PAULTON ROVERS 1

DORCHESTER TOWN 2

THE ghosts of Dorchester Town’s dramatic collapse against Paulton last December were laid to rest by the county town side, as they picked up a deserved three points from the reverse fixture with the Somerset outfit on Saturday.

Dorchester suffered their own nightmare before Christmas when they faced Rovers earlier in the campaign, losing 4-3 having led 3-1 going into the final 10 minutes at the Avenue.

But the second meeting between the two this term was very different, with goals from Sam Lanahan and Bradley Tarbuck – one very early in the contest and the other near the end – giving the Magpies their 13th Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division triumph of the season.

Chris Dillon had hobbled off against Weymouth on Tuesday night with a dead leg but not only was he fit enough to start at the Athletic Ground, he also took over the captaincy in the absence of Jake Smeeton.

And, as expected, player-manager Mark Jermyn and fellow defender Matt Oldring returned to the side for the clash in Somerset.

That meant Nick Crittenden dropped to the bench having started the last three games in league and cup.

One of Dorchester’s biggest problems this season has been conceding early goals, however, the boot was on the other foot on Saturday.

Only two minutes were on the clock when Lewis Morgan provided the assist for Lanahan to fire past Paulton keeper Kyle Phillips.

That was Lanahan’s ninth strike in all competitions this term, and he may well have netted another a few minutes later if the ball hadn’t got stuck under his feet.

Ben Watson then tested Phillips with a long-range effort on the turn, before Magpies’ keeper Alan Walker-Harris was forced to tip a cross-cum-shot on to his own bar.

It was actually a difficult afternoon for both stoppers as a strong wind blowing across the pitch wasn’t easy to deal with by any means.

The hosts were then just off target with a header from a free-kick, while a Watson shot was gathered by Phillips at the second attempt.

Phillips was certainly the busier of the two goalkeepers in the first half and he needed to be on his toes again soon after.

This time Watson laid the ball back to Morgan and his effort was tipped over the bar by Phillips.

Dorchester, and Tarbuck in particular, missed a gilt-edged chance on the stroke of half-time to put real daylight between the sides.

The Portsmouth loanee somehow managed to lift the ball over from six yards after Phillips denied Dan Smith.

Had the ball run kindly for Lanahan at the start of the second half then the visitors’ advantage could well have been doubled.

At the other end, Walker-Harris tipped a free-kick over the bar following a foul by Jamie Gleeson which had seen him pick up a yellow card.

Stand-in skipper Dillon then went into referee Jason Richardson’s notebook for kicking the ball away after the official had blown his whistle.

Youngster Sam Old replaced Morgan prior to Dillon’s indiscretion to make his first-team debut, and the Magpies would later give game time to Jason Brookes and Lewis Horsburgh.

But before those two came on the visitors had to survive a scare when Walker-Harris was penalised for picking up a back pass.

Fortunately, the county town side managed to scramble the resulting indirect free-kick away for a corner.

Dorchester created fewer scoring opportunities in the second period but one they did fashion resulted in the goal that took the game out of Paulton’s reach.

Substitute Brookes found Tarbuck with a pinpoint cross and the winger did the rest to make it 2-0.

The home side did halve the deficit before the final whistle when Sam Teale scored, however, the Magpies weren’t going to be denied all three points.

Not only did the win see Dorchester gain revenge for that December defeat, it also saw them move up to 17th in the league table.

Under Jermyn, Dorchester have now won seven of 16 league games and picked up 25 points from a possible 48 in that period of time.

Jermyn’s men have 47 points to their name and will be looking to make that a round 50 when Slough Town visit the Avenue on Saturday for the last fixture of the season.

Paulton: Phillips, Anson, Teale, Keary, Brice, Abraham, Walker, Williams (Green), Monelle, Davies (Alime), Page. Subs not used: Nkunga, Wring, Jeffries.

Magpies: Walker-Harris, Lanahan, Tarbuck, Jermyn, Oldring, Dillon, Morgan (Old), Gleeson, Watson (Brookes), Walker, Smith (Horsburgh). Subs not used: Crittenden, Godfrey.

Referee: Jason Richardson (Northwood)

Attendance: 160