HUNGERFORD TOWN 2

Jarvis 29, 42

DORCHESTER TOWN 3

Dillon 47, Hanger 56, Morgan 58

DORCHESTER staged a brilliant second-half comeback at Bulpit Lane this afternoon to claim a first victory on the road this season.

Trailing 2-0 at the break, the visitors scored three times in the space of 11 minutes after the interval, with Chris Dillon, Oakley Hanger and Lewis Morgan all on target.

Another treble today takes the Magpies’ goals tally so far this term to nine, something which will undoubtedly please boss Mark Jermyn and the fans.

Before the clash, player-manager Jermyn made one change to the Dorchester side that had lost a seven-goal thriller at Cirencester four days earlier.

Striker Jonah Ayunga, with two goals from the Magpies’ opening two games, missed out altogether.

That meant defender Dillon came into the team for his first start of the new campaign.

There was also a place on the bench for Bradley Tarbuck following his return to the club after the victory over Histon.

One man who enjoyed playing against Dorchester last season, Nat Jarvis, took his place in the Hungerford team – Jarvis scored four times in a 6-1 win for Cirencester at the Avenue in September 2014.

Saturday’s encounter began at a frenetic pace with both sides flying out of the blocks in a bid to get the upper hand early on.

The hosts managed to force the first corner of the afternoon around 12 minutes in but it was easily cleared by the visitors.

As proceedings settled down it was the Magpies that enjoyed the majority of possession, however, Hungerford took the lead on the half hour.

The goal came from a corner which Hungerford won when visiting keeper Alan Walker-Harris needed to make a fingertip save to keep out a dangerous effort.

And when Crusaders’ skipper Mark Draycott sent over a cross that Jarvis met with his head there was nothing Walker-Harris could do to prevent his side going a goal down.

The Magpies’ day got worse soon after as Charlie Davis had to leave the field with Tarbuck his replacement.

Then, three minutes before the break, that man Jarvis was on target once more.

After the away side failed to clear the ball effectively, Rhys Tyler set-up Jarvis and he fired a shot past a couple of defenders to double his and Hungerford’s tally.

With the county town outfit facing the possibility of successive Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division defeats, the Magpies had to score next – and that is just what happened two minutes into the second half.

Having collected the ball on the right, Matt Oldring did well to dig out a cross which was met by Dillon and the Dorset club’s standout player of last season marked his return to the starting XI with a goal.

Things then got a whole lot better for the Magpies and their supporters.

With 56 minutes gone, a ball out from the back was gathered by Ben Watson, he found Hanger with an inch-perfect pass, and the youngster made absolutely no mistake in firing home the equaliser.

Just two minutes later the remarkable turnaround in Dorchester’s fortunes was complete.

A huge goalmouth scramble was finally brought to an end when Morgan struck to make it 3-2, much to the frustration of the Hungerford players.

Walker-Harris was equal to anything Hungerford had to throw at him after that, while assistant-manager Nick Crittenden replaced Tony Lee as the visitors looked to tie up the three points.

In fact, if either team was going to score again it seemed like being the Magpies.

Crusaders keeper Dan Lincoln had to be at his very best to tip efforts, one coming from Mark Irvine, on for Watson, out for corners in the closing stages.

Hungerford: Lincoln, Tyler, John, Rusby, Day, Rees, Clark, Collins, Jarvis, Draycott, O'Brien. Subs: Goodger, Boardman, Jones, Horgan, Stow.

Magpies: Walker-Harris, Hanger, Smeeton, Jermyn, Oldring, Dillon, Davis (Tarbuck 33), Morgan, Lee (Crittenden 78), Watson (Irvine 90), Martin. Subs not used: Murphy, Brookes.

Bookings: Hungerford – None.

Magpies – Jermyn.

Referee: Neil Radford (Worcestershire).