OLD rivals will collide as Dorchester Town and Weymouth battle it out in the Dorset Senior Cup Final tomorrow night (7.45pm).

The Magpies will host Terras in a bid to create some joy for their loyal fans in what has been a disappointing campaign.

Dorchester have not won a game since the previous cup tie against Wimborne Town on January 7, while Weymouth are flying high in the division above the Magpies.

Leigh Robinson knows it will be a tough game for his Dorchester side but says the pressure is off thanks to their underdog status: “We are heavily, heavily second favourites, huge underdogs, so we have nothing to lose and we don’t have league points riding on it.

“I’m well aware of the battles and rivalries between Weymouth and Dorchester and they’ve had a lot of games down the years. Everyone at the club is aware of the gulf that has developed between the two sides and our job is to do our very best to bridge that gap. We will be going all out to win and at the very least we have got to get some respect back into the club.

“We need to take our chances when we get them. In a cup final there will be moments and we just need to make the most of those moments.

“Cup finals are won in both penalty areas, so we just need to win the game in both penalty areas and we will have a chance.”

Robinson joked, after Weymouth missed two out of three penalties on Saturday as they beat Maidstone United 5-1: “We have done our research and we think if we can get them down to penalties we will have a chance, their penalty record is not wonderful so we need to focus on not letting them score from open play.

“But seriously, full respect to them, they are doing incredibly well.”

Magpies are facing an increasingly difficult task to stay in the BetVictor Southern Premier South, but Robinson hopes a cup win can spark a great escape.

He said: “We have got to get the team and the club back on an upward curve because, and I’m sure most people would agree with me, the club has been on a downward curve for quite a few years.

“That has to start somewhere and a cup win like this could be the catalyst. That’s what I had at Taunton, we won the cup, that was the catalyst and we kept going upwards from there. It does happen like that sometimes.

“If - and its a big if - we can get it over the line against Weymouth that will give us a lot more confidence in the league as well.

“It’s a great game to be involved in, but if you gave us the choice of winning the cup final now or staying up I would take staying up.”

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