AFTER his shock return for Monday’s defeat of Weymouth, Nathan Walker reckons that coming back to the Avenue was a “no-brainer” given his start to the campaign with Gosport.

The derby against the Terras, won by Dorchester thanks to Mark Jermyn’s second-half strike, was Walker’s first taste of football this term.

Having joined Gosport in the summer after finishing last season as a member of the Magpies’ squad, the defender was an unused substitute in Borough’s opening six fixtures in National League South.

Walker didn’t hesitate in deciding to get some game time with his former club, signing dual registration forms on the eve of the Ridgeway derby following an approach by county town boss Jermyn.

Speaking to Echosport about the deal, he said: “I don’t regret going to Gosport, and I’m a Gosport player at the end of the day, but coming back to Dorchester was a no-brainer.

“I needed some game time and Gosport let me come back to Dorchester after they were contacted by Jem.

“I spoke to Jem on Saturday and he asked if I would be interested. I’ve not been playing at Gosport so I jumped at the opportunity to come back.

“It’s going to be for a month to start with and then I’ll sit down with Jem and Alex Pike (Gosport manager) and see where we go.”

He added: “I had a son about two weeks before the season started and that changed my outlook on football a lot.

“I spoke to Jem about signing with Dorchester but he had his squad all lined up and there was no place for me at the time.

“I made my decision to go to Gosport but I’d missed a few weeks of pre-season and that’s why I haven’t been in the team.”

And reflecting on Monday’s win, he added: “I’d not played a minute this season so Monday was my first game.

“It was brilliant to come straight back into a derby game and get the result.

“Weymouth is a great club with some great players, and Jase (Matthews) is doing a good job down there, but I think we wanted it more from the first minute.

“I played against Weymouth in pre-season and they asked a lot of Gosport, but they weren’t at the races.

“It was nice to let the Dorchester fans have the bragging rights because they’ve been through a few tough years.”

What made the 1-0 derby victory sweeter for Walker was that it was his first against the Terras in the league for Dorchester.

  • Dorchester reserves go to Wimborne tonight in the John Stimpson Memorial Shield (7.45pm).