It’s been an interesting week for Dorset’s top three non league sides. Weymouth and Poole both went out of the FA Trophy at the hands of Conference South opposition, whilst Dorchester Town suffered two crushing disapointments in the league, which leave them deep in the relegation mire.
The Magpies welcomed fellow strugglers Paulton Rovers to the Avenue Stadium on Saturday, and two goals in four minutes on the half hour mark had the county town outfit sitting pretty with a 2-0 half time lead.
It really ought to have been 3-0, but Mason Walsh somehow managed to put it wide from the edge of the six yard box following more great work from Dan Smith. And arguably, that miss was the turning point.
Paulton came out all guns blazing at the start of the second half, and halved the deficite when Dean Evans reacted quickest following Dorchester’s faliure to get the ball away – blasting it into the roof of the net.
But less than ten minutes later, the Magpies restorted their two goal cushion through Mason Walsh, who made up for his earlier error.
At 3-1 up on home soil against a fellow struggler, Dorchester should have been capable of seeing the game out to claim a valuable 3 points. And for a while after the third goal Dorchester did look comfortable, and had numerous opportunities to score a fourth goal. But those missed chances would end up coming back to haunt them.
On 81 minutes, Dorchester again failed to deal with a routine ball into the box, and Dean Evans was on hand again to pick up the pieces and give the visitors hope.
Dorchester have lost a lot of points to late goals this season, and with just two minutes of normal time to play, the home fans worst fears were realised, as they saw their team conceede yet another goal from a cross – Jordan Walker glancing home Brandon Barnes’s corner.
That was the signal for many home fans to head for the exits, and those that did missed yet another goal from another set piece deep into injury time, when Scott Brice headed home to complete a quite remarkable turnaround, and leave Dorchester kicking themselves.
The Magpies misery was compounded further on Monday night when they made the long and fruitless journey to Reddtch United for a 3-0 defeat. Jack Odam had fired a shot against the crossbar early on, before Jermaine Hylton gave the high flying hosts a 33rd minute lead.
George Carline doubled the lead just two minutes into the second half, before Hylton wrapped it up with his second of the night on 77 minutes.
It’s clear for all to see Dorchester’s defensive problems are becoming an even bigger problem. They are finding the net on a much more regular basis in recent weeks, but they simply can’t stop the flow of goals at the other end. That’s 14 goals conceeded in just their last three matches.
These two latest setbacks leave the Magpies perilously close to the relegation zone. They sit just two points above Arlesey Town who have played a game more, and face another tough test this weekend as they travel to play-off chasing Slough Town.
At the other end of the table, Poole Town have gone three points clear of second placed Redditch, and six clear of Weymouth after Richard Gillespie scored a dramatic 90th minute winner at home to Dunstable Town on Tuesday night.
The news dampened the mood of the Weymouth supporters even further, as they’d watched their side go down to a crushing 5-0 defeat in their FA Trophy replay at Havant & Waterlooville.
A surprising scoreline given that there was very little to choose between the sides at the Bob Lucas Stadium on Saturday, despite the fact Weymouth played for over an hour with ten men after Jamie Laird was given his marching orders.
Jason Matthews made a string of good saves to keep his side on level terms, but the Hawkes finally made a breakthrough just past the hour mark when Bradley Bubb scored from close range.
But that seemed to make the Terras even more determined, and just four minutes later they were back on level terms. The Hawkes failed to clear their lines from an Adam Kelly free kick, and the ball found its way to George Rigg who was given time and space to pick his spot, and pull his side level.
Suddenly it was the Conference South side who were rattled, and Weymouth could count themselves unlucky not to win the tie late on when Adam Kelly saw a wonderfull curling effort from around 25 yards superbly tipped over the bar by the goalkeeper.
Instead, the two sides had to settle for a replay, and this time the Conference South side really made their class tell. Two goals from Ben Wright and one from Brian Stock effectively killed the tie off in the first twenty minutes, as the Terras looked uncharacteristically shakey in defence.
The manner in which the goals were conceeded will dissapoint Jason Matthews – the second and third goals both coming from Weymouth’s right flank, and the keeper himself having a bit of a mare for the fourth goal – beaten at his near post by a fairly harmless looking ball in.
Despite the 5-0 scoreline, Weymouth were not completely taken apart though, and actually created more chances on the night than what they had done in their previous few games. But a combination of some poor finishing and a goalkeeper in inspired form meant the Terras were unable to find the back of the net.
By the admission of a few home fans the scoreline was cruel on Weymouth, but there was no denying that Havant were the superior side on the night. They played the ball around really well, and looked a threat every time they went forwards. They certainly showed why they have aspirations of being in the Conference National next season.
Weymouth will no doubt learn one or two lessons from it, but it’s important they don’t beat themselves up too much. The scoreline does indeed make for tough reading, but the Terras should look at the positives – mainly the number of chances they created. On another night they could have had 3 or 4 themselves.
The Terras will look to bounce back quickly on Saturday when they welcome Biggleswade Town to the Bob Lucas Stadium in the Southern Premier League.
The Waders sit 16th in the table, and have only picked up two away wins all season, and will be smarting from a 5-2 loss last Saturday. It’s a game Weymouth will be expecting to pick up three points from, but it won’t be a walk in the park. Biggleswade are normally a well drilled, well organised side who can cause anyone in the league problems on their day.
But that said, if Weymouth play as we know they can play they should have enough in their locker to pick up three points, and hopefully narrow the gap on leaders Poole. The Dolphins themselves face arguably their biggest game of the season as they travel to Steel Park to face third placed Corby Town. The Steelmen could move level on points with Poole with a win, and they’ll be full of confidence following a 5-0 win over bottom club Banbury on Tuesday night.
It promises to be a crucial weekend of Southern Premier League football, especially with it being the final games before Boxing Day, and the long awaited Ridgeway Derby at the Avenue between Dorchester and Weymouth.
But both sides will be focusing 100% on big league games this weekend. One thing is for sure, it’s getting very tight and nervy at both ends of the table!
James Spring
