Defensive Mistakes Cost Weston Dear In Defeat
Weston’s errors from corners allowed visitors Truro City to net twice, seeing the Seagulls go down 0 – 2 in an encounter which Truro had to win to maintain their push for a playoff place.
Niall Thompson volleyed wide from outside the area, as the Cornish side looked for an early goal as they sought to take control. Tyler Harvey proceeded to drag a shot into the arms of Luke Purnell from just inside the area, with Weston being pinned back the opening ten minutes.
However, when Weston got the ball forward, they looked to cause damage to Truro’s backline, and their play-off hopes. Tristan Plummer’s cross was headed narrowly over by striker Jake Lee, and at the other end, a Thompson cross into Harvey forced Luke Purnell to tip over at full extension from point-blank range.
With one of Purnell’s long-range kicks up the field, the ball went in behind Truro’s back three and was brought down by Lee. However, his first touch was slightly too close to his body and with an opportunity that went from him being in on goal, Lee’s touch allowed Truro’s defenders to scramble back and the eventual effort was curled into debutant Jojo Wollacott’s arms.
Truro took the lead on 32 minutes, coming from a set-piece. Connor Riley-Lowe’s inswinging corner evaded the head of White Tigers captain, and former Weston loanee Ben Gerring as it looped past Purnell and into the net to break the deadlock.
Plummer’s volley over the bar from a cross should have put Weston level. The hosts also had two attempts from Jarrad Welch, a shot was easily gathered by Wollacott and a free-kick which cleared the NK Stand saw Weston go in one down at the break.
Minutes into the second half, Greenslade’s cross was chested down by the small stature of Welch, who couldn’t keep his attempt down inside the box. Andrew Neal’s attempt on goal for Truro was pushed behind by Purnell, and from the resulting cornerthe visitors doubled their lead.
Again with an inswinger, Aaron Lamont curled the ball into the mixer. The ball bounced up and struck Seagulls central midfielder Ash Kington as he tried to clear from the line, with the ball hitting the post and bobbling over the line.
From then on, the game was pretty dead, with Truro determined to not allow Weston a route back into the game, with the only real highlight being keeper Purnell’s run up the pitch and his attempted pass down the line for Plummer to chase.
FT: Weston 0-2 Truro (Riley-Lowe 32, Lamont 57)
Weston XI: Purnell, Parsons, Greenslade, Cane (C), Pope, Morris-Edwards, Welch, Diallo, Lee, Plummer, Kington (Hunter 60). Unused subs: Scott, Llewellyn, Goodall.
MOTM: Danny Greenslade – Again, Greenslade proved his worth to the Seagulls with his runs forward, being solid defensively and proving his loyalty to the side, all the while playing through with an ankle injury picked up on Saturday.