Ten-man Hungerford bounce back to secure hard earned Weymouth point

Hungerford Town secured a hard fought 1-1 draw with Weymouth thanks to a second half header from Jerry Gyebi at Bulpit Lane on Monday afternoon.

The Crusaders survived the last 15 minutes with 10 men after George Smith was sent off when a cynical foul earned him a second yellow card.

Weymouth had arrived late but made a fast start, taking the lead four minutes in when Tom Bearwish brilliantly volleyed Tom Blair’s cross into the top corner.

The Terras almost went two up on seven minutes when Matt Berry-Hargreaves nearly turned the impressive Keelan O’Connell’s cross into his own net.

Jed Ward then made a number of saves to keep the deficit down to just one, first keeping out Daniel Matsuzaka’s header on 10 minutes and then denying O’Connell three minutes later.

The Dorset-based side had another good chance to double their lead before half time when Tom Blair drove into the box but drilled his shot over Ward’s crossbar.

Hungerford were rewarded for a much-improved start to the second half just before the hour mark when Jerry Gyebi rose highest to meet Jake Evans’ corner and head beyond Bournemouth loanee Billy Terrell in the Weymouth goal to level the scores.

George Smith saw red 15 minutes from time after he pulled a Weymouth shirt on the edge of the box, leaving the referee little choice but to brandish a second yellow.

Hungerford, however, stood firm and survived the final quarter of an hour without too many scares to pick up a well-earned point.

The result leaves the Crusaders 18th in the league table while vistors Weymouth remain bottom despite picking up a first point of the season.

“I think a draw was a fair result on the balance of play,” said manager Danny Robinson.

“I felt Weymouth were far better than us first half, I thought we didn’t really get going.

“We had a lacklustre start and deserved to be 1-0 down.

“Second half we tweaked things and I felt, before the sending off, we were the better side and deserved to get back on equal terms.

“We showed great character and resilience to hold on and keep a good point, hopefully it’ll be a good point come the end of the season.”

Robinson was full of praise for goalscorer Jerry Gyebi, who joined the Crusaders from Enfield this summer.

“Jerry was man-of-the-match for me,” he said.

“We know what we’ve got with Jez, he’s a tall commanding centre half.

“We felt he needed to add aggression to his game, we had him here the pre-season before last.

“He’s gone away, he’s worked his behind off, we’re starting to see the best of him.

“He’s only going to get better, he’s still young, still learning the game, and learning it at a good level.”

Robinson was also delighted with the manner in which his side responded to going down to 10 men.

“We dug deep, we’ve got the most character and resilience in this division,” he said.

“We can’t afford to pay the same wages as a lot of teams in this league, the average player gets £500.

“Hard work and determination will get us points, we’re going to be difficult to beat.

“We have to rest up now, Saturday took it out of us a lot, it took it out of me and I didn’t even play.

“I’m pleased with how we responded and I’m pleased with a point.”

The Crusaders host 11th placed side Taunton Town on Saturday, September 3.