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Monday, February 10, 2025
HomeDorset EastMagpies held at home by Centurions

Magpies held at home by Centurions

Dorchester Town missed the opportunity to move to within touching distance of the play-offs after being held to a 1-1 draw at home by Cirencester Town on Tuesday evening.

It’s safe to say that the result cements Cirencester’s place as Dorchester’s bogey side this season, with Dorchester failing to get the better of the Centurions in four meetings in league and cup this season.

Dorchester’s trip to Stratford on Saturday was postponed, whilst Cirencester picked up a 3-1 win over FA Cup heroes Chesham United, and were looking to kick on and build some momentum.

And it was the visitors who made the brighter start on a bitterly cold and wet evening at the Avenue. Striker Charlie Griffin managed to skip past a couple of defenders but dragged his early effort wide of the post. 

Dorchester responded with a chance of their own a few minutes later. Charlie Davis sent a delightful ball in towards Chris Dillon, but his glancing header was straight into the grateful arms of Cirencester goalkeeper Josh Langley.

The returning Shane Murphy was then called into action, as he got down well to thwart Centurions captain Leigh Henry’s vicious strike from the edge of the box.

The pace was frantic, with Luke Holmes next to try his luck for the hosts, but his effort from range was well wide. But on the quarter hour mark he was on target.

He was given far too much time and space to run in behind the defence and latch onto a long ball. He showed terrific composure to control the ball before calmly rounding the keeper and firing it past a covering defender to give the Magpies the lead.

The Magpies were close to doubling their lead a few minutes later in father fortuitous circumstances when Holmes’s cross got caught in the wind causing Langley a moment of panic, before landing on the roof of the net.

Despite the heavy rain it was an end-to-end game, and on 26 minutes Cirencester hauled themselves level.

Dorch were all too aware of the threat Cirencester carry from set-pieces from their three previous meetings this season, so they will no doubt be incredibly frustrated to have conceded such a soft equaliser. Langworthy’s corner was met by a bullet header from Mark Pritchett for 1-1.

The Magpies came close to re-taking the lead from a corner of their own a few minutes later – Nathan Walker heading over from close range.

Cirencester’s Matt Lidiard then came close to giving his side the lead when a cross fell to him at the back post. He unleashed a powerful strike at goal, but it was somehow scrambled off the line by a covering defender, in what proved to be the last chance of a frantic first half.

The second half took a while to get going, with both sides struggling to fashion any clear cut chances. 

Nathan Walker headed over from Franklyn Clarke’s cross, before Clarke himself forced Langley into action – cutting in from the left but only shooting tamely at the keeper.

Walker continued to pose a threat from corners. He had another effort which looked to be flying into the roof of the net, only for Langley to pull off an excellent save – tipping the ball over the bar to keep the scores level.

Cirencester then had a chance to win it ten minutes from time when Matt Oldring gave away a free kick on the edge of the area, and Pritchett’s effort took a hefty deflection and fell wide of the mark.

Going into the final few minutes neither side were showing any signs of being content with the draw, and they both spurned chances to snatch all three points.

The visitors won the ball back in midfield and set off on a counter attack. Matt Liddiard sent a dangerous cross in to Ross Langworthy, but he failed to keep his composure and blazed over the bar from the penalty spot.

It was a glorious chance, and they nearly paid for it deep into injury time when Walker got on the end of another Franklyn Clarke cross, but Langley was on hand to make a fairly comfortable save and ensure his side went back to Gloucestershire with a point in the bag.

Credit must go to both sides for producing an entertaining game in difficult conditions, and in the end a point apiece was probably fair on balance. 

The draw means Dorchester remain ninth, four points adrift of fifth placed Weymouth with a game in hand.

They’ll be looking to make it six home games uneaten and continue their assault on the play-offs when they welcome Slough Town to the Avenue on Saturday.

The Rebels currently lie 15th and have struggled to find any sort of consistency all season, and the Magpies will be thirsting for revenge for a shock 4-1 defeat to the Rebels earlier in the season.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Weymouth have a crucial game at third placed Hungerford Town. The Terras desperately need to get back to winning ways following back-to-back defeats at Poole and Bedworth, and a win at Bullpit Lane would give their promotion hopes a huge boost. But it certainly won’t be easy against a Hungerford side who have only suffered one home defeat all season.

Meanwhile league leaders Poole Town look to consolidate their place at the top of the table when they travel to second bottom Paulton Rovers. Despite their lowly league position Rovers are actually in pretty good form – unbeaten in six games, and having given the Dolphins a scare at Tatnam earlier in the season, they’ll be quietly confident of causing a shock. 

James Spring

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