FROME TOWN 1 DORCHESTER TOWN 3

CHRIS Dillon, Nathan Walker and Sam Lanahan were all on target for the Magpies as the county town side gave their chances of avoiding relegation from the Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division another huge boost.

Victory against the team one place below them in the standings going into the clash was a must for Dorchester, and the visitors, now up to 18th in the table after four wins from six, duly delivered the goods at the Blindmans Brewery Stadium in Somerset.

After keeping the same starting line-up for three matches in a row, Magpies’ boss Mark Jermyn made one change after Satur-day’s loss to Cirencester, with Sam Lanahan being replaced by Matt Oldring.

It was the visitors that had the first attempt on goal when Dan Smith hit an angled drive wide from 20 yards.

Oldring then got back to clear the danger in the nick of time after a pass back to Alan Walker-Harris by Jermyn lacked the power it needed to reach its target.

But Dorchester enjoyed the majority of the chances early on and both Ben Watson and skipper Jake Smeeton saw efforts blocked in the same passage of play.

Walker-Harris was then called into action, saving comfortably from Matt Smith, before the Magpies twice went close within a matter of seconds.

First, Dillon saw a header cleared off the line, and then Oldring’s effort from the rebound was saved by Darren Chitty in the home goal.

A crucial deflection off a Dorchester player prevented the home side from getting the opening goal of the game.

Lewis Haldane laid the ball off to Smith and his attempt could well have been going in had it not come off a defender and hit the woodwork.

Two bookings, one for each side, then followed, though the yellow card given to Frome’s Brandon Mundy was to have more serious implications for his men than Bradley Tarbuck’s did. In fact, it was for a foul on Tarbuck just outside the Robins’ box that Mundy received his caution.

And after Smeeton’s shot from the resulting free-kick was deflected for a corner, Dorchester took the lead when Dillon rose unopposed to head home from six yards.

Frome looked to make a bright start to the second half and they might have levelled had Jermyn not pinched the ball off Smith as he shaped to shoot.

Oldring was having a fine game for the Magpies after coming in for Lanahan, and he was well-placed to clear the danger when Ricky Holbert played in Ollie Taylor.

The contest was nearly an hour old when the second goal arrived – and crucially for the visitors it went their way again.

A Tarbuck cross wasn’t dealt with properly by the hosts and Walker drilled the ball in.

That not only doubled his side’s advantage on the night but also made Walker the Magpies’ outright top scorer in all competitions this season.

Lanahan, the man who had made way for Oldring before kick-off, replaced Lewis Morgan on 61 minutes, while Frome would swap Aaron Rodriguez for Cameron Brown soon after.

However, it was between those two substitutions that the Robins went close to pulling a goal back. Haldane was denied by Walker-Harris and then Dillon got back to block the striker’s follow-up effort.

A few efforts from distance failed to trouble Chitty at the other end, but the keeper couldn’t do anything to stop Lanahan making it 3-0.

The second-half replacement leapt highest to head in a floated Smith free-kick and put the seal on the three points.

Frome did reply through a rather fortuitous cross-cum-shot by Brown, though that was merely a consolation for the hosts at the end of another great Mag-pies’ away day.

Frome: Chitty, Cooper, Bonella, Baggridge (Twyford 87), Vallis, Mundy, Holbert, Smith, Haldane (Cunnington 77), Taylor, Rodriguez (Brown 63). Subs not used: Mateus, Herd Magpies: Walker-Harris, Oldring, Tarbuck (Brookes 83), Jermyn, Smeeton, Dillon, Morgan (Lanahan 61), Gleeson, Watson (Parrett 83), Walker, Smith. Subs not used: Murray, Murphy Bookings: Frome – Mundy, Holbert Magpies – Tarbuck, Gleeson Referee: Adrian Quelch (Christchurch) Attendance: 202