A superbly entertaining afternoon at the Bob Lucas Stadium sees the Pitmen make it back-to-back wins courtesy of a late double strike from Nick Wellecomme and Danny Quinn, although a superb penalty save from Dan Crane also contributed heavily to the away side's victory which confirmed their place in the play-offs with two games remaining

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Rob Smith's side had returned to winning ways last weekend with a confident 4-1 win over struggling Bedford Town at Keys Park, just about keeping them in the hunt for the title in the process. Smith made just the one enforced change to his side for today's long trip down to Dorset as the suspended Darren Campion was replaced by Louis Keenan at left-back

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The Terras - starting the afternoon in the final relegation spot in the Zamaretto Premier League table - had hammered fellow strugglers Bedford last Saturday, winning 4-0 at Ladysmead to bring them level on points with Didcot Town just above them, Manager Martyn Rogers made one change to his side from the one that had beaten the Yellows as Nick Jacobs came in for Ed Palmer

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The hosts were keen to follow up the win over Tiverton with the notable scalp of the Pitmen and started the game well, with striker Warren Byerley just failing to turn home a low cross from Jamie Beasley in the opening minute as the ball skipped across Dan Crane's six-yard box and agonisingly out of reach of the Weymouth man to turn home at the far post

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The home side's bright start to the game saw them awarded a penalty kick in the sixth minute of the game as skipper Mike Fowler played the ball into the Hednesford penalty area to find Lee Smith, whose run towards goal was halted by Keenan's tackle. Despite the Pitmen claiming that the youngster had got a touch to the ball, referee Mr Wade pointed to the spot and shrugged off the away side's protests. Byerley - who had a 100% record from the spot this season - took the spot-kick but drilled his effort at a comfortable height for Crane, who made the save to his right before pouncing on the loose ball. Byerley looked to follow the ball in but only succeeded in kicking Crane in the head as he followed through, sparking a fracas between the two sets of players and the benches and leading to Byerley being booked for violent conduct

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Weymouth continued to press despite this early blow and Smith pounced on an errant clearance from Cheyenne Dunkley in the tenth minute, getting the better of the defender and heading his attempted clearance just over Crane's crossbar from twelve yards out

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It had been a sobering opening period for the Pitmen, who weathered the Weymouth storm well and started to come back into the game; Nick Wellecomme had the away side's first sight at goal in the thirteenth minute as he picked up a pass from Chris Clements but fired wide of goal with a shot from fully twenty-five yards out

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Clements himself was to have the Pitmen's next shot at goal three minutes later, turning inside two challenges to make room for himself before firing narrowly wide off the right-hand post from just outside the Weymouth penalty area

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On twenty minutes, Wellecomme was played into the Weymouth penalty area by a neat flick over the defence by Kyle Patterson to find his strike partner, whose half-volley from sixteen yards out was saved by James Nortei in the Terras goal

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Two minutes later, Wellecomme was sent on his way down the right by Jay Denny's deft pass, latching onto the ball and taking it past Smith before attempting an audacious shot from a tight angle that drifted a couple of yards wide of Nortei's far post

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Superb skill from Clements on twenty-seven minutes saw him turn opposite number Rob Wolleaston inside out as he made room for himself once more just outside the penalty area, only to see his attempted lob at goal sail over Nortei's crossbar

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Just after the half-hour mark, Nortei's long kick forwards was flicked on by Fowler and into the path of Beasley, whose first-time shot failed to worry Crane as he tamely lifted his first-time shot over the crossbar and into the Weymouth fans stood behind the goal

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Beasley was involved once more three minutes later as his clever reverse pass found Mudge running in on goal, only for an offside flag to deny the former Tiverton striker a shot at Crane's goal

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With ten minutes of a competitive half remaining, Crane's free-kick just inside his own half dropped at the feet of Clements after being headed into his path by Ben Gerring, only for the midfielder to once again get his range all wrong and fired well wide of goal from twenty-five yards out

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The Pitmen got their noses in front on thirty-nine minutes, with this season's top scorer Patterson grabbing the all-important opener; Ben Bailey's searching ball forwards from just inside his own half was missed by Smith, allowing the ball to run in behind him and into the path of the ever-willing Patterson. He turned past Lewis Clarke on the edge of the penalty area before steadying himself and calmly sidefooting the ball past Nortei to find the corner of the net

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Back came the hosts almost immediately, with a fine run and cross from Beasley cleared off the line by the alert presence of skipper Liam Francis on forty minutes after the winger crossed from the left looking for Byerley

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From the resultant corner, Mudge delivered a fine cross back into the penalty area that dropped onto the head of Jacobs, whose goalbound header was tipped over the crossbar by the athletic Crane

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With three minutes remaining, a quick break from the Pitmen opened up the Weymouth defence once more as Bailey's pass found Wellecomme in acres of space down the right. The former Stafford Rangers man saw his initial shot from eighteen yards out blocked by Lewis Tasker and rolled kindly into the path of Clements, who showed superb technique to produce a superb half-volley to send the ball beyond the reach of Nortei and find the far corner of the net from sixteen yards out

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A minute later, Crane was forced into another fingertip save to deny Weymouth once more as a cross-field pass from Tasker was flicked towards goal by the head of Smith, only for Crane to once again deny the hosts as he got enough on the ball to turn it away from danger

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Weymouth were not to be denied, however, and in the final minute of the half they pulled a goal back; Wolleaston's attempted shot from the edge of the area was blocked by Bailey but ran kindly for Byerley, who steered the ball past Crane from fifteen yards out with a well-taken shot

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The game had ebbed and flowed from the very first minute, with the Pitmen once again proving that they have that extra bit of cutting edge in the attacking areas that set them apart from most teams in this league. Crane will have been disappointed at conceding a goal so late on in the half, having denied the Terras time and again throughout the first half in what had been a dominant display between the posts

