DORCHESTER TOWN 3

Hanger 2, Stedman 22, 62

HARROW BOROUGH 1

Da Silva 53 og

DORCHESTER Town stormed to a home hat-trick of wins by beating Harrow Borough 3-1 at the Avenue Stadium.

Magpies’ defender Oakley Hanger gave his side a stunning start in the second minute, before Billy Stedman added his first Dorchester goal for a 2-0 half-time lead.

Thiago Caze da Silva had the misfortune to score an own goal after the break but Stedman scored directly from a corner to seal the points.

In winning a third straight league game, Dorchester ended a 33-month wait to record a treble of Pitching In Southern League Premier South wins.

Merthyr, Basingstoke and Walton Casuals were the Magpies’ victims on that run in March 2019.

READ MORE: Dorchester Town 3-1 Harrow Borough - how it happened

However, with the Harrow victory sealing Dorchester’s third in a row in front of their Avenue faithful, the Magpies halted a near four-year wait to repeat the feat.

On that occasion, Dorchester won four home league games on the bounce as St Ives, Farnborough, Tiverton and Redditch were defeated in late 2017 into early 2018.

Statistics aside for Dorchester, their latest three points were deservedly earned.

Dorchester boss Glenn Howes made two changes to the side that began the 1-0 loss at Weston-super-Mare last time out.

In came experienced duo Tom Soares and Billy Lowes in midfield at the expense of Sam Bayston and Sam Davidson.

Club skipper Ash Wells was named on the bench for the first time since a recurrence of his hamstring injury but it was another defender who grabbed the attention in the second minute.

Hanger set the ball rolling for the Magpies, collecting Tom Purrington’s pass in acres of space before drilling past Josh Strizovic in the Harrow goal.

Dorchester were in control in the early stages and grabbed a fully merited second on 22 minutes.

Hard work on the training ground paid off for Dorchester as a clever short-corner routine fooled Harrow.

Midfielder Charlie Gunson was able to pick out ex-Coventry and Southampton youth man Stedman and the winger flashed a shot past Strizovic from the edge of the box for 2-0.

Dorchester were relatively comfortable into half-time but there was an injury for left-back Tiago Sa, necessitating Wells’ introduction at the break.

As Dorchester adjusted, Harrow gave the hosts cause for concern by halving their deficit eight minutes into the second period.

Caze da Silva was the unfortunate man to put through his own net, diverting the ball past home custodian Gerard Benfield after pinball in the Dorchester area.

His second own goal of the season mattered little, though, as Stedman re-established the Magpies’ lead in the 62nd minute.

It came directly from a corner as the winger’s delivery bamboozled the Harrow defence before nestling into the far top corner.

Dorchester were then able to see the game out without further hiccups as the momentum under new boss Howes continues to grow.

The Magpies, who visit high-flying Gosport next Saturday, skip above Beaconsfield into 17th after the Rams lost 4-0 to Yate Town.

Magpies: Benfield, Hanger, Sa (Wells 46), Soares, Madden, da Silva, Purrington (Papakonstantinou 86), Gunson, Stanley, Stedman (Bayston 68), Lowes. Subs not used: Davidson, Callow.

Harrow: Strizovic, Adenola, Biler, Mansfield, Preddie, Donnellan, Moore, Ozobia (O’Connor 46), Ewington (Charles-Smith 74), Keita, Bryan (Wynter 74). Subs not used: Tricker, Otudeko.

Referee: Lewis Sandoe

Attendance: 352