DORCHESTER Town assistant-manager Trevor Senior admitted the Magpies were far from their best during a 1-1 draw at Merthyr Town in the Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division.

Welshman Blake Davies had given the visitors a first-half lead in registering his first goal for the club, but an Adam Davies strike levelled the match before Ian Traylor hit both posts for the hosts.

Senior felt Dorchester struggled to create chances throughout the match and labelled the performance as “slightly disappointing” when set against last week’s 4-1 victory over Kettering Town.

He told Echosport: “We were by no means at our best but we didn’t really get things going in the first half. Defensively we looked OK, they had a few long-range efforts but nothing that Chris Weale had to save.

“Then we scored the opening goal about seven minutes before half-time. Billy Lowes and David Jerrard combined down the left and Jerrard put in a good cross.

“Blake got across his man and finished well but we were a little bit fortunate. We didn’t play badly in the second half but didn’t really test their keeper.

“They had one or two moments where they could have won it and they hit the posts in a scramble in the goalmouth, but we defended OK.

“It was slightly disappointing

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after last week where we won 4-1. We didn’t create as much going forward.”

Merthyr had been plunged into a financial crisis last week, owing £25,000 in unpaid tax and losing 80% of their playing staff.

But a crowdfunding campaign has already raised that amount at the time of writing, with a new target of £26,500, meaning several first-team players were able to return to the club after the Martyrs’ development side lost 13-1 to Chesham last Saturday.

And Senior was quick to point out that Merthyr, who made 11 changes from the Chesham humbling, were a completely different prospect this time out.

He said: “After last week’s 13-1 defeat everybody would expect us to go there and roll them over. They were a lot tougher than last week.

“There’s been a lot of hype and they had a big crowd there and rose to the occasion. You could see they weren’t a 13-1 team.

“They had quite a few of their players back and caused us one or two problems. To get a point I think it’s a point gained with our attacking performance, really.

“They weren’t the worst side we have played this season by any stretch. Steve (Thompson, manager) said to the lads in training this week that it was going to be a stronger side and a more difficult game than last week.”

Senior also praised Magpies’ goalscorer Davies for netting in what had otherwise been a testing game for the Wales under-19 international.

He said: “He’ll be pleased with that being a Welsh lad. He lives not too far away, I think he’s a Newport lad.

“He didn’t get given a lot of change from Merthyr but he got in the box at the right time and managed to stick it away.”