STAINES TOWN 3

Newton 50, Griffiths 86, Bourne 90

DORCHESTER TOWN 0

DORCHESTER Town were brought back to Earth with a 3-0 defeat at Blue Square South newcomers Staines Town last night.

The hosts climbed to second spot thanks to their second win in as many games while the Magpies, who were top after Saturday's opening day triumph, have now slipped to 10th in the table.

Roy O’Brien, who named an unchanged line-up, saw his Dorchester side start the match with immediate intent, trying their luck with a shot at goal straight from the kick-off, however, the effort was comfortably saved by home keeper Louis Wells.

The opening 10 minutes were dictated by Dorchester, who seemed to be moving the ball around with relative ease, whereas Staines appeared slightly nervy and were needlessly giving away possession. Magpies’ striker Phil Walsh was getting the better of the Staines defence as the Magpies took the game to their opponents.

After the initial wave of attacks, the Swans were beginning to get more confident on the ball, their passing became more fluid and they were able to apply more pressure on the visiting defence.

The first real test for Dorchester came in the 12th minute when a searching ball found Gareth Risbridge on the edge of the area, he managed to bring the ball down perfectly before turning and letting loose a fierce strike that was saved by visiting gloveman Ryan Northmore.

The match continued at a blistering pace for the rest of the half with both teams creating chances but lacking the killer final touch they needed to send them ahead.

This was epitomised by Staines striker Scott Taylor cutting into the box following a short corner, before blasting the ball onto the crossbar.

The ball ricocheted off the woodwork and fell back at Taylor’s feet, however his follow up shot sailed over the top.

The start of the second half saw the Magpies apply some early pressure. They worked their way around the Staines defence but, once again, were unable to drive the ball home from close range.

The Swans responded to this early attack by moving the ball around quickly, looking for holes in the Dorchester defence to exploit.

One such series of quick passes saw a through ball cut right through the centre of the county town back line and land at the feet of Howard Newton, who looped the ball around Northmore to put Staines ahead in the 50th minute.

Dorchester seemed to lose momentum after Newton’s goal. Staines were still passing the ball quickly and finding gaps in the Magpies’ formation, while Dorchester tended to rely on long balls.

The Swans were now looking the more dominant side, their back line seeming almost impenetrable.

In the closing quarter of an hour the pace had finally died down, the hosts seemed comfortable and were focused on holding their formation and reducing the Magpies to long-range efforts.

In the dying minutes however, Staines came to life again. A long, searching ball went over the top of the Dorchester defence and landed in the path of Leroy Griffiths, who dinked the ball beautifully over Northmore to make it 2-0.

The final blow for the Magpies came just four minutes later when another searching ball found Marc Charles-Smith on the right wing. He put in a superb cross to Griffiths inside the area but the predatory striker’s shot was somehow saved by Northmore, only for the ball to land at the feet of new signing Chris Bourne, who slotted home to add insult to injury.

Staines: Wells, Jackson, Sterling, Gordon, Ifura, Scarlett, Newton (Bourne 86), Risbridger, Taylor (Brown 70), Onochie (Charles-Smith 70), Griffiths. Subs not used: Sargent, Kersey.

Dorchester: Northmore, Jermyn, Smeeton, Mitchell, Bowles, Hill, Martin (Groves 62), Gleeson, Moss, Walsh, Forbes. Subs not used: Vickers, Nodwell, Flood, Filkins.