothing less than a good performance and a good win will do for Weymouth this weekend. They don’t play until Easter Monday after this game so it’s crucial they take some momentum into the game at Truro.
Meanwhile Poole Town will host Cambridge City on Saturday after their midweek trip to Arlesey.
City have had a tough season, but they have managed to put together a seven match unbeaten run, so Poole will have to be at their best to get past the Lillywhites.
Both Weymouth and Poole will be hoping Dorchester can do them a favour when they travel to league leaders Corby.
The Steelmen haven’t exactly been putting teams to the sword, but they have been getting the job done. However the Magpies will go there with no fear, and in the belief that they can cause an upset.
It’s a huge week in the Southern Premier League, and as we get closer and closer to the end of the season, every point and every goal becomes more and more vital at both ends of the table.
James Spring
