Visits to the Avenue Stadium in Dorchester are usually enjoyed by the travelling Amber Army, and with good reason.  10 trips to the Conference South’s most aesthetically pleasing venue have produced eight County victories and just one defeat.  It may however be some time before we return!

Dorchester’s decision to go full-time in the summer has not yet yielded the anticipated benefits in terms of results on the field, and with crowds declining as the team looks destined for lower level football; it is difficult to be confident of their future.  For County, the usual outcome was forthcoming though it was not achieved without a scare or two in a disjointed second half.

Peter Beadle was able to name a fit again Jason Bowen in his starting line-up and the return of arguably the most skilful player at this level of football was good news indeed, as was the appearance of skipper Steve Jenkins in the right-back slot after an injury scare at Weston.  Dorchester included loan signing from Cardiff City Bradley Middleton in central defence and with victories over high-flying Stevenage in the FA Trophy and a draw with Bath City from their last two games, there was a degree of optimism that former County defender Paul Compton’s arrival as assistant manager may see an upturn in the form that has kept the Magpies entrenched in the relegation places throughout the current campaign.

There was no early evidence that Dorchester would pose a serious threat to a County side looking for their first double of the season, and Compton must have been cringing at his defence when IAN HILLIER was allowed to rise above them to head home an eighth minute corner from Richard Evans past static keeper Darren Behcet.  The home rearguard moved up to catch County offside eight times in the first half but it was a dangerous ploy against the pace of Charlie Griffin, Craig Hughes and Richard Evans and the guile of Jason Bowen and County looked capable of adding to their advantage.

Dorchester had no creative ideas other than desperate long balls for Jones Awuah and Ivan Gomez-Forbes to chase and Glyn Thompson had a quiet time of it in goal, while County were frequently frustrated in a tetchy first half which was disappointing to the purist.  There was no doubting that the visitors had far more quality and this was demonstrated seven minutes after the break when, as Dorchester’s defence pushed out yet again towards the halfway line, Lee Fowler read the situation and lofted the ball over them.  An onside CHARLIE GRIFFIN timed his run perfectly, drew Behcet from his goal and rounded the keeper to score his 12th goal of the season, and a victory of the margin of the 4-0 success at the same venue, with which County opened 2007, looked on the cards.

As has been the case too frequently in the past though, County look vulnerable immediately after scoring, and Dorchester, who had not created any attacking threat up to then, reduced the arrears in the 55th minute.  Substitute Jon Docker had been introduced on the left seconds before, and his cross appeared to loop off the head of WES FOGDEN over the stranded Thompson.  It was contemplation time 10 minutes later when assistant referee Chris Brokenshaw called for attention having apparently injuring a leg.  It would have been understandable if he had strained an arm muscle with his frequent first half flagging!  There was a break of nine minutes for players and fans alike to freeze while local replacement Mike Long was kitted up.

County’s defence was thrown off guard for the first time shortly after the resumption when Lee Jarman and Hillier both failed to clear and FOGDEN struck again, this time with some certainty.  It seemed almost inconceivable that Dorchester were level after being outplayed almost throughout but normal service was quickly restored with Jermaine Clarke sent on in place of Craig Hughes, who for all his effort could not quite get into the game.

Griffin forced a good save from Behcet diving to his left and after the corner the ball was played out to the County left from where Evans returned it goalwards.  The keeper, who is on loan from Yeovil, looked nothing like his programme pen picture which described him as ‘strong and commanding’ and fumbled the ball into the path of the jubilant Clarke who scored his second matchwinner for his new club to follow his effort at Windsor the previous month.

Two minutes later the jittery home keeper reacted well to deny Griffin, and then Middleton almost turned an Evans cross into his own net as County sought the killer fourth goal.  It was not forthcoming, but County returned home with the spoils and a delighted away contingent of around 200 fans celebrated with the team at the end.

Those fans will doubtless feel let down that Dorchester decided not to produce a dedicated match programme for the game, choosing to go with a double issue, to cater also for their Boxing Day clash with Bath City.

Man of the Match: 

Dorchester: Wes Fogden (no other candidate).

County: Damon Searle (strong leader at the back).

Special mention:  Replacement assistant referee Mike Long who did very well in front of the noisy County fans.