DORCHESTER Town boss Steve Thompson hailed the “great character” shown by the Magpies after their comeback in the thrilling 2-2 Boxing Day derby draw with Weymouth.

Trailing 2-0 after 70 minutes, goals from Kyle Egan and Sam Lanahan helped Dorchester restore parity after former Magpie Charlie Davis and Brandon Goodship had netted for the Terras at the Bob Lucas Stadium.

Speaking to Echosport after the game, Thompson felt his side deserved “at least a draw if not more” from the encounter.

He said: “We showed great character. I thought we dominated the first 30 minutes of the game and didn’t quite get enough shots on target with the wind.

“It was a blow to go in (to half-time) 1-0 down having had the wind in our favour and then of course when the second goal goes in you’re reliant on character to get you back in the game.

“But it’s not just the two goals we got back, we created other chances as well and I felt that we deserved at least a draw if not more from the performance and the game.”

Thompson added that he was concerned after the Magpies failed to turn their first-half domination into goals, with Sam Lanahan missing a clear-cut chance when unmarked 12 yards from goal.

“We didn’t create loads in the first half but I felt we dominated the first 30 minutes picking up every loose ball. So my only concern was that we hadn’t turned that domination into chances and into any goals.

“Some teams would have folded when the second goal went in but the lads do battle, they’ve shown that in other games. They had to battle against the wind and all the players did well,” Thompson said.

With crowd trouble at both ends – Dorchester’s fans throwing flares and crackers onto the pitch and Weymouth’s throwing missiles at Magpies’ keeper Chris Weale – Thompson said he “would never condone” the events that unfolded in the stands.

He said: “I think there were issues in both ends. People get very excited and over-exuberant, these things do happen. You get wrapped up in the whole atmosphere and some of the fans do as well.

“Health and safety is massive I would never condone it. You understand why people do get overexcited but obviously I wouldn’t condone anything from either set of fans."