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The hosts were on the front foot once more at the start of the second half, with a deep cross from Tasker on fifty minutes lumped straight up in the air by Cheyenne Dunkley, causing Crane to have to punch the ball clear of goal. The ball fell to Mudge, whose first-time shot from twelve yards out was cleared off the line once more by Francis before Dunkley finally put the ball behind for a Weymouth corner kick

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Another superb block from Crane three minutes later denied Gerring on this occasion, parrying the ball away from goal after a free-kick from Beasley was cleared as far as the defender on the edge of the Hednesford penalty area

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An unorthodox save from Nortei denied the Pitmen at the other end of the pitch on fifty-five minutes as a good run from Patterson down the right saw him send over a cross towards Wellecomme, who was denied by Nortei somehow getting a hand to the ball despite looking like he had fallen over before the ball had reached him

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On fifty-eight minutes, Clements found himself one on one with the Weymouth stopper as Patterson's fine square pass played him clean through on goal. However, the young midfielder wanted too much time to think about his shot, dancing around the ball and trying to work it past the goalkeeper before passing to Patterson once more, whose wild shot from ten yards out flew well wide of goal

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Patterson felt that he should have been awarded a penalty kick on the hour mark as a Clements free-kick was flicked on by Wellecomme and into his path before he appeared to fall under a diving challenge from Nortei. Despite the Pitmen's vociferous protests, Mr Wade was unmoved despite it looking on first viewing to be a clear-cut penalty as the stopper had taken Patterson out after the ball had been played

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Patterson was motivated to right this wrong and created a good opening for himself three minutes later as a deep free-kick from Denny was flicked on by Wellecomme and seized upon by Patterson, who did well to control the ball before striking a dipping shot from the edge of the penalty area that struck the crossbar

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Crane made a stunning save to deny Gerring an equaliser for Weymouth on sixty-five minutes as the Pitmen struggled to clear a corner kick from Beasley that found Smith at the far post; his header back to Fowler saw the midfielder's shot turned away by Dunkley but only as far as Gerring, whose right-footed shot from close-range was somehow turned over the crossbar by a breathtaking instinctive save from Crane on his line. Brilliant from the stopper

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The Pitmen had been living dangerously inside their own third of the pitch for most of the second half and could have no complaints when the home side finally got themselves back on level terms with twenty minutes remaining. Beasley made a run down the left-wing and held off the challenge of Alex Melbourne before somehow managing to beat Crane at his near post with a stunning angled drive into the roof of the net. A great goal

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Back came the Pitmen, however, and Wellecomme was denied by more odd but effective goalkeeping from Nortei two minutes later as a ridiculously short backpass from Jacobs was seized upon by the striker, who took the ball around the goalkeeper but was forced wide by the dancing feet of Nortei, prompting Wellecomme to try and slide the ball home from an acute angle that the stopper was able to get back to and clear

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With fifteen minutes remaining, full-back Clarke made a run down the right and sent over a deep cross to the far post that almost caught Crane off guard as it drifted towards goal before clipping the crossbar

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Five minutes later, a quick break from the hosts saw Byerley play Smith clear of Keenan down the right flank, working the ball onto his left foot but firing just over the crossbar from just inside the Hednesford penalty area

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Ross Davidson was the next man in white to be denied by some last-ditch defending from the Terras three minutes later as his initial run into the penalty area found Patterson unmarked twelve yards from goal; once again, Nortei somehow did enough to put the striker off, despite being way off his line and standing near the penalty spot, forcing Patterson to play the ball back to Davidson, whose right-footed effort with the outside of his boot was somehow saved by the diving Nortei

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However, Nortei's highly unorthodox approach to the game was to catch up with him on eighty-seven minutes as he handed the Pitmen the lead once more on a plate. After receiving the ball back in his own penalty area, the goalkeeper took far too long with his kick forwards and allowed Patterson to run at him and block the panicked clearance, deflecting the ball into the path of Wellecomme who slotted the ball into the empty net. Credit has to go to Patterson for his quick thinking, but it had been a wholly avoidable goal for Weymouth to concede

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Wellecomme could have added to the tally a minute later as Clements sent Patterson away down the right once more, with his cross turned into the striker's path by the ubiquitous Clements, only for Nortei to make the save at his near post as Wellecomme's touch deserted him at the crucial moment

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The Pitmen could afford to make a double attacking change in the final minute of the game, as both Wellecomme and Patterson were replaced by Danny Quinn and Marvin Robinson respectively

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With his one and only touch of the game, Quinn completed the afternoon's scoring to the Pitmen's tally in added time as Davidson's slide-rule pass sent Robinson away down the left, squaring the ball to his fellow substitute who turned the ball home from six yards out

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It had been a thoroughly entertaining afternoon on the south coast for the Pitmen and a game that will most likely live long in the memory of those that had made the journey to witness it. Three points keep the Pitmen's slim title hopes alive, although they will now require a collapse from Truro City in their final two games over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend to stand a chance of overtaking them in their final two games of the season. Brackley Town visit Keys Park next weekend in the Pitmen's final home game of the season as Smith's side look to continue their fine run of form and end with eleven games unbeaten at Keys Park at the end of the campaign

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Weymouth: Nortei ▆, Clark, Tasker, Fowler ©, Gerring, Jacobs (Groves 83), Smith, Wolleaston, Mudge, Byerley ▆, Beasley       Subs Unused: Tribe, Rousell

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Hednesford Town: Crane, Bailey, Keenan, Dunkley, Francis © ▆, Denny, Melbourne, Clements, Wellecomme (Quinn 90), Patterson (Robinson 90), Davidson      Subs Unused: Gomes, Arrowsmith

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