DORCHESTER Town boss Steve Thompson could not fault the workload his players got through after Kyle Egan secured a late 1-1 draw against Chesham United at the Avenue Stadium.

Right-back Egan popped up in the 92nd minute to earn a point for the Magpies, who played with 10 men for 82 minutes after goalkeeper Chris Weale was sent off for a foul on Lewis Toomey.

Speaking to Echosport after the game, Thompson admitted he was not surprised when referee Lewis Sandoe brandished a red card to the experienced stopper.

He said: “The character to keep going was very good. I can’t fault the effort at all. We changed it at the end and in the second half we had Dom Panesar-Dower’s header, that was it until the goal.

“I’ll obviously take the point but the performance has to improve.

“I knew Chris could be in trouble when the ball was knocked past him. I thought we had a player covering round so I thought we might get away with a yellow there.

“I felt that the player that knocked it past him wasn’t going to get the ball, but it didn’t surprise me that much when he gave a red.”

Thompson added that conceding six minutes afterwards to a wayward cross from Toomey, “compounded” the sending off.

He said: “That compounds it really. I’m not sure the lad was shooting. I think it was a cross, but nevertheless it went in and that compounded it.

“Suddenly we’re down to ten men, suddenly we’re 1-0 down with 15 minutes gone so it was always going to be difficult then, and it was difficult, no bones about that.

“But like I said, the players showed a great character and effort. But we know we’ve got to have more than character and effort and we have to become better as football players and as a team.”

The Magpies’ manager was relieved that Chesham were unable to “take the opportunities” they created for a second goal, despite getting in “good positions”.

He said: “If a second goal had gone in it could have been a little bit different. It’s not that they had loads of chances but second half they were in good positions and didn’t take the opportunities, which would have finished us off.

“No doubt about it. We hardly looked like getting one goal so a second goal would have finished us off. From their point of view they will feel that they had the opportunities in the second half to do that and I wouldn’t argue with that.

“They were in great positions – two on twos, three on twos – to take advantage of our man less.”

And Thompson took no credit for the equaliser, insisting the only instruction he gave to Egan was simply to “get forward”.

He said: “I think two really poor shots went in, but suddenly the ball bounced to someone in space. Obviously they’ve appealed for offside. I haven’t got a clue, I was just trying to get men forward!

“Even though I was telling Kyle to get forward, get forward, get forward, I never thought he’d turn up in the inside left position so I’m not putting that down to me that’s for sure!

“He went into a wing-back rather than full-back in the last 10-15 minutes of the game and ended up in the left side of the penalty box to put it in. It was an important goal for us.”