Wolleaston and Beasley sink the Magpies in fiery affair
By Adam Summers

WEYMOUTH, perhaps fittingly, came out on top in the inaugural Bob Lucas Memorial Trophy but the Avenue Stadium clash was marred by a fractious final 10 minutes in which both sides had a man sent off.

Nick Crittenden had given the higher-ranked Magpies a 1-0 lead at the break but the Terras fought back and turned the game on its head with Rob Wolleaston, in his first pre-season outing, equalising and Jamie Beasley grabbing what proved to be the winning goal.

The encounter, acting as a tribute to the late Terras’ stalwart, had been an enjoyable spectacle up to that point but the latter stages were less appealing on the eye.

First, Rico Wilson lashed out at Ollie Tribe and deservedly saw red, with Weymouth’s Ben Gerring also dismissed for his role in the resulting melee, before a member of the home crowd launched a plastic bottle in the direction of visiting keeper Nick Jordan and was duly evicted from the ground.

As a result, the celebrations that followed the final whistle, and the presentation of the trophy by Bob’s widow Jean, was somewhat muted.

Both sides had named near full-strength sides.

The Magpies though, were without Gary Bowles after the defender injured a shoulder while on trial at AFC Bournemouth.

The lower-league visitors exerted some early pressure but it was the hosts who registered the first attempts at goal. First, Ryan Moss’ glancing header from a Ben Dickenson corner was gathered at the second attempt by Jordan before Dickenson’s 20-yard strike proved more comfortable a save for the Weymouth keeper.

Chris Flood and Crittenden were next to try their luck but they too found the gloves of Jordan after finding space on the edge of the box.

And it was somewhat against the run of play therefore when the Terras were handed the clearest opportunity on a plate.

There was no danger when Gerring pumped a hopeful ball forward but a breakdown in communication between Nathan Walker and his keeper Simon Evans put Beasley clean through.

However, the Weymouth winger got himself in a tangle and the chance was gone.

It was the visiting fans’ turn to breathe a huge sigh of relief on the half-hour as former Terra Kyle Critchell crossed low and the oncoming Flood, just six yards out, crashed his effort against the crossbar.

Nathan Peprah-Annan and Beasley both traded unsuccessful attempts at goal before the Magpies lost Dickenson to an ankle injury.

With five minutes of the half remaining, Evans was called into action for the first time, diving full length to keep out Stephen Reed’s fierce free-kick.

To add to the Terras’ disappointment, the home side retaliated with the opening goal 60 seconds later.

Substitute Steve Devlin delivered a deep cross and Crittenden was on hand to slam home at the far post.

The scores were level eight minutes into the second period with half-time replacement Wolleaston finding the bottom left corner after Richard Marshallsay had charged down Harrison Bell’s attempted clearance.

Bell was given a shot at redemption on the hour but could only find the hands of Jordan from close range. And that miss proved costly as the Terras forged ahead moments later.

After turning Critchell, who had earlier been involved in a minor fracas with Scott Dixon, Beasley fired goalwards and found the inside of the near post, albeit with the help of a deflection.

In reply, Critchell sent a free header over the bar, Devlin had a 30-yard set-piece held by Jordan and Wilson narrowly missed the target with a headed effort.

In truth, the Magpies were struggling to regain parity and their frustrations boiled over in the final stages.

Tribe was harshly adjudged to have brought down Wilson and in a moment of sheer madness, the county town striker grabbed the Terras’ full-back by the throat and was rightly dismissed by referee Chris Brokenshaw, who also showed a yellow to Tribe.

The drama was just beginning though, and the linesman felt Gerring had raised his hands during the mayhem.

The centre-back insisted he was merely trying to separate Wilson and Tribe but his protests fell on deaf ears.

The initial free-kick was eventually taken, some six minutes after it was awarded, before a section of the Avenue faithful saw fit to throw a plastic cup and bottle at Jordan in the Weymouth goal.

It was a rather sad and unsavoury end to what beforehand had been a decent game for a pre-season friendly.