Unbeaten Hawks aim to extend rock bottom Weymouth’s horror National League run

The National League South fixture in south Dorset pits a team who have yet to win in 2022/23 against one that has yet to lose.

While Hawks are riding high in second place, the Terras are rock bottom. While Hawks have picked up 23 points in their nine fixtures, winning seven of them, Weymouth have just two points to their name.

Remarkably, Hawks have picked up as many points from nine games this season as the Terras have in their last 47 fixtures, a dire run stretching back over a year.

Weymouth won just two of their last 30 National League games in 2021/22, losing 21 of them.

The slump has continued, with last Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Dover making it four successive home games without a goal.

That latest defeat marked the first NLS fixture in charge for new manager Bobby Wilkinson, Weymouth’s third manager of 2022.

Ex-Hawks favourite Brian Stock was sacked in January of this year, to be replaced by former Oxford City manager David Oldfield.

Wilkinson left Southern League Premier South newcomers Bracknell to take over at the Bob Lucas Stadium.

While Hawks have only lost one of their last 12 away league fixtures, Weymouth have not won at home since February 15 - a 1-0 victory over Eastleigh.

The Terras’ only other league win since October 30 2021 came on the last day of last season, a 2-1 success at Dover, the only club to finish below them in the fifth tier. And that was courtesy of a last-minute winner from Tom Blair.

Doswell reports no injury concerns to the squad that drew 2-2 at Welling United at the weekend.

Tomas Kalinauskas will be added to the travelling party after returning from Lithuanian international duty today.

Yesterday the attacking midfielder made his senior Lithuania debut, coming on as a second half sub in a 1-0 loss at Luxembourg in a Nations League fixture. He had sat on the bench throughout last Thursday’s 1-1 draw with the Faroe Islands.

Kalinauskas made an instant impact at Hawks by coming off the bench and scoring with an overhead kick on his debut against Hungerford.

Doswell, meanwhile, believes Hawks could already be playing for runners-up spot after less than a quarter of the NLS season.

Despite his side’s superb start, they trail leaders Ebbsfleet by four points with the latter having won all nine league games so far.

Fleet’s latest success came through ex-Aldershot player Toby Edser’s fourth minute goal at Hungerford at the weekend.

‘I can’t see past Ebbsfleet (for the title),’ said Doswell. ‘I know they’re well funded but to win the first nine games in a row is incredible.

‘If they lose any of their best players to injury, they can bring another one in from their squad of the same quality. We’d have to look to the loan market.

‘To win 1-0 at Hungerford is exactly the sort of result that wins you the league.

‘We just have to try and stay with them, but whoever finishes second does ensure home advantage for the play-off semi-final and the final.’