MAGPIES 0

BATH 2

Ball 3, 12

DAN Ball kept his head while Bath team-mate Ross Stearn lost his on another disappointing afternoon for the Magpies.

Two headers from Ball inside the first 12 minutes gave the visitors the three points, though they did play the last half an hour with 10 men after Stearn was sent off.

Josh Wakefield and Jamie Gleeson failed to make the Dorchester squad through injury and illness respectively and Harry Bell dropped to the bench.

In came Steve Walker and Brandon Goodship while Dan Way moved from the bench into the midfield.

Bath’s vocal band of travelling supporters had the perfect reason to make even more noise with just three minutes on the clock.

David Pratt did well to dig a deep cross out of the cut up playing surface down on the right flank and Dan Ball powered a header over Alan Walker-Harris and into the corner of the net.

Just nine minutes later and Ball was at it again, this time outmuscling Rolls to head Stearn’s free-kick past the home keeper.

Sensing a third, Bath surged forward and Noah Keats tried his luck from long range, the ball fizzing not far wide of Walker-Harris’s right-hand post.

It was 25 minutes in before the hosts really threatened the Bath goal. Skipper Mark Jermyn took aim but his left-footed effort deflected off Sekani Simpson and flew over for a corner.

Then, moments later, Goodship cut in from the left and forced Jason Mellor to palm his shot away.

That was about as good as it got for the hosts in the first half and Bath may have put the game to bed following a sloppy pass back to his keeper from Neil Martin that went for a corner.

Dan Bowman’s cross would have gone in off the head of Walker but for a great save by Walker-Harris, then Martin gave the ball straight to Andy Watkins 20 yards out and Walker had to time his tackle to perfection.

The second half came alive on 56 minutes and it was what went on off the ball that was the main focus.

First, Martin was booked for a foul on Stearn, though it has to be said the Bath man went down theatrically, then Stearn was shown a straight red card in a separate incident involving Ashley Vickers.

As Stearn broke into the Magpies’ half he was taken out of the game by Vickers, who would go on to be cautioned by referee Adrian Quelch.

But as Vickers and Stearn clashed it became apparent after the official had consulted his linesman that Stearn had used a swinging arm in retaliation to the challenge.

Dorchester did up their game in the last 20 minutes and Ball made a last-ditch clearance from Goodship’s cross.

The hosts used all three of their substitutes – Bell, Jamie Beasley and Dan Munday – but they couldn’t find a way through.

A nice move involving Nick Crittenden and Munday set-up Goodship and only a sliding challenge by Andy Gallinagh prevented Goodship from testing Mellor.

From the resulting corner Walker’s header almost crept in but Mellor was equal to it and 2-0 was how it ended.

Magpies: Walker-Harris, Rolls 4 (Bell 62), Martin, Jermyn, Vickers, Walker, Crittenden, Smeeton, Goodship, Rowley 5 (Munday 85), Way 5 (Beasley 66). Subs not used: Twyford

Bath: Mellor, Bowman, Ball, Gallinagh, Preece, Simpson, Stearn, Connolly, Pratt (Brown 89), Watkins (Low 89), Keats. Subs not used: Allen, Rollo

Yellow cards: Magpies – Martin (foul, 57), Vickers (foul 59), Beasley (foul, 82)

Bath – none

Red cards: Magpies – none

Bath – Stearn (serious foul play, 59)

Referee: Adrian Quelch (Christchurch)

Attendance: 516