DORCHESTER Town assistant boss James Wood admitted the Magpies “struggled” against Wimborne Town after overcoming their Dorset rivals 1-0 in their FA Cup first qualifying round replay.

Olaf Koszela was the hero for Dorchester, planting a firm effort beyond keeper Thomas Parker-Trott in the 90th minute to break Wimborne hearts.

The visitors had up to then been the better side, Aaron Roberts missing a huge chance when unmarked 12 yards out.

Dorchester saw Koszela head wide from a similar position and Keith Emmerson had an effort cleared off the line, but Koszela’s goal was only their second shot on target across the whole evening.

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

Dorchester’s performance was in stark contrast to the initial tie, where opportunities were carved almost at will.

Speaking to Echosport, Wood said: “Normally at home we are quite fluent with our movements, our passing, with the way we break teams down.

“We struggled a bit but credit to Wimborne. They matched us up in formation, which to be perfectly honest threw us a bit to start with.

“They worked exceptionally hard and they’ve got some very good players. You add the fact it’s a cup tie, it’s a local derby, it’s going to be a spicy game, it’s going to be a very difficult contest.

“We did struggle slightly but the boys showed great resilience and dug out that result at the end, which is vitally important.”

For Dorchester, who will play the winners of Willand’s clash with Swindon Supermarine, the replay represented a fourth game in 11 days.

Asked if the hectic schedule played a part in what appeared to be a tired display, Wood said: “I thought they looked a little bit tired at times.

“We tried to freshen it up. We talk about this squad and how we want to utilise this, that will continue. That’s something Glenn (Howes, boss) has always done.

“We thought it was the right call to freshen it up and bring in a couple. But you can’t freshen up all 11 so there were some lads with heavy legs, I think that showed.

“We always look at our stats and distance covered. The boys are covering 100 (kilometres) as a team, so if you look at that for a Saturday and then come in to Tuesday, that’s a big load.

“They’ve dug it out, rode their luck, but again they’ve created chances. We’re just delighted to get through to the next round.”

Dorchester tackle Harrow Borough at home on Saturday (3pm).