DORCHESTER TOWN 3

Seymour 17, 51 pen, Winsper 46

HARROW BOROUGH 2

O'Connor 68, 83

NERVY Dorchester held on to end a five-month winless run at home in the league with a vital 3-2 victory over Harrow Borough in a tense Evo-Stik Southern Premier South clash at the Clayson Stadium.

Ben Seymour grabbed a brace either side of a 46th-minute Luke Winsper goal before Harrow nearly staged a stirring fightback, Antony O’Connor grabbing a late brace as a desperate Dorchester clung on to the three points.

Dorchester made three changes to the side that began the 2-0 defeat to Poole Town last time out.

Centre-backs Brennan Camp and new work experience loan signing Joe Low, from Bristol City, came in along with attacking midfielder Antonio Diaz.

Injured Callum Rose, plus Ross Carmichael and Tom Blair, were the players to miss out – the latter omitted from the squad completely with illness.

With Dorchester looking to claim an elusive home win, the hosts made an assured start with Camp and Low embarking on probing runs from defence.

Both teenagers were able to nullify the threat of former Magpies forward Ryan Moss in the opening exchanges as the Magpies monopolised possession, ultimately setting the tone for their victory.

A confident start was confirmed when Kyle Egan’s delightful cross from the right picked out Winsper, only for the midfielder to get his legs tangled and scuff his effort well wide.

Moments later, Seymour stole the ball from Billy Lowes and drove into the area before curling inches over when he might have scored.

Warning signs had been evident for Harrow and the visitors did not heed them as Dorchester made a deserved breakthrough in the 17th minute.

Winsper was the creator, showing razor-sharp vision to set Diaz clean through with a sumptuous through-ball on the half-volley.

Diaz was able to shimmy, shape to shoot and square for Seymour who walked the ball into the empty net for a beautiful goal as Harrow’s futile protests of offside were correctly ignored.

Dorchester’s front three of Seymour, Diaz and Winsper were now ticking and Diaz cut the ball back for the unmarked Winsper in the area, however the Magpie could only scuff his effort once more.

Moss rarely troubled the Magpies until a George Moore cross was deftly controlled by the striker, although his sliced volley allowed a grateful Kingsley Latham to catch with ease.

Diaz should have put Dorchester 2-0 up when centre-back Mitchell Gough slipped, but with his back to goal the Spaniard could only turn and shoot, grazing the bar.

Low had been unfairly penalised by referee Adam Baker, who had a lamentable game, for a foul out wide and Mitchell Gough duly shaved the top of the crossbar with a flicked header before the interval.

If Harrow had been looking for a way back in, they were instantly demoralised as Winsper scored exactly 30 seconds after the restart.

Seymour latched onto a ball over the top and played in Egan whose supporting run was expertly timed. The right wing-back’s squared ball was initially blocked but Winsper reacted quickest to volley home from six yards,

Dorchester had seemingly put the game out of sight for Harrow in scoring their third from the spot five minutes later.

Winsper was hauled down by Shaun Preddie and Seymour’s free-kick was deflected out for a corner. Camp saw his header blocked before lashing a shot that was cleared off the line only as far as Harry Kite, who drove forward and drew a foul in the box.

Seymour then stepped up to score into the bottom-right corner for his 15th goal in 19 games before wasting a fabulous chance for a treble, placing his shot well wide after Lowes’ cutback.

However, Dorchester eased off the gas significantly and invited Harrow back into the game in a frantic finale.

Firstly, a poor Neil Martin clearance fell to Lewis Cole who skimmed the top of the bar from 12 yards before Latham parried a Moss shot to O’Connor who volleyed in on 68 minutes.

Dorchester sat deeper and deeper as Harrow flooded forward and the visitors notched a second with seven minutes remaining when O’Connor slammed past a crowd of bodies in the area.

Had it not been for a flying save from Latham to deny Moore in the 93rd minute, Dorchester would have been pegged back, but they eventually held back the nerves to secure a precious victory.

Magpies: Latham, Egan, Martin, Camp, Low, Kite, Winsper, Lowes, Seymour, Diaz (Carmichael 85), Jackson (Panesar-Dower 79). Subs not used: Rodriguez, Hutchings, Morris,

Harrow: Al-Droubi, Moore, Haugh (McLeod 59), Fenton (Bryan 38), Gough, Oseni, O’Connor, Preddie, Moss, Keita (Andrew 59), Cole. Sub not used: Holland

Referee: Adam Baker (Wimborne)

Attendance: 338

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