MAGPIES 0 EASTBOURNE 0

DORCHESTER Town produced arguably their best home performance of the season to secure a deserved point against promotion hopefuls Eastbourne.

The draw wasn’t enough to lift the Magpies off the bottom of the Skrill South table but the hosts made it successive league matches without defeat for the first time this term.

After beating Sutton the week before it was essential the Magpies got something out of the game on Saturday and their hard work certainly warranted a share of the spoils.

That shock win at Sutton had given the squad a huge morale boost going into the match and there was more good news prior to kick-off when it was announced that the remaining players on the transfer list had been taken off it.

After having to slash the first-team playing budget in order to cut costs, resulting in all contracted players being put up for sale, chairman Neal Butterworth confirmed that the necessary savings had been made and the club could now operate at an affordable level.

On the pitch, boss Phil Simkin made one change from the previous Saturday with Jake Smeeton returning at left-back for the unlucky Dan Way, who dropped to the bench alongside Alex Godfrey, Josh Tennant and recalled duo Antony Carlile and Tony Rolls.

Ashley Vickers and Jake Rowley again missed out due to work commitments but Sam Lanahan made his home debut and Jack Twyford started a league game at the Avenue for the first time.

And it was Twyford who had the first effort on goal after just 40 seconds, and his speculative long-range shot didn’t miss by much.

The Magpies seemed to get on the bad side of referee Neal Radford all afternoon and Harry Bell picked up the first of four bookings for the home side as early as the ninth minute for a foul on Gary Hart following a poor clearance by Alan Walker-Harris.

Eastbourne had the ball in the net from the resulting free-kick but skipper Ian Simpemba’s volley was rightly ruled out for offside.

The visitors went agonisingly close to opening the scoring quarter of an hour in but Jack Deaman’s towering header from a corner thudded against the home crossbar – it wouldn’t be the last chance for the Eastbourne man.

Dorchester then produced their best chance of the game with the move of the match a few minutes later.

Lanahan produced a lovely piece of control before finding Brandon Goodship on the left, he sprayed the ball across to Nick Crittenden, the midfielder threaded a pass through to Josh Wakefield, but the youngster’s effort was saved by Craig Ross.

Chances were few and far between for the remainder of the half as both defences began to get on top.

Simpemba nearly laid a one-on-one opportunity on a plate for Goodship at the start of the second half before recovering just in time after under-hitting a pass back to his keeper.

After his match-winner against Sutton, it was a tough afternoon for Goodship playing up front on his own but you couldn’t fault his work rate, or that of his team-mates.

At the other end, Deaman should have done a lot better when Simon Johnson’s deflected shot fell into his path only for the unmarked Eastbourne player to volley over.

Even with half an hour to go the crowd were starting to sense that a single goal would be good enough for either side to take all three points.

Eastbourne began to get on top and, after Wakefied was cautioned, Smeeton had to get back to head clear substitute Elliott Levy’s cross.

The Dorchester left-back was involved again on 68 minutes and this time his head nearly got his side into all sorts of trouble.

Covering a ball over the top by Hart, Smeeton’s header back to his keeper was well short of power, but luckily for him Deaman could only lift the ball over the bar.

Eastbourne boss Tommy Widdrington brought on his two remaining substitutes in a last-ditch attempt to find a winner, and he thought they had got it when Simpemba stabbed home from close range.

However, for the second time in the game the visiting captain was denied by a linesman’s flag.

As the minutes ticked away the biggest cheer of the day came when the referee managed to collapse in a heap on the ground after colliding with Wakefield.

The match was held up for a couple of minutes as he received treatment on his foot from the Dorchester physio.

Mark Jermyn had found his way into the official’s notebook earlier in the half and in the closing stages Carlile, who had replaced Twyford, and Eastbourne’s Adam Watts and Charlie Gorman were also booked.

But after six minutes of injury time and a desperate penalty appeal from Watts, the Magpies could be pleased with a hard-earned point against another side chasing promotion.

The home fans got to see what those that travelled to Sutton had and every player put in a shift, with the defence, and Steve Walker in particular, contributing hugely towards just a third clean sheet of the Skrill South campaign.

Magpies: Walker-Harris 7, Bell 7, Smeeton 7, Jermyn 7, Walker 8, Lanahan 7, Crittenden 7, Gleeson 7, Goodship 6, Wakefield 7, Twyford 7 (Carlile 81, 5). Subs not used: Way, Godfrey, Rolls, Tennant.

Eastbourne: Ross, Tallack (Lok 71), Gorman, Aldred (Stinson 79), Simpemba, Watts, Hart, Raymond, Garrod (Levy 60), Johnson, Deaman. Subs not used: Taylor, Rowe.

Bookings: Magpies – Bell (foul, 9), Wakefield (foul, 64), Jermyn (foul, 71), Carlile (foul, 87)

Eastbourne – Watts (kicking ball away, 88), Gorman (foul, 90)

Referee: Neil Radford (Worcester)

Attendance: 407