BRACKNELL TOWN 1

Grant 90

DORCHESTER TOWN 3

Haste 1, Gwengwe 5, Dickson 48

EARLY goals in each half helped Dorchester Town to a seismic 3-1 victory at Pitching In Southern League Premier South play-off chasers Bracknell Town.

Ollie Haste and Shaq Gwengwe strikes put the Magpies in dreamland after only five minutes.

George Knight hit the bar for Bracknell but the Robins were met with a determined Dorchester defence, limiting the hosts to few chances.

And Jack Dickson’s 48th-minute goal put the result beyond doubt before Joe Grant deprived the Magpies of a clean sheet in stoppage-time.

READ MORE: Bracknell Town 1-3 Dorchester Town - how it happened

Grant’s goal will only serve as a minor irritation for Dorchester on a day when the Magpies jumped from 20th to 17th after losses for Tiverton and Swindon Supermarine.

Manager Tom Killick kept faith with most of the side that lost 3-0 at Gosport Borough, his only change coming as Will Fletcher dropped to the bench for the returning Drew Eccott-Young.

It meant Lewis Toms was the sole absentee from last week’s squad, with Lewis Waterfield, Ieuan Turner, Jonny Efedje and Harvey Hughes retained as substitutes.

With Bracknell beaten play-off finalists last season, the Magpies were expecting a severe test.

However, those anticipations failed to transpire as Dorchester stunned Bracknell with two goals in the opening five minutes.

With less than a minute gone, Haste benefitted from Dickson’s fine work on the right flank and Bracknell’s failure to deal with the resultant delivery, allowing the Yeovil loanee to sweep past keeper Mike Eacott.

And four minutes later Dorchester rocked Bracknell further when Gwengwe capitalised on a defensive mix-up between Eacott and Olukayode Osu to lob home for 2-0.

Armed with a two-goal lead, Dorchester were energised to defend heartily but their nerves jangled in the 17th minute when George Knight crashed a snapshot against the crossbar.

Dorchester could have extended their lead before half-time when their press forced Eacott into an error and Dickson picked up the loose ball but decided against squaring and Bracknell survived.

Dorchester continued to defend tenaciously before the break, after which they needed fewer than three minutes to make it 3-0 as Dickson swept home for his second Magpies goal since joining from Poole earlier this season.

For all Bracknell’s attractive passing, they could not unlock the Dorchester rearguard and were forced into a first change with 20 minutes to go, Knight making way for Tom Jackson.

Dorchester also freshened up their attack, with Fletcher replacing Gwengwe, and the substitute saw an effort scrambled off the line in the 79th minute as Bracknell dodged conceding a fourth.

The hosts did rally in the final 10 minutes as Adam Mekki threatened the Dorchester goal after Max Herbert’s whipped cross.

Referee Daniel Lamport called for six additional minutes and the Magpies could not shut out Bracknell completely as Grant’s deflected strike deceived away keeper Jameson Horlick.

The scrappy goal proved only to be an inconvenience though as Dorchester closed the game out to inflict only a third home loss in 15 matches upon their opponents.

Dorchester have another substantial away task on Tuesday as they travel to relegation rivals Tiverton Town (7.45pm), managed by former Magpies’ boss Leigh Robinson.

Bracknell: Eacott, Legg, Burden, Knight (Jackson 69), Harrison, Cheshire (Mekki 46), Herbert, Osu, Grant, Lodge, Stedman (Rees 75). Subs not used: George, Abisogun.

Magpies: Horlick, Eccott-Young, Haste, Ngalo, James, Daws (Efedje 85), Moore, Koszela (Waterfield 88), Gwengwe (Fletcher 73), Dickson, Spetch. Subs not used: Turner, Hughes.

Referee: Daniel Lamport.

Attendance: 336.