Daf Williams
Gloucester City manager Daf Williams reflected on a bitter-sweet day after his side beat Weymouth 3-1 on Saturday afternoon.
The away side looked extremely dangerous early on, but a great run by Rylie Siddall down the left-hand side, which was cut back for Harry Pinchard, put the hosts in front in the 44th minute, for his second goal in two games.
The half ended 1-0, but after the break it was all Weymouth, and they were rewarded with a penalty after Keiran Thomas’s challenge brought down Reuben Reid, which Tom Bearwish slotted away in the 54th minute.
In the 88th minute, Weymouth were defending for a vital point, but an Elis Watts cross that was missed by everyone bounced into the far corner, sending the KMM Energy Stadium into elation to give the Tigers all three points.
It went from bad to worse for Weymouth as in the 92nd minute, a time-wasting Watts saw a gap in the defence to exploit, which he dribbled through and fired.
His shot was stopped, but King Baidoo on the rebound bundled the ball home to confirm all three points for the Tigers.
“The game sort of panned out exactly how we anticipated. We've watched their last three games, two of which have been against Walton and Poole,” Williams said.
“We had a really good idea that they'd potentially set up and sort of approach the game in the same way. We knew that we'd have to be patient in the game because they defend the box really well, and that patience proved critical.
“We didn't start the second half particularly well, but I thought we overcame that quite impressively, actually.”
City confirmed the sudden retirement of Ben Richards-Everton after a recurring injury on the morning of the match. Williams was complimentary about the City defender.
“Just gutting," he said. "But some things are more important than football, family, and health is one of them. So, he departs with our blessing, and we wish him all the very best.
“He's been fantastic for me on a personal level since I walked into the building in the summer; he's been class for me on and off the pitch, and I know he's been the same for the football club for the last couple of years.
“On behalf of everyone, we’re all gutted. But it's something that he feels is the best thing for him and the stage of his career and his life. Just a massive thank you to him personally.”
Coventry City loanee Rylie Siddall made his first start for the club and definitely left a strong impression on the manager.
“He was very good. I thought he was the best player on the pitch in the first half. He continued with that quality in the second half.
“He’s worked incredibly hard the last few weeks and I think he's going to fit in really, really well here.”
Gloucester City: Thompson, Lewis, O'Regan, Phillips (Baidoo 29), Spence (Wildig 78), Watts, Thomas, Pinchard, Mohammed, Simpson Siddall (Hanks 78).
Weymouth: Evans, Hutchinson, Douglas, Genesini (Neale 90), Bearwish, Goodship, Burrows (Reid 32), Robinson, Betts, Pollock, Stone.
Referee: Ryan Price.
Attendance: 1,222.