BRADFORD-ON-AVON 19 DORCHESTER 7

DORCHESTER had only themselves to blame after losing to fellow strugglers Bradford-on-Avon.

The county town side once again got off to the perfect start when a well-executed driving line-out resulted in skipper James Newsam touching down.

Rich Bament added the extras and it was looking good for the visitors.

Playing down the slope, Dorch-ester continued to dominate the play but, as so often in recent seasons, they were unable to turn that dominance into points.

Time after time they worked their way into good positions only to see the chances disappear through a combination of good defence and poor execution.

The hosts had few chances themselves but they did score from a clever cross-field kick, even if most people thought that the full-back had dropped the ball over the line.

Despite only leading by two points at the break, Dorchester still fancied their chances of a rare away win.

Comfortably on top in both the scrum and line-out, it should have been only a matter of time before they extended that lead. Then a rush of blood to the head by the Dorchester winger as he tried to run the ball back from inside his 22, followed by an extremely rash offload, allowed the hosts to intercept and score under the posts.

Dorchester now had to chase the game and almost inevitably gifted Bradford an interception try between the posts.

Both tries were converted and the writing was on the wall.

In a final desperate effort to at least gain a losing bonus point, Dorchester threw everything at the hosts but, once again, outstanding defence and a couple of dropped passes prevented any further score.

Dorchester remain eighth in the Southern Counties South table and their next match at home to Corsham now takes on additional significance.