DORCHESTER Town midfielder Sam Lanahan feels he was “lucky” to have been the player to score the Magpies’ equalising goal in the 2-2 Ridgeway derby draw at Weymouth.

Lanahan pounced on a defensive mix-up between Terras’ captain Callum Buckley and goalkeeper Mark Travers to slot home into an empty net from six yards out in the 77th minute.

Despite having been 2-0 down with 70 minutes played, Lanahan felt his side had been the “dominant” team before Weymouth scored in the 39th minute through former Magpie Charlie Davis.

He told Echosport: “I felt we were the dominant side. We dominated the first 30 minutes. I felt coming in 1-0 (to half-time) was unlucky.

“Getting the equaliser was no more than we deserved and I’m lucky I was the one to put it in the net. It was a fair reflection but I felt if anyone wanted the win, we did more.

“I do think their decision-making going forward was a little bit more clinical, but in terms of possession and dominating the game I thought we did well.”

With manager Steve Thompson calling for the Magpies to play every game to the level displayed against Weymouth, Lanahan feels that task is achievable.

“It’s possible. With only one team going down this year you almost feel like you’re safe already. We’d have to have a really bad run to come down in the bottom.

“Whereas if it was three teams it would be a lot harder. It’s a big game and the fans deserved the performance, that’s probably why we did put it in – everyone is going to up their game,” he said.

Lanahan also had his say on the crowd trouble that marred the derby, believing the “majority” of fans were “brilliant” despite Magpies’ fans throwing flares and Terras’ fans throwing missiles and verbally abusing Dorchester keeper Chris Weale.

He said: “I spoke to a few fans and I spoke to Chris as well. I’ve never had that level of abuse.

“When you get that level of abuse, for him to react shows how bad it was. He’s probably the most professional in our changing room.

“Most of the fans know that both teams need each other. It’s a big pay-out for both clubs.

“Our fans throwing flares just means that we need to be careful coming back to our ground (next season). Unless it’s monitored, which is hard to do because of the finances, it becomes a vicious circle.

“The majority of the fans were brilliant. I can understand it, but it just can’t happen.”

Lanahan is also confident that the Magpies can use their performance in the derby as a reference point for future games, having beaten high-flying Kettering Town 4-1 in November.

“We are in good form, hopefully we can kick on. As Steve has said we have actually performed in games we’ve lost, we’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing.

“We’re a lot better since Steve came in and what’s really good about this league is that we have proved we can get points wherever we go.

“To beat Kettering and draw against Weymouth proves that when we turn up we’re more than capable,” he said.