DORCHESTER TOWN 1

CHIPPENHAM TOWN 3

ANDY Sandell netted a brace for Chippenham Town as Dorchester Town were made to pay for their errors at the back in a 3-1 loss for the Magpies at the Avenue.

Sandell opened the scoring from the spot before adding the Bluebirds’ third in the 69th minute.

In between those goals there was a glimmer of hope for the hosts as they equalised through Jake Smeeton in the 50th minute. But the parity didn’t last long as Mark Preece headed in the second for the away side on what was a frustrating evening for Dorchester

The county town side made just one change from the side that beat St Neots 1-0 on Saturday. Dory Yates, who picked up a knock on the weekend, was replaced by fellow loan player Ollie Bassett.

Ben Wood started despite picking up a knock to his back.

Chippenham gave a debut to goalkeeper Darren Chitty, who signed from Frome Town on Monday. He conceded four against the Magpies just two weeks ago.

However, the stopper had little to do in the opening exchanges as his teammates took control of the game.

The Bluebirds have lost their last two games, and it could be down to their lack of accuracy up front.

Matt Jones put an early effort over the bar from inside the box before Sandell mistimed a shot after Gary Horgan had produced a nice cross.

It was then the turn of Alex Ferguson to try his luck from range midway through the half, but that whistled past the post.

Then came the penalty decision on the half hour mark. Ferguson danced past three Dorchester players before Matt Oldring tripped the midfielder.

To his credit, he carried on his run, but the referee had seen enough and blew up for the penalty, much to the bemusement of the home players.

Nevertheless, Sandell stepped up and converted the spot kick ­– a deserved lead for the visitors.

Dorchester upped the tempo for a time after that setback, but struggled to create anything threatening. Bassett tried his best to run the show, but had very little to work with.

As the half came to an end, Ben Wood tried his luck from all of 30 yards, but the effort was tame and no trouble for Chitty, who had a quiet half of football for him and a lacklustre one from the hosts.

However, they certainly woke up in the second half as they equalised five minutes after the break.

A poor clearance allowed Nathan Walker, who was isolated in the opening half, to find Mario Mateus, who in turn picked out Smeeton to tap home.

Chances came and went for both sides as the game opened up. Ben Wood curled one just wide for the hosts before Mateus brought out a good save from Chitty at his near post.

However, it was the away side who made the next pivotal strike in the 68th minute. From a corner, Preece rose highest to angle his header off the post and in.

A minute later it got worse for the hosts. A long clearance from Chitty was not dealt with by Oldring and Pratt took advantage to tee up Sandell who rifled home a vicious volley to all but seal the game.

The Magpies made all three changes to try and salvage something from the game but they struggled to break down a highly-organised defensive outfit.

Smeeton had the best effort of the closing exchanges, but that wasn’t much to cheer as it rolled harmlessly into the keeper’s arms.

In the end, the game fizzled out, ending Dorchester’s two-match winning run in what was a frustrating game for the hosts.

Magpies: Murphy, Jermyn, Smeeton, Martin, Oldring, Dillon, Bassett (Sayers 80), Morgan (Jerrard 72), Walker, Mateus, Wood (Ayunga 82)

Subs not used: Swann, Crittenden

Chippenham: Chitty, Horgan, Guthrie, Allen (Jenkinson 72), Tindle, Preece, Ferguson, Smith (Campbell 66), Pratt, Sandell (Griffin 90), Jones

Subs not used: Beeden, Kaupinnen

Referee: Lee Rutter (Poole)

Bookings: Magpies – Martin

Chippenham – none

Attendance: 259