A YEAR of promise and progression eventually turned into a period of consolidation for Dorchester Town as their struggles in the English seventh tier continued into the 2018/19 campaign.

The Magpies’ high hopes surrounded the installation of a new 3G pitch and a surge upwards from finishing 19th at the end of the 2017/18 season, but results saw Dorchester languishing in the bottom six at the year’s end.

Steve Thompson’s men had begun the calendar year positively, beating a highly-rated Tiverton side 3-0 on New Year’s Day with a Tom Blair brace and a Sam Lanahan strike.

Club stalwart Neil Martin made his 300th appearance in the 1-0 win over Redditch while Archie Collins, now a regular in the Exeter side, extended his loan deal from the Grecians by a further 28 days.

Collins’ deal was quickly followed by that of centre-back Callum Rose, who delighted Magpies’ fans by signing until the season’s end.

Dorchester picked up just one win in February when Blair netted in a 1-0 victory at home to Kings Langley.

Nine games into his loan spell, Antonio Diaz was recalled by Bournemouth but the Cherries allowed Ash Pope to join the county town side, who also signed Lewis Leigh-Gilchrist on a one-month loan from Bristol Rovers.

Further dealings saw David Jerrard and Phil Ormrod leave before Collins agreed a deal to the end of the season.

Dorchester began March with a 2-1 loss to Merthyr but did beat Royston Town 1-0 before a memorable clash at high-flying Kettering saw the Magpies pipped 4-3.

Meanwhile, Thompson again tinkered with his squad when Aaron Rodriguez signed permanently from Weymouth before loaning Ollie Griggs to Winchester for a month.

Fans’ favourite Sam Lanahan returned to Gosport, penning a one-year deal after failing to earn the same terms at the Magpies, while Collins was later recalled by Exeter after Diaz penned a work experience loan.

On the pitch, Dorchester claimed only their second away league victory of the season when beating St Ives 2-1, following a 1-0 win in Thompson’s first match in charge over Dunstable in September 2017.

Rich Robson’s reserves side also beat in-form Salisbury Development 2-0 to make the John Stimpson Memorial Challenge Shield final through a Ben Morris wonder strike and a clever Sol Ayunga free-kick.

Preparation work on the new 3G pitch began late in April, with Thompson refusing to rule out signing captain Gary Bowles for the following season. The former skipper would not play for the club again.

Pope earned Dorchester a 1-1 draw at Biggleswade in their final game of the campaign while later that week the Magpies announced a working partnership with Kingston Maurward College.

But there was heartbreak in early May for the reserves, who lost the Challenge Shield final 1-0 to Gosport at New Milton in what would prove to be their final competitive fixture for the foreseeable future.

In the off-season, Thompson moved to secure four key players on deals as Chris Weale, Kyle Egan, Billy Lowes and Rodriguez all signed.

Neil Martin and Sean Stewart followed in June before Weale rocked Dorchester by joining Exeter as their full-time goalkeeping coach.

Elsewhere, a deal to host Yeovil Ladies’ matches was announced before the club officially opened their new 3G pitch in a 0-0 draw with a Plymouth Argyle XI in July.

More player market activity saw Ed Bastick rejoin Portland, while Rose, Dom Panesar-Dower, Luke Winsper, Ross Carmichael, Jason Brookes, Crit Clarke, Alex Stafie, Ben Morris, Callum Thompson, Josh Williams and Cameron Murray all committed to the Magpies.

Striker Cameron Allen also penned a one-month loan from Bristol Rovers but failed to score in six games, while goalkeeper Kingsley Latham and Harry Kite joined from Southampton and Exeter respectively until January.

Before the season, Robson’s second-string were dealt a blow when their exit from competitive fixtures was confirmed before the first team lost 1-0 to Met Police in the opening league game of the season.

An impressive 4-2 result at Wimborne, in which Winsper scored twice to put the Magpies 4-0 up at half-time, handed the visitors their first win of the reshuffled Southern Premier South season.

Clarke then rejoined Portland on dual registration terms, while Morris and Williams signed similar deals with Bridport.

A new stadium sponsorship deal led to the Avenue Stadium becoming the Clayson Stadium in the same week that the Magpies suffered a 5-0 nightmare at arch-rivals Weymouth.

Further comings and goings saw Stewart sign dual forms with Balti Sports, while Tiago Sa joined from Weymouth on a one-month loan.

Thompson brought in promising young centre-back Josh Bailey from Bristol Rovers on a work experience loan before the Magpies beat Wimborne 3-0 in an FA Cup first qualifying round replay.

But disaster struck the Magpies prior to the second qualifying round as Latham went down with internal bleeding, prompting the arrival of Alhaji Sesay from Bristol City.

Sesay saved a penalty and was sent off in the Magpies’ 2-0 loss at Tiverton before being sent off again in a 4-1 loss at Harrow to complete a calamitous one-month loan spell.

The Tiverton game marked Thompson’s one-year milestone before Tiago Sa returned to Weymouth in early October.

Club legend Brian Southern passed away while Griggs extended his ties with Winchester until January

Diaz, who linked up with Weymouth once more in the summer, signed permanently after the Magpies were dumped out of the League Cup 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw with Poole.

Ben Seymour also came across from Exeter on a three-month loan but fellow striker Stafie left alongside Callum Thompson after failing to score in 19 appearances.

Seymour helped Dorchester beat Yate in the FA Trophy first round and the Magpies went on to earn a dream tie at Barnet in the second round proper after memorably beating National League South side Eastbourne 4-0, Tom Blair bagging a brilliant hat-trick.

Another key figure was Sam Jackson, who signed dual registration forms with Bashley and has featured in every game since his arrival.

A painful 5-0 home defeat to bottom side Chesham was the Magpies’ only defeat in 11 games as they constructed a promising run of form late in the year.

Experienced keeper Nick Hutchings also joined while Brennan Camp was brought in as cover for the impressive Bailey, who damaged his anterior cruciate ligament in a 3-0 loss to Swindon Supermarine.

Elsewhere, youngsters Rose and Blair made their 50th and 100th appearances for the club before a crushing late 1-0 Boxing Day loss to Weymouth.

Dorchester will again aim to kick on in the new year after a season so far plagued with inconsistency and poor home form.

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