Five changes were made by Scott Bartlett after our late 1 – 0 victory over Maidenhead on Saturday, as Sam Avery, Will Dawes, Skinner, Jake Hicks and Callum Wood all came into the starting XI.
Wood came close to opening the scoring early on into the game when he looked to toe-poke home a spilled free-kick by Dawes, however goalkeeper Jack Turner was alert to pounce on the loose ball. Rakish Bingham drove wide from 25 yards down the other end, before Toby Huke also drove wide from long range when the opportunity presented itself.
Mason Bloomfield headed wide a Connor Harris cross, before a Bingham volley from Ollie Robinson’s long throw was comfortably into the arms of Max Harris.
Half-Time: Farnborough 0 – 0 Weston-super-Mare AFC
The Seagulls took the lead eight minutes after the interval when Skinner picked up a loose Farnborough pass on halfway and drove forward, skipping past a number of home defenders to drive into the area. With Turner advancing, he rounded the shot-stopper and slotted in on his left foot for his third goal in five games.
Bloomfield fired over the top for Farnborough in response when receiving a Poleon layoff, before Britton saw a 25-yard free-kick tipped narrowly wide by Turner following a foul on the No.9. Jacob Jagger Cane then saw a volley from the resultant corner following pinball held comfortably by Turner.
The hosts were to level not long after the hour mark when Huke got down the left and delivered a cross into the middle for Bloomfield to attack, the striker powerfully heading past Harris to bring proceedings level.
The Seagulls were to get their noses back in front when James Dodd found Dawes out on the left wing. He cut back onto his right foot and swung a delightful ball towards the back post, where Britton was able to rise above those around him and loop a fantastic header back across goal and over Turner for 2 – 1.
Dodd fired wide off balance on his right foot inside the area, before Weston came remarkable close to scoring in a goalmouth scramble. Luke Coulson intercepted a loose pass out and drove forwards, feeding Skinner who beat his man inside the area. The forward’s shot struck the post, before the 17-year-old’s follow-up was blocked by the diving Turner. Britton then saw his shot blocked on the line, before Dodd drove the final shot wide.
It was then Coulson’s time to hit the woodwork when he beat his man from a reverse James Waite pass and went one-on-one with Turner, his toe-poke hitting the post before agonisingly rolling across the face of goal and be cleared away.
The Weston No.7 wasn’t to be denied though, and he got the opportunity to get his name on the scoresheet for the first time this campaign when Hicks went down inside the penalty area when rounding Turner. With the referee pointing to the spot, the substitute stepped up to send the Farnborough keeper the wrong way and get his first of the season.
The Seagulls now welcome Dagenham & Redbridge this Saturday 30th August, as Scott Bartlett’s men seek to continue their good form.
Full-Time: Farnborough 1 – 3 Weston-super-Mare AFC (Bloomfield 64; Skinner 53, Britton 70, Coulson pen 90+6)
Attendance: 923
Weston XI: Harris, Pope (Smith 18), Jagger Cane, Wood (Martin 69), Avery, Dodd, Britton, Lewis (C), Dawes (Coulson 75), Hicks (Salmon 90+6), Skinner (Waite 80).
Unused substitute: Glover.
MOTM: Jake Hicks. A calm performance on his first start of the campaign, where the teenager picked up plenty of loose balls and drove Weston forward in possession while maintaining the defensive discipline off the ball.
