Wealdstone 1 – 0 Weston-super-Mare
Wealdstone
1 - 0
Weston-super-MareA second-half goal from Elliot Benyon sealed all the points at The Vale on Monday night against a battling Weston-super-Mare side and moved Stones into fifth place.
The Stones were frustrated for large periods of the game but the introduction of Ricky Wellard and Omar Koroma invigorated the team and brought life to the game with Koroma providing the assist for Benyon’s goal.
Ciaron Brown and Sam Cox both came in to make their full-debuts replacing Eddie Oshodi and Koroma, with the youngster Brown producing a man of the match performance.
In a first half which saw little action, the Stones had the best of the chances when Benyon had an effort cleared off the line by Sekani Simpson.
Jonathan North was called into action three times, twice denying Joe McClennan from range and having an Ollie Barnes header go straight at him.
The Seagulls picked up where they left off at half time when Kane Ingram was left in acres of space in the middle of the pitch. He played the ball to Eliot Richards who played Tom Meechan through on goal but his effort produced a fantastic low save from North.
Wealdstone didn’t pick up any momentum until the introduction of Wellard and Koroma shortly afterwards.
And it was Koroma’s first action of the game lead to the goal on 65 minutes. Matty Whichelow picked up the ball in the middle and drove forward playing two 1-2s with Koroma before the Gambian winger played in a low cross for Benyon who slid the ball into the net.
Six minutes later Whichelow almost grabbed a goal for himself. Again the former Watford man had time in the middle, and then unleashed a powerful 30-yard screamer which cannoned off the crossbar and over the Bulla Stand.
Wellard nearly doubled the Stones lead after Luke Purnell dropped a corner kick, but the keeper recovered well to block Wellard’s effort after the substitute capitalised on the mistake.
Weston-super-Mare nearly equalised in stoppage time when Dayle Grubb played in Jason Pope but the defender blazed the ball way over the bar.
WEALDSTONE: North, Smith, Brown, McLeod-Urquhart, Hamblin (c), Godfrey (Wellard 56), Cox, Green, Benyon, Whichelow (Williams 85), Wright (Koroma 62) Unused subs: Kabba, McGleish
By Chris Woods
Gordon Bartlett post-match interview HERE
Alan Palmer pictures HERE
WFC Instagram pictures HERE