DORCHESTER SPORTS 1

HOLT UNITED 1

DORCHESTER Sports’ home draw-fest continued as Holt United collected a point from their Dorset Premier League clash at the Clayson Stadium.

Sports have now drawn five of their eight home league games this season and will rue another missed penalty and a clattered post as reasons for not claiming all three points against the Bulls.

Shaftesbury Town Reserves had escaped the Clayson with a 2-2 draw following a missed Jamie West penalty last time out, and Sports started brightly as they sought to rectify that missed opportunity.

Sports were on top in the opening 20 minutes as West fluffed a one-on-one before firing another chance wide, while Alex Stafie forced an excellent save from the visiting keeper.

Holt had ridden out the surge of early pressure and scored with their first real chance as a long ball unhinged the Sports’ defence, with keeper Antony Frost beaten by a chipped finish.

The Bulls were ahead for just five minutes as Ash Smith played a raking crossfield pass to Stafie on the left wing, the striker supplying West for an intelligent header back across goal for 1-1 at half-time.

Sports changed formation to combat Holt’s long passing and Ryan Ross hit the post as the hosts retook the initiative.

On another home attack, Gareth Will aimed a shot at goal which struck a Holt defender’s hand for a penalty which Stafie blazed over.

Speaking to Echosport, Sports’ assistant-manager Steve Churchill admitted home draws had become an unwanted trend.

“It seems to have become a theme,” he said. “We missed a penalty in the 85th minute and that’s two weeks in a row we’ve had a penalty and haven’t even hit the target.

“We’ve probably dropped six points from missed penalties this year, which would put us up a couple of places in the league.

“But, it was probably a fair result on the whole. Both teams played well, it was end-to-end, they had chances and we had chances.

“Frosty made a good save and their keeper made a couple of good saves. We hit the post and missed the penalty, so we maybe edged it but it wasn’t purely dominated. It could’ve gone either way at any time.

“We had some good pressure after (the penalty) but there was nothing clear cut late on. Both teams were seeing the game out and didn’t want to lose.”

Sports: Frost, Smith, Heal, A Gould, Hill, Ross (White 65), G Will, Samways, Stafie, West, Critchell (Quinton 65). Sub not used: W Gould.

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