Dorchester Town 2-0 Walton Casuals: Kieran Phillips hits brace

Phillips 1, 35

WALTON CASUALS 0

THERE were smiles all round at the Avenue Stadium as the Magpies finally chalked up their first home win and doubled their season’s points haul with a 2-0 victory over Walton Casuals.

Both goals were scored by on-loan Bristol Rovers youngster Kieran Phillips who could not have imagined a better debut than a first-minute goal to announce his arrival then doubling his tally 10 minutes before the break. 

Oakley Hanger dropped to the substitutes' bench with Phillips given the number nine shirt and Sam Bayston, who before the match was presented with the August player of the month award by Supporters Club chairwoman, Annie Greenslade, switching to a more accustomed wide role for the first time this season. 

And it was Bayston who turned provider with a first-minute threaded pass seemingly aimed at Christos Papakonstantinou which appeared to deceive Walton keeper Leighton Fanshawe who allowed the ball to run past him into the path of Phillips who was left with the simple task of slotting the ball into an unguarded net.

READ MORE: Dorchester Town 2-0 Walton Casuals - how it happened

Shortly after, Callum Buckley was dispossessed but skipper Ashley Wells was quick to react and cleared the danger.

Sam Bayston, right, played a part in Dorchester's first goal Picture: DAVID PARTRIDGE

Sam Davidson picked up an early leg injury and was sat on the deck calling for the physio’s attention when Tayshan Hayden-Smith unleashed a stunning effort which a full-stretch diving Gerard Benfield superbly finger-tipped against the far post with the rebound taking the ball away from the goalmouth. 

Davidson initially responded to treatment but quickly succumbed again and was replaced by Harry Hodges who slotted into the right full-back position with Wells switching to a central defensive role.

Adam Liddle looked lively for the visitors and set up Bradley Keetch whose cross was cleared while Hayden-Smith found Josh O’Halloran whose centre was only partially cleared gifting Mitchel Gough a loose ball chance but his shot deflected wide.

Phillips and Bayston then combined to set up Papakonstantinou whose fierce drive struck the outside of the far post.

Christos Papakonstantinou, right, hit the post in the first half Picture: DAVID PARTRIDGE

A superb tackle from Wells thwarted Liddle while Harry Burns and Bayston created an opportunity for Hodges whose close-range effort was saved by Fanshawe.

Picked out by Bayston, Phillips looked to add to his tally but his curled shot on the turn was comfortable for Fanshawe. 

Opposite number, Benfield, then made an equally comfortable save as Abdul Osman looked to back-head toward goal. An impressive cross-field run from Bayston ended with a pass to Papakonstantinou who in turn found Burns to fire weakly wide. 

Papakonstantinou again found Burns who failed to make a proper connection with the ball while a Hodges cross was cleared as far as Tiago Sa whose return ball was gathered by Fanshawe. 

A block from Sa frustrated Rowe at the other end while Buckley ended another Liddle charge at the expense of a corner which was taken by Osman and comfortably gathered by Benfield.

Ten minutes before the break, Phillips flicked home his second goal after a good run across the pitch by Hodges and lay-off to Bayston resulted in a perfect ball into the box for the forward.

Walton tried to hit back – Papakonstantinou blocked one free-kick while the wall did its job to keep out a well struck drive from a more central position by Gough.

The ever dangerous Liddle then centred to Rowe who could only fire over from 20 yards and a menacing centre from O’Halloran was cut out by Wells while in first-half stoppage time Buckley’s far post effort sailed wide from a Sa corner.

Six minutes after the restart, the referee waved aside protests from the Magpies as Phillips appeared to have his shirt tugged by Tarik Moore-Azille. 

Hodges did well to intercept a centre from Keetch aimed at Liddle while Sa nipped in ahead of Moore-Azille to remove the threat of a cross from Hayden-Smith who then had another shot blocked.

Harry Hodges was an early substitute after Sam Davidson was injured Picture: DAVID PARTRIDGE

Having weathered an early second-half bout of Casual’s pressure, Dorchester should have posed another threat themselves when Billy Lowes and Sa created a chance for

Papakonstantinou who suddenly fell over at the vital moment. 

Back came Walton and danger man Liddle found substitute Salhin Abubakar whose cross to the far post was too powerful for a stretching Hayden-Smith who could only prod the ball out of play. 

Papakonstantinou was denied by Fanshawe then played a short ball to Phillips whose pass was again wasted by Burns. The Greek midfielder picked up a yellow card for a foul on Abubakar although the free-kick from Keetch was headed clear by Sa. 

Phillips was then impeded by Joshua Andrew but Papakonstantinou curled his free kick too close to Fanshawe. 

Dorchester had penalty appeals waved aside by match referee Alex James when Bayston went down under pressure while chasing a through ball from Tom Purrington. 

The name of Walton skipper Josh Lelan was added to the referee’s notebook for a foul on Bayston before Papakonstantinou curled another effort into the Casuals' keeper’s arms. 

O’Halloran fired over while an Osman free-kick sailed wide as Walton ran out of time. 

A late incident saw Dorchester’s goalkeeping coach Steve Dodge and Andrew shown yellow cards after it appeared that the former held on to a ball out of play rather too long for the latter’s liking. 

The clash had no bearing on the outcome as Dorchester rose to 16th in the Pitching In Southern League Premier South table.

Magpies: Benfield, Wells, Sa, Burns, Davidson (Hodges 8), Buckley, Bayston (Hanger 85), Purrington, Phillips, Papakonstantinou (Symes 88), Lowes: Subs not used: Calverley, Walker-Harris.

Walton Casuals: Fanshawe, Andrew, O’Halloran, Osman, Moore-Azille, Lelan, Rowe (Odunaike 57), Gough ( Abubakar 57), Liddle, Keetch, Hayden-Smith (Akers 73). Subs not used: McAuley, Gordon.

Referee: Alex James

Attendance: 260