Weymouth 4-1 Havant & Waterlooville: Late goals seal Terras win

Bearwish 9, Goodship 72 pen, O’Connell 79, Touray 89

HAVANT & WATERLOOVILLE 1

Panter 56 og

WEYMOUTH needed a second-half spark to hand them a flattering 4-1 victory over relegation-threatened Havant at the Bob Lucas Stadium.

Tom Bearwish beat the offside trap for 1-0 but Havant twice hit the woodwork through Jake McCarthy and Jake Jebb before half-time.

Corey Panter’s own goal levelled matters for a dominant Havant after the break, but the concession jolted Weymouth into life.

Bearwish won a penalty, converted by Brandon Goodship, before substitutes Keelan O’Connell and Ezio Touray added clinical finishes to earn the three points, despite Havant having deserved a draw.

READ MORE: Weymouth 4-1 Havant & Waterlooville - how it happened

Weymouth boss Bobby Wilkinson made one change to the starting line-up that began the 0-0 draw at Braintree in midweek.

In came Swansea City loanee Harry Jones for Maidenhead loanee Harry Parsons.

Two changes were called for on the bench as well, with Parsons pushing Tyrique Clarke out of the 16 and goalkeeper Gerard Benfield coming in to fill the void of the recalled Jones.

Anthony Cheshire, Touray and O'Connell all kept their places in the 16.

With Havant beginning the day in 23rd and eight points off safety, the onus was on the Hawks to make the running.

And former Weymouth captain McCarthy nearly put Havant ahead in the eighth minute as he swept Kwaku Donkor’s right-wing cross against the bar.

Seconds later, Weymouth went ahead in bizarre style.

Charlie Rowan’s skewed shot met the perfectly-timed run of Bearwish, who controlled the ball into the area as the Havant defence stopped dead in expectation of an offside flag.

When it failed to materialise, Bearwish had all the time in the world to sit down keeper Ross Worner and fire in off the near post for 1-0.

His effort proved to be Weymouth’s only effort of the half as the Terras kicked against a strong wind, allowing Havant to mount growing pressure as the half endured.

Jack Jebb curled a brilliant free-kick against the far post, with a hint of fingertips from goalkeeper Harvey Wiles-Richards.

Harvey Wiles-Richards, centre, watches on as Jack Jebb hit the post (Image: MARK PROBIN)

And in the 39th minute they should have equalised when a sleepwalking Weymouth defence allowed Jebb the freedom of the right flank to find ex-Terras defender Brendan Willson, who put wide when unmarked 12 yards out.

McCarthy later headed at Wiles-Richards, who pawed the ball to safety, as Weymouth survived unscathed into the second half.

Havant picked up where they left off in the first half, James Roberts’ dipping drive forcing Wiles-Richards into an awkward parry.

Roberts then darted inside and unleashed a missile destined for the top-right corner, only for Wiles-Richards to show his class with a big save at full stretch.

There was nothing he could do about Havant’s equaliser in the 56th minute, though, as Panter sliced Roberts’ left-wing cross, looping it into the far corner.

Corey Panter, out of shot, scored a looping own goal (Image: MARK PROBIN)

The concession sparked Weymouth out of their slumber and, coupled with the introduction of Touray and O’Connell for Joel Rollinson and Jones, the Terras found their stride.

Bearwish was the instigator, sneaking in goalside of Donkor before going to ground after a barge in the back for a penalty.

Tom Bearwish, right, is barged to the ground for a Weymouth penalty (Image: MARK PROBIN)

Goodship stepped up and slammed an emphatic shot into the top-left corner, giving Worner no chance in the 72nd minute.

Seven minutes later, Weymouth added a third as Havant pushed forward. The Terras caught them on the break, Goodship finding O’Connell 20 yards out and the winger firing home just inside the far post for 3-1.

O’Connell could have made it 4-1 in the closing stages, Touray’s flick spinning up presentably at the far post, only for the ex-Torquay man to head over at the back post.

But the Terras did get a fourth, giving the scoreline an inflated feel, when Touray touched home Leo Hamblin’s fine low cross from the left in the 89th minute.

The margin was undoubtedly harsh on Havant, who could count themselves unlucky not to have taken a point back to Hampshire.

Terras: Wiles-Richards, Howe, Hamblin, Panter, Jo Thompson, Jones (O’Connell 67), Bearwish, Rollinson (Touray 67), Goodship (Parsons 82), D Roberts, Rowan. Subs not used: Cheshire, Benfield.

Havant: Worner, Innocent, Donkor (Makuna 82), McNerney, McCarthy, Seager, Willson (Whittingham 87), Jewitt-White, Kealy, Jebb, J Roberts. Subs not used: Carlyle, Walker-Harris, Beckford.

Referee: Harry Warner.

Attendance: 979.