Dorchester Town 1-0 Eastleigh
DORCHESTER TOWN v EASTLEIGH
Tuesday 4th September 2012
Blue Square Bet South
Match report by Ray Murphy
Blue Square Bet South
Match report by Ray Murphy
As Eastleigh a quickly learning, there will be no games in the league this season where they will be allowed to perform under par and come away with any points. That is not to say that this was a high class Eastleigh showing but they can count themselves extremely unlucky having to return to Hampshire without any points at all never alone all three.
Mitchell Nelson had failed to recover from the knee injury suffered on Saturday against Dover though Craig McAllister also an injury concern from the previous Saturday was able to lead the strike line. Osei Sankofa made his debut for the Club following his summer signing from Boreham Wood, the ex Leyton Orient defender assuming the right back role caused by the absence of Nelson. Dorchester changed their line up to play with a lone striker thus a defensive minded home formation in an attempt to deal with the threat of Eastleigh.
Eastleigh throughout held the major role of possession. Their first opening came on eight minutes when Marvin Williams run at the Dorchester rearguard but his final shot was weak which gave no concern to ex Eastleigh goalkeeper Jason Matthews. Eastleigh with their patient build up were finding it hard to break down a resolute and hardworking Dorchester defence and midfield though and the next chance did not arrive until the twenty first minute. McAllister with a clever lobbed shot from some twenty yards falling just wide of the upright. A minute later a clearance out of the Eastleigh defence by Tom Jordan almost caused embarrassment for Matthews as the bounce of the ball almost deceived the keeper but Matthews was able to retrieve the situation.
With twenty-seven minutes played Williams and Daryl McMahon combined for an attempt on goal the ball though falling for Jai Reason but another weak final shot on goal was off target. The final chance of the half fell in first half stoppage time when McMahon looked on in anguish as his effort struck the bar.
The second period offered the same story as the opening forty-five minutes. Seven minutes following the restart Matthews was quickly off his line to deny Moses Ademola. Dorchester though were still producing a high work rate through the midfield where ex Eastleigh midfielders Ashley Nicholls and Jamie Gleeson were prominent as were central defenders Nathan Walker and Charlie Clough.
Jack Dovey was called upon to make a save at the feet of Ban Watson on fifty-three minutes, which was virtually the keeper first action of the evening. It was only though a small rest for Dorchester as although Watson continually worked for the home side Eastleigh were still making the better opportunities.
An excellent tackle by Mark Jermyn on fifty-six minutes denied Reason the chance to extend Matthews following good work by McAllister and Williams. Watson saw a sot saved by Dovey again just after the hour then sixty-four minutes McMahon’s free kick was collected by Matthews.
The writing though for Eastleigh was on the wall in a two minute spell in the seventieth minute. The unlucky victim on both occasions was McAllister. First Matthews produced a fine save from a McAllister header following an Ademola cross, Dale Binns turning the rebound wide. Within sixty seconds Damian Scannell’s corner was headed back by Andy Forbes and McAllister was again in despair as he watched Matthews manage to hold on to his firm header.
Dorchester had thrust a further striker into the action with former Salisbury City man Jake Reid with a quarter of an hour to go. A crowd favourite Reid seemed ready to want to take the headline claim too. The game had just entered stoppage time and it seemed that both sides would have taken a point from a goalless stalemate. Eastleigh would have been disappointed at this point not to have made the most of their chance and looking forward to coming away with three points. A long ball forward to Reid saw Eastleigh substitute Adam Everett a replacement for the injured McMahon, penalised for his challenge in an attempt to get the ball. Some thirty yards from goal and following Everett receiving a yellow card and the lining up of the Eastleigh wall and referee Mark Pottage ensuring the correct ten yards was between wall and ball, it seemed to take a for age for the execution if the free kick. For the Dorchester fans it was well worth the wait as Reid’s left foot strike flew into the back of the net leaving Dovey stranded and just enough time for the game to restart before the celebrations of Dorchester to acclaim their three point haul.
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