Match Preview | Weymouth
- Tiverton Town Media Team
- Sep 27
- 3 min read
Weymouth v Tiverton Town
Saturday 27th September 3pm Kick off
The Bob Lucas Stadium
This afternoons away game at Weymouth comes in the form of a six-pointer. A win will ease early season worries for either, but a draw could see both teams in the bottom four and a loss will almost certainly see the same fate. Tiverton will start play only a point ahead of the Terras’ and with no fewer than three other teams on six points. It's a precarious position for those clubs in and around ourselves.
The Yellows will be hoping to include Dean Moxey in their league campaign for the first time in six weeks, following the injury he picked up at Hungerford on August 16th. No fresh injury concerns have come to light after the home draw against Uxbridge last week. Wednesday night’s win at Honiton in St Lukes Devon Bowl enabled Asa Hall and Steve Orchard to assess those who had had limited game time up to this point and to experiment tactically. Their findings will be revealed later on today.
It was heavily rumoured during pre-season that former Salisbury manager Steve Claridge would be returning to replace Weymouth boss at the time Warren Feeney. This didn’t happen then but did become a reality after the Dorset side parted company with Feeney on August 26th, just five games into the current campaign.
Comings and goings on the pitch and in the boardroom have ensued. Results since the ex-Premier League forward took over have been mixed. High flying Gloucester City condemned the Terras to a 3-0 home reverse at the weekend to keep them in the relegation places and Tuesday night’s home loss to Gosport will mean they remained there. Two draws preceded the two losses and Weymouth will be desperate for an upturn in results and form, but the need for a positive conclusion to this one should be just as great for Tiverton.
Forward Tom Bearwish has been with the Terras since the start of the 2021/22 season. The ex-Eastleigh man has been so often a creative force for the Dorset side over the past four seasons and the popular attacking player has also worn the captain’s armband.
Striker, 37-year-old Rueben Reid’s EFL career was an impressive one and the powerful marksman who was with Weston Super Mare, before moving to the Bob Lucas Stadium scored 118 goals in the Football League, demonstrating a strong pedigree.
Playing for Devon rivals Plymouth, Torquay and Exeter, along with stints at Rochdale, Wycombe, Brentford, Rotherham, West Brom, Peterborough, Walsall Oldham, Yeovil, Forest Green and Cheltenham, Reid is a nomadic footballer.
Also, with EFL experience firstly with Yeovil and then after shining in a first spell at Weymouth is Brandon Goodship. Reid’s fellow forward spent a couple of campaigns with Southend in League Two, following a notable 77 goals in 83 Southern League games for the Terras in the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons.
Midfielder Callum Watts was plying his trade for Salisbury in National League South. The cultured former Southampton academy player has played additionally at that level for both Chelmsford City and Bath City. Matty Burrows was a standout player for Wimborne against us last term and the wide man returned to his first senior club in the close season.
Another component of the hosts midfield is Andy Robinson who made a solitary appearance for Southampton, but went on to enjoy a successful non-league career with Havant & Waterlooville and was a fan favourite there. In a second spell with the Terras the gifted schemer has made well in excess of 100 appearances for Weymouth. Claridge has responded to the Terras plight by bringing in loan defenders; Bristol City full back Max Davies and young Coventry City central defender David Mantle and both went straight into the starting eleven after arriving ahead of the Gloucester loss.
Each of the two sides will view this as a winnable game and victory would be a ‘feather in the cap’ for Tivvy. Our management duo will be looking to build on last weekend’s draw, knowing all too well how important it is to put results together. Recent signings Finn Rooke and Josh Salmon will both be hoping that they put themselves in the mix on Wednesday and will be hoping to be under consideration for a starting place in another big game for the Yellows.
