Knight gets off to winning start at Magpies (From Dorset Echo)

Knight gets off to winning start at Magpies

8:25am Monday 5th December 2011 in Match Reports

MAIDENHEAD UTD 0

Dorchester TOWN 1

Wilson 18

RICO Wilson ensured Alan Knight’s reign at the helm of Dorchester Town got off to a winning start at York Road.

Recalled from a loan spell at Wimborne Town due to Ryan Moss’ pending exit, Wilson took his chance by netting the only goal of the game on 18 minutes to stretch the Magpies’ unbeaten run in Blue Square Bet South to six games.

With Nick Crittenden and Ashley Nicholls both missing due to a stomach bug and Moss, Ryan Dovell and Nic Jones all unavailable, the county town outfit had to dig deep into their ranks to fill their match-day squad but the likes of Wilson, Harrison Bell and Jamie Symes certainly did not disappoint.

Knight said: “To a man everyone was fantastic and I was really impressed with the commitment.

“They all gave 100 per cent and that is all you can ask for at the end of the day and it was just great to keep the run going.

“Alan Walker-Harris only made one save and that was in the first 30 seconds. Maidenhead then came at us early in the second half but we weathered the storm and looked pretty solid throughout.

“Rico will obviously get the headlines for scoring the goal but it was just a great team performance.

“I told Rico to go out there and give the centre-halves hell and along with Ben Dickenson he did exactly that.

“We worked hard, defended from the front, and thoroughly deserved our victory.”

Having claimed just two points from their last 10 league games, Maidenhead went into the encounter desperate for a change of fortunes but Dorchester never let them settle.

The visitors set a good tempo from the outset and after Mark Nisbet had fired just off target for United, they took the lead when a slick move involving Jake Smeeton and Dickenson ended with Wilson firing home from just inside the box.

In a game of few chances, the hosts then upped the tempo in the second half but apart from Leon Solomon’s wayward strike, Knight’s men continued to look comfortable with Dickenson going close to doubling the lead on 56 minutes with a glancing header, which flew just off target.

Maidenhead then threw caution to the wind in the closing stages but Walker-Harris remained untroubled with Manny Williams wasting the best chance to force an equaliser when he sent a strike over the top, deep into added-time.

Maidenhead: Lumley, McKain, Solomon, Brown, Saroya, Nisbet, Tison-Lascaris (Powell 61), Hendry (Hinds 61), Wall, Williams, Worsfold (Behzadi 79). Subs not used: Rose, Clement.

Magpies: Walker-Harris, Critchell, Smeeton, Jermyn, Walker, Gleeson, Bell, Symes, Wilson, Dickenson, Devlin. Subs not used: Floyd, Martin, Godfrey, Taylor, Way.

Attendance: 269