WEYMOUTH manager Mark Molesley admitted he would “forgive” the Terras’ below-par second half in the 2-1 loss to 10-man Farnborough.

Dan Roberts put Weymouth ahead with a fabulous finish, ending Molesley’s 485-minute wait for a goal as Terras boss stretching back to the 2020 National League South promotion final.

However, Weymouth led for fewer than two minutes as Ricky Holmes, arguably man of the match, punished a miscommunication to lob keeper Harvey Wiles-Richards for 1-1.

Edon Pruti saw red for an alleged elbow on Ezio Touray in the 46th minute but Weymouth tired visibly as the exertions of four long away trips began to haunt them.

READ MORE: Weymouth 1-2 Farnborough - report

Farnborough, despite playing a man light, had the greater energy and it was no surprise when Olly Pendlebury smashed a low shot in off the post 15 minutes from time.

Weymouth ended the game with some players walking wounded and others deployed out of position.

And those extenuating circumstances allowed Molesley to be lenient in his assessment of the match.

Post-match, he told the gathered media: “I think I’m going to have to forgive our players for the second half. It was disappointing and we didn’t play anywhere near how we played since I come in.

“There’s quite a few factors. A lot of players playing out of position, a lot of players playing under fatigue and two or three shouldn’t have been playing.

“The squad was stretched to its maximum and we ran out of steam and legs. We’ve had a lot of travel, a lot of games.

“The players haven’t been conditioned to play in that quick succession. Training once a week probably wasn’t enough to be conditioned for this stage of the season.

“They’re things we’re going to look for, so again we’ve learnt a lot of lessons since we came in assessing different areas.

“I can’t be clouded by that second-half performance because the lads’ attitude and application was great. Forty-five minutes was just too much for us. Completely understandable.”