WEYSPICE WEYMOUTH LADIES 2 STOKE LANE ATHLETIC LADIES 2

WEYMOUTH dropped two vital South West Premier League points at windswept Redlands when they were pegged back by Stoke Lane Athletic.

Amy Douch and Rosie Sharpe controlled the centre of midfield well for the hosts and young Ella Walmsley played some delightful through balls that almost led to the opening goal.

On one of their sporadic attacks, Stoke Lane almost took the lead but for the quick reactions of Weymouth keeper Eloise Adams who came out and thwarted the danger.

Midway through the first half Weymouth squandered two great chances in quick succession to break the deadlock.

Firstly a fantastic cross found Bianca Randall six yards from goal but she hit the keeper with her effort before top scorer Philippa Holden completely missed her shot when a good contact would surely have found the net. However, just prior to the break the hosts took the lead and what a goal it was.

Holden, who moves to Guildford at the weekend to begin playing for Chelsea Ladies, got away down the left, beat her marker and curled an unstoppable shot into the top corner.

Stoke Lane came out looking far more dangerous in the second period and for 10 minutes Weymouth had to soak up some pressure.

Normal service was resumed though after 15 minutes when Holden evaded her marker again and scored her second with another smart finish.

However, a combination of Stoke throwing people forward and Wey-mouth moving away from doing everything that had got them into a winning position saw the game turn on its head.

Bad marking and weak tackling saw the visitors gifted their opener with 20 minutes left and then with a quarter of an hour to go Stoke got the equaliser, again courtesy of the charity offered to them by Weymouth’s youngsters.

Despite Randall and Holden both going close in the final stages Weymouth had to settle for a draw, which for 70 minutes seemed totally out of the question.

The Terras’ next game is at Red-lands tomorrow when they entertain runaway leaders Exeter City who are managed by ex-Weymouth star Steve Tully.

That game will be another great education for the Weymouth youngsters against some of the best players in the South of England.