Weymouth 0-0 St Albans City: Brad Ash has penalty saved

ST ALBANS CITY 0

BRAD Ash had a second-half penalty saved as Weymouth played out a stalemate with play-off contenders St Albans City at the Bob Lucas Stadium.

City, fifth coming into the game, looked polished in attack but Weymouth saw good chances come and go for Ahkeem Rose and Luke Nippard.

Ash’s penalty was the main flashpoint of a quiet second half, with Rose firing a late opening into the side netting as the Terras searched for a valuable win.

Weymouth manager Bobby Wilkinson made four changes to the side that began the 2-1 defeat at Hemel Hempstead.

READ MORE: Weymouth 0-0 St Albans City - how it happened

Tom Blair missed out in the first of a two-game absence for ten yellow cards, while Xander McBurnie, Matt Buse and Nahum Melvin-Lambert were benched.

In came Jamie Egan and Luke Nippard, while Harry Kyprianou makes his first start since Saturday, January 7 in the 4-1 defeat at Ebbsfleet.

Harry Kyprianou and Luke Nippard, right, returned to the Weymouth starting line-up (Image: MARK PROBIN)

Rose was passed fit after a hamstring strain kept him out of the Hemel game.

Joining McBurnie, Buse and Melvin-Lambert on the bench were Harvey Slade and Bournemouth loanee Chris Francis, who returned to the matchday squad after missing the past two matches.

Reading loanee David Nyarko missed out due to the five loanees rule, while Will Dawes has returned to parent club Yeovil. Centre-back Dan Matsuzaka took no place in the squad.

After an immaculate minute’s silence for recently passed ex-National League chairman Brian Lee and Terras fan Eric Mason, supporters were treated to an exciting first half.

Giving a signal of their attacking intent, both sides had chances early on as David Sesay cleared a promising City attack to create a three-on-two situation for Weymouth.

Tom Bearwish escaped on the left and with two teammates in support drastically under-hit his pass as the counter broke down.

Bearwish again made progress on the left to win a corner and huge Terras shouts for handball by Joy Mukena in the area were waved away, much to the disgust of manager Bobby Wilkinson, who saw yellow for his protests.

Bobby Wilkinson, right, was booked for protesting in the eighth minute (Image: MARK PROBIN)

Weymouth should have gone behind in the 11th minute, though, as the impressive Devante Stanley’s long throw found Chay Cooper unmarked in the box, Zaki Oualah alive to the danger and keeping out his volley.

Weymouth hit back with two chances of their own, Nathan Carlyle volleying over and Rose drilling a sweet strike just past the far post.

City dangerman Shaun Jeffers, scorer of 23 goals in all competitions, then came into the game with a scuffed first-time shot and a disallowed goal, having strayed offside.

Nippard spurned an excellent chance after City keeper Michael Johnson beat Ash to a long ball, Ahkeem Rose teeing the midfielder up perfectly only for Johnson to get down low to make an important stop to his left.

Meanwhile, Stanley was proving a real handful for Weymouth with his marauding runs on the right, and he curled inches over the far angle moments later.

City’s one-touch football caused problems for Weymouth but the visitors continued to live dangerously in defence with a weak backpass forcing Johnson to volley clear with Rose interested.

Oualah got down low to deny Jeffers and Banton dragged a shot wide as City came forward before half-time.

Beginning in much quieter fashion, the second half took a while to get going with Weymouth’s brightest moment before the hour coming when Kyprianou volleyed sweetly, only for his effort to clatter into Bearwish.

However, the game burst into life when Weymouth were awarded a penalty in the 65th minute, Bearwish tripped by Clark after the centre-back attempted to tug the skipper’s shirt.

Tom Bearwish, left, wins Weymouth's penalty after drawing this foul from Michael Clark (Image: MARK PROBIN)

Ash, who missed his previous penalty against Dulwich, stepped up and sent a weak effort to Johnson’s left, making for an easy save.

That was Ash’s last involvement as Melvin-Lambert came on in the 69th minute in Weymouth’s first change.

With the game heading towards a stalemate, Wilkinson introduced Buse and Slade for Scott Rees and Nippard in the 84th minute.

Weymouth pushed for a winner as Melvin-Lambert’s claims for a penalty fell on deaf ears before Carlyle volleyed over again after good work by Rose.

Into four added minutes, Weymouth had a big three-on-two chance but Rose failed to spot Buse in space, instead lashing a shot into the side netting from a difficult angle.

It meant Weymouth had to settle for a point and the Terras remain 23rd and two points from safety before visiting Farnborough on Tuesday (7.45pm).

Terras: Oualah, Kyprianou, Willson, Carlyle, Sesay, Rose, Nippard, Rees (Slade 84), Bearwish (Buse 84), Egan, Ash (Melvin-Lambert 69). Subs not used: McBurnie, Francis.

St Albans: Johnson, Stanley, Wiltshire (Sundire 90+4), Clark, Blackman, Jeffers (Neal 76), Banton, Mukena, Moore, di Trolio, Cooper (McConnell 76). Subs not used: Adebiyi, Dawson.

Referee: Dale Wootton

Attendance: 856