Wimborne Town 0

Weymouth 0

Tue 16th July 2024

In a game of two halves, a top performance by Ross Flitney helped The Magpies to keep a clean sheet against their National South opponents. Manager Tim Sills was without five members of his squad: Matty Burrows, Jack Lovell, Ben Rodwell, Ben Scorey, and Harvey Wright so had to carefully manage and rotate his players in their third game of the pre-season programme.

Not surprisingly it was The Terras who dominated early possession, although they were unable to create any clear-cut chances. All Wimborne had to show in the first quarter of the game was a shot by Harry Morgan which was blocked, and a typical charge down the left wing by Sam Jackson.

At the mid-point of the half, as the whole stadium anticipated an off-side flag, Flitney made the first of his super saves when a cross from the left found an attacker in space. On thirty-nine minutes, the big stopper brilliantly tipped over a vicious volley, then saved a header from the resulting corner. Wimborne did make the occasional foray into the visitors’ penalty area, but the passing was too intricate, and the forest of light blue legs too thick to penetrate.

Weymouth also made the early running after the break only to find Flitney in fine form. When a Weymouth attacker came in from the left, the keeper acrobatically tipped his shot over the bar; next the keeper raced out to head a through ball out of harm’s way. But by the hour mark, The Magpies were constructing fast-paced moves. When Drew Eccott-Young’s run was illegally ended, Harry Morgan’s free-kick beat the defensive wall but also the post; Scott Arnold’s purposeful header found Will Fletcher who played Triallist B through the centre of Weymouth’s defence only to be denied by a sprawling save by former Magpie Gerard Benfield; Fletcher found Triallist A who’s shot was blocked; and Jez Bedford excited the crowd with one of his trade-mark slaloming runs.

But Wimborne had that man Flitney to thank two minutes before the end when he brilliantly tipped over a clever flick after a glorious set of one-two passes had created a chance for The Terras.

After chasing shadows in the first half, Wimborne matched their higher league opponents in the second. A clean sheet against such talented players will have pleased the Gaffer, with a special mention to keeper Ross Flitney who was outstanding.

Wimborne: Flitney, Eccott-Young, Roberts, Cocklin, Jackson, Carmichael, Neale, Morgan, Beale, Munn, Baker                     2nd half subs: Arnold, Bedford, Fletcher, Walker, triallist A, triallist B

Att: 325