DORCHESTER Town temporary manager Jody Rivers defended his decision to leave two attackers on the pitch as the Magpies fought Poole Town with nine men during their 1-0 Boxing Day loss to the Dolphins.

Neil Martin and goalkeeper Nick Hutchings were both sent off for tripping striker Marvin Brooks 11 minutes apart in the second half.

Rivers then deployed a 4-1-2-1 formation with leading scorer Tom Bath and Tom Blair looking to hit Tom Killick’s men on the break as they raided forward.

But Dorchester’s tactics rarely got a chance to work as the Dolphins hemmed their hosts in, eventually grabbing an 89th-minute winner through Brooks.

Striker Klaidi Lolos and fellow Plymouth loanee Tom Purrington were both subbed off as Rivers reshuffled his pack following the red cards.

He said: “I always had in the back of my mind, with the homework I’ve done on Poole, that we could hit them on the break.

“You could probably see in the first half that we sat deep, we were organised, they couldn’t break us down. I don’t think they created any opportunities and we were really pleased.

“The message at half-time was to keep doing the same. We had Klaidi, Bathy (Tom Bath), Blairo (Tom Blair), Tom Purrington and Kyle (Egan) so we had real attacking prowess.

“Then we went down to 10 but even with 10 I would have felt comfortable. With nine, we went four at the back and a diamond in front.

“I kept shouting to defend our final third and let them have (the ball). My goodness, they’ve shown heart.

“But that’s why I kept Blairo and Bathy on. No-one can say that wasn’t brave because some people would’ve taken them off and put defenders on.

“I always felt, with their pace, we could get in behind. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.”