BOSS Trevor Senior was full of praise for teenager Dan Peart after his two assists helped Bridport upset the odds to reach the semi-finals of the Dorset Senior Cup.

Despite falling behind to higher-ranked hosts Wimborne Town, the Bees fought back at Cuthbury and saw Ryan Dovell equalise before Darren Lock grabbed the winning goal.

Both headed efforts came from the delivery of Peart. And at the tender age of 16, Senior was delighted with the midfielder’s contribution.

He said: “Dan made his first start and worked really hard. He’s only 16, he came to us in pre-season and I was impressed with him at Keynsham on Saturday, even though he only got a few minutes.

“I had no hesitation about putting him against Wimborne and although it was a good all-round performance, he was arguably man of the match.

“It shows that we have competition for places. We were missing three key players in Dan Wise, Darren Watts and Matt Condliffe but the likes of Dan and Tristan Gale came in for their first starts and worked really hard.

“It was an excellent team performance and probably one of the best since I’ve been back at the club. We’ll wait to see who we get in the semi-finals.”

The Bees lie two tiers below the Zamaretto Division One S&W Magpies but league superiority counted for precious little last night as the Toolstation Western League Division One outfit booked their spot in the last four.

The impressive victory also saw Bridport stop the rot of three straight defeats.

Senior added: “We played well from the first whistle, and although they took the lead from a breakaway we worked really hard and set an excellent tempo.

“The pitch was nice to play football on and our decision-making was really good. Despite going up the slope and against the wind in the first half, we had the lion’s share of possession.

“They are good opposition and two leagues higher than us but we got in their faces and did not allow them to play.

“Again we started well in the second half and scored after 15 minutes. We then managed to get the winning goal about 15 minutes from time.

“We had lost our previous three games so this was the perfect response. It was a great night for the club.”

Senior’s men return to league action this Saturday with a trip to Bradford Town.

Bees: Filkins, A Symes, C Clarke, Lock (Hill 82), Senior (A Clarke 75), Hayter, J Symes, Peart, Gale (Evans 65), Dovell, Legg.