Weymouth will head to Essex for an FA Cup replay with Braintree Town on Tuesday night with a money spinning tie against football league outfit Chesterfield up for grabs. The Spirites finished as League Two champions last season and have adapted to life in League One pretty well – currently sitting 10th, within striking distance of the play-offs.
The tie will probably end up being chosen as one of the four ties to be shown live on either BBC or BT Sport, so it’s a massive opportunity for both sides.
The two played out a tight and nervy goaless draw at the Bob Lucas Stadium on Saturday, and in fairness the draw was the right result. Weymouth just shaded the first half, Braintree just shaded the second. Tim Sills and Stewart Yetton went agonisingly close for the Terras in the first half, whilst Braintree saw a lot of the ball second half but only carved out one real clear cut chance 10 minutes from time. A cross was played in deep to the back post, and their lad somehow managed to head over the crossbar when it looked easier to score!
You certainly wouldn’t have been able to work out which side was the Conference side. Weymouth more than held their own, and will go into tomorrow’s replay with nothing to fear. Going by Saturday, Braintree are no better than us. Sure, Weymouth remain massive underdogs in the tie, but now the pressure is all on Braintree. As the Conference club they will be expecting to turn us over fairly comfortably on their own patch, but if Weymouth can battle just like they did on Saturday and stay in the game, who knows?
One thing is for sure – with the reward for the winner being a probable televised clash against a football league club – and a fairly big club at that, the replay will be a fight to the death.
Sadly for Dorchester Town, their cup dreams were brought crashing back down to earth as they suffered a 7-1 thumping at the hands of Bristol Rovers at the Avenue stadium. In truth, the Magpies were completely outclassed from start to finish, but continued to battle hard till the bitter end.
Goals from Andy Monkhouse and Matty Taylor in the opening 20 minutes had the Gas in control at half time. Lee Mansell added a third two minutes into the second half, before Nathan Walker gave the home crowd a ray of hope – leaping above his marker to head home Andy Robinson’s free kick on 49 minutes.
But the hope didn’t last long, as Rovers added a fourth goal just before the hour mark. Dorchester continued to work hard, but by the last ten minutes they were dead on their feet, and Rovers added three more goals in that time to give the scoreline a somewhat flattering look, even by a few Rovers fans admission.
An expected defeat? In reality yes, but once again the way in which Dorchester conceeded a bag full of goals will cause concern for Graham Kemp, albeit against full time opposition again.
The Magpies are back in cup action again this weekend, at home to Dorset’s other Magpies – Wimborne Town, in the 1st qualifying round of the FA Trophy.
Poole Town meanwhile were in league action over the weekend, and they produced a magnifficent comeback to secure a thrilling 5-4 win away to Paulton Rovers.
Trailing 4-2 with just a quarter of an hour to go, Luke Burbridge gave the Dolphins hope, before Paul Devlin levelled from the penalty spot on 78 minutes. It was Devlin who then completed the quickfire turnaround just six minutes later, to earn a brilliant 3 points for Poole which kept them six points clear of St Neots Town at the top of the Southern Premier League.
The Saints missed a chance to close the gap tonight as they suffered a 2-0 defeat at Redditch United, so Poole remain 6 points clear with a game in hand.
The Dolphins are also in FA Trophy action this weekend, as they welcome south & west division club North Leigh to Tatnam. The Oxfordshire outfit currently sit 11th in their league, with just one away win to their name all season. With Poole’s formiddable home record, you would expect them to progress.
Weymouth also host south & west division opposition in Shortwood United, but before that, they will be focussing everything on tomorrow’s now massive replay, and securing such a lucrative home tie. A big Terras following is expected to make the treck to Essex. The supporters coach was full within hours, and many more fans are expected to make the journey by car, with even more Terras fans from that neck of the woods also making the trip. There will certainly be more Terras fans than the 20 or so Braintree fans who came down on Saturday!
Whilst Weymouth are fighting it out for a place in the first round of the world’s most famous cup competition – Poole and Dorchester will be fighting to progress in the slightly less glamorous Dorset Senior Cup. The Magpies host Dorset Premier League high flyers Parley Sports, whilst Poole travel to Gillingham Town. I think it’s fair to say Dorchester and Poole have bigger fish to fry, and they will more than likely field sides made up of reserve and fringe players.
Good luck to all three, but especially the Terras. Can they make the first round proper for the first time in seven years? They are still big underdogs, but they really do have a fantastic opportunity.
James Spring