DORCHESTER Town first-team coach Brian Churchill insisted the Magpies “more than raised their game” despite losing 1-0 to rivals Weymouth.

Dorchester’s final pre-season friendly saw the Magpies work extremely hard in defence without troubling Weymouth at the other end – the Terras not facing a shot on target.

The Magpies’ diligence almost paid off as it took until the 89th minute for Weymouth to grab the winner, the Terras’ sub trialist striker slotting home from 12 yards.

His goal deprived Dorchester of what would have been a second goalless draw against higher-league opposition in five days, following the stalemate with Yeovil.

READ MORE: Weymouth 1-0 Dorchester Town - match report

And Churchill highlighted personnel changes – youngsters Jordi Foot and Connor Callow coming in for the experienced Keith Emmerson and Callum Buckley – as further cause for optimism.

He told Echosport: “I thought defensively we looked resolute and hard to break down.

“We knew there were going to be long periods of the game where we didn’t have the ball, similar to the Yeovil game but with slightly different personnel.

“They more than raised their game to nullify any Weymouth attack.”
Churchill also addressed Dorchester’s lack of cutting edge up front, adding:

“Anyone watching would’ve seen that our chances were few and far between.

“For us, it was a really difficult pitch. We’re used to playing on a 3G surface and passing the ball around.

“But that will stand them in good stead for this season because there are going to be games where we go to pitches that aren’t as good as ours.

“It was bobbly, we couldn’t play through midfield so we had to go long and the ball didn’t stick. It was difficult for us to create chances.

“On the flip side, we were resolute and more than happy with our display.”