DORSET narrowly missed out on the final of the Inter-County Women’s Representative Team Tournament despite one loss in their four opening matches.

Having beaten both Devon and Wiltshire by a goal from Danni Rigby in their first two matches, Dorset were well-placed to reach the final.

However, in their third 25-minute game, Gloucestershire proved to be the best team Dorset had faced in the competition.

Gloucestershire went ahead after 13 minutes and then defended stoutly for the remaining 12 minutes to win the match 1-0 and prevent Dorset from securing an early place in the final.

The defeat against Gloucestershire meant that Dorset required a win in their final group match against Somerset to secure a final place.

However, despite Dorset spending most of the match in their opponent’s half it was Somerset who took the lead against the run of play, scoring from the penalty spot following a shirt pull.

Dorset fought back strongly and equalised with 10 minutes remaining when Bev Symes scored a direct free-kick from 30-yards out and with no further goals the match ended at 1-1.

This meant Wiltshire needed to win by two clear goals against Devon in the final group match to pip Dorset to a place in the final.

No team had scored more than one goal in any of the nine proceeding matches, but Wiltshire managed to stick to their task and beat Devon 2-0 to deny Dorset. In the final, the hosts Gloucestershire beat Wiltshire 1-0.

Dorset: Beasley, Benefer, Hargreaves, Hill, Napier, Parsons, Preston, Rigby, Symes, Taylor, Varney, Watson.