DORCHESTER Sports boss Ashley James has heaped the pressure on opponents Merley Cobham Sports, labelling their Dorset Premier League tussle as a “must-win” clash tomorrow (3pm).

Merley visit the Clayson Stadium following a shock 2-1 loss to Sherborne Town Reserves on Saturday but did restore some form with a 3-1 win at Shaftesbury Reserves in midweek.

The victory keeps Merley in the hunt for the title, with a three-point gap to leaders Hamworthy Rec having played one game more.

James’ men, meanwhile, have risen to seventh after collecting seven points from their past three matches.

James said: “It’s a must-win game for them if they’re going to win the league. It was a slip-up no-one saw coming.

“All the pressure’s on them, so we’ll just go out there and try and spoil the party again.

“It’s probably a bad time to play them because they’ll want to bounce back strong.

“But we’ll give it everything we’ve got and see if we can get a good result.

“We’re playing better and picking up points but we’re not clinical enough at the moment, we’ve got to try and work on that.

“Too many draws are at home, I think it’s three draws in the last four home games – Bridport, Portland and Swanage. Really we should be winning those sorts of games.

“We’ve got to turn some into wins but it will be tough (against Merley).”

Adam Steele and Luke Gatehouse miss out but Pat Thomas comes in. Jamie Rawlings could be in contention.