MAGPIES’ assistant Nick Crittenden hailed a performance of two halves from Dorchester Town as they beat Biggleswade Town 2-1 at the Avenue.

Goals from Jake Smeeton and David Jerrard earned the county town side back-to-back wins in the league – despite the former being sent off late on for a second booking.

The Magpies put in a classy display during the opening 45 minutes and, although tempers flared in a second half where nine yellow cards were shown in total, Crittenden was happy to see his young squad adapt to a feisty situation.

He said: “In the first half I thought we were as good as I’ve seen us this season. Our attacking ball players in Ollie Bassett, Tom Blair, Dave Jerrard and Ben Wood were fantastic. We started on the front foot and didn’t give them a chance to get into the game.

“It was a fantastic first-half performance and in the second half we showed a different side to our game. We showed the fight and the bite you need to be able to survive in the lower leagues.

“Even though we are mainly a young, inexperienced team, I thought everybody stepped up to be counted and we showed a will to win.

“Although it got a bit nasty with a lot of fouls and the game was very stop start, I never really thought that they (Biggleswade) looked like they were going to get their second goal.

“Our boys showed two different characters and the characters you need to be a good side.”