DORCHESTER 24

BOURNEMOUTH III 23

DORCHESTER extended their winning run in Dorset & Wilts One South by the narrowest of margins, as they overcame Bournemouth Thirds at Coburg Road.

It was a very strong Bournemouth side that made the trip and gave Dorchester a real test, with the result being in doubt until the very last minute.

It was clear from the start that the visitors were there to play, they were solid up front and lively in the backs and it wasn’t long before they took the lead, crossing in the left-hand corner. Dorchester also lost their hooker to injury in the same move forcing an early reorganisation.

The hosts began to get the better of things territorially but Bournemouth always look dangerous on the counter, from one such attack they went 60 metres before desperate defence appeared to have saved the day.

However, the attempted clearance kick was fluffed and rolled into the hands of the visiting fly-half who scored the simplest of tries.

Dorchester fought back and levelled the scores before the break, Matt Read showed both pace and power to beat several tacklers on the right-hand touchline and touched down out wide.

This was soon followed by number eight Steve Tucker outpacing the cover, following good work by the three-quarters. On a poor day for kickers, all four tries went unconverted leaving the score at 10-10 at the break.

The second half continued in the same vein as the first. Bournemouth edged ahead with a simple penalty before a 14-point burst from the home side appeared to have won the game.

Jamie Morgan scored following concerted pressure on the Bournemouth line and then Cam Lynch benefited from a huge overlap, running round behind the posts.

Baker added both conversions to open up an 11-point lead.

The visitors were far from beaten however, closing the gap with a third try after exploiting space down the blindside, they then forced their way over the line in the dying seconds.

With the large crowd holding their breath, the conversion sailed across the front of the posts and the Dorchester win was confirmed.

The county town coaching team of Ben Parker and Rich Bament said: “Saturday’s match against Bournemouth was a step up from last week at Yeovil.

“They really tested us individually and as a team for the full 80 minutes. We gave it everything and we are very proud of yet another key achievement on the path to a top-three finish this season.

“The lads showed true character, and team effort to grind out a well-deserved five-point win.”

The victory moves Dorchester on to 55 points from 16 games.

Dorchester: T Evans, Pengelly, Cottell, Makepeace, L King, Hallett, Newsam, Tucker; Bosher, Foot, Boyd-Paton, Baker, Morgan, Read, Lynch. Antell, Burch, Peach