Dorchester TOWN 1
Moss 89
WESTON-S-MARE 3
Hunt 18, Ingram 56, Price 59
LAST night’s dismal defeat at the hands of Weston-super-Mare was summed up perfectly by boss Ashley Vickers: “A miserable night and a miserable game.”
The Magpies, very much a Jekyll and Hyde side this season, took the form of the latter at a sodden Avenue Stadium as the visiting Seagulls eased to a 3-1 win – Ryan Moss scoring late on to provide scant consolation.
And the county town chief was understandably frustrated come the final whistle.
He said: “We didn’t play well. The previous three games had been positive and although we lost at Basing-stoke on Saturday, the performance was really positive and on another day we could have got something out of the game.
“We spoke about why the last few games were positive and we spoke about how we would negate Weston’s strengths but we didn’t get to grips with it.
“We didn’t play the conditions well either due to some questionable footwear from the some of the boys early on.
Vickers went on to add: “We work on things in training and when they don’t get put into practice it’s very frustrating.
“They scored three goals from set-pieces and that is a huge disappointment to myself, Andy Harris and Phil Simkin because we work on them until we’re blue in the face.
“I can’t remember a chance they really created in open play. They might have kept possession of the ball but we conceded from three set-pieces, which is so disappointing.
“It was a miserable night and a miserable game.”
Vickers kept faith with the same XI that started at Basingstoke on the weekend, including red-carded defender Gary Bowles.
The substitutes’ bench was also unchanged, meaning yet again there was no place for loan signing Lewis Tallack.
And in a repeat of Saturday’s outing, the Magpies fell behind. After a rather turgid opening, Weston opened the scoring from the game’s first real opportunity.
A free-kick on the right side was hung up by Dayle Grubb and as the ball finally dropped in the box, Ben Hunt got there first.
His first effort was blocked by Nick Jordan but the visiting striker was afforded a second bite of the cherry and duly lashed home.
Dorchester finally tested Lloyd Irish midway through the half but unfortunately Nick Crittenden’s fierce volley was too close to the Seagulls’ stopper.
Weston’s Kane Ingram had a curling effort palmed away by Jordan before a cross-cum-shot from Crittenden escaped the attentions of the advancing Rico Wilson.
That proved to be Crittenden’s last contribution as the county town winger pulled up with a hamstring injury and was replaced by Ben Dickenson.
Despite the change, Dorchester remained the inferior of the two sides and Weston deservedly went into the break ahead.
Having spent an hour of Saturday’s game with only 10 men, the Magpies could so easily have been a man down once again less than a minute after the restart.
Moss was adjudged to have felled Ingram, the latter then squared up to the former and Moss took a petty swipe at the visiting winger.
Thankfully, referee Iain Parsons deemed the offence worthy of a yellow card at worst.
With the hosts still unable to raise their game, Vickers made his second change of the night, bringing Steve Devlin on for the ineffective Wilson and moving Moss into the more accustomed role of centre forward.
But within five minutes, the match was dead and buried.
First, a quick throw-in and an ambitious strike from range by Ingram found the top corner of Jordan’s goal before a Grubb set-piece found the head of Jamie Price and the Weston full-back glanced a header past the Magpies’ gloveman – despite his best efforts.
Albeit 65 minutes too late, the hosts started to show signs of a recovery with Dickenson firing over and Moss delivering a dangerous low centre that Irish just managed to gather.
Dorchester’s discipline was still somewhat of an issue and substitute Devlin was also rather fortunate to escape with a yellow – the Magpies’ fifth of the evening – after a dangerous tackle on Nabi Diallo, minutes after Diallo had gone in late on Ashley Nicholls.
The Seagulls were certainly no saints either as they collected four bookings themselves. And it was from the last of those indiscretions that the Magpies gained a late consolation.
Price entered the referee’s notebook for a late challenge on Devlin, Neil Martin pumped the ball into the box and Moss rose highest to find the bottom-right corner.
But there was no hiding the fact that the Magpies will require a vast improvement when the two sides meet once again in FA Cup action in just over a week’s time.
Magpies: Jordan, Critchell, N Martin, Dovell (Nicholls 66), N Walker, Bowles, Crittenden (Dickenson 32), Gleeson, Wilson (Devlin 54), Flood, Moss. Subs not used: Bell, Walker-Harris.
Seagulls: Irish, Price, Slocombe, Grubb, Villis, Laird, Ingram, Diallo, Hunt (Kabba 83), Young, Pepperell. Subs not used: J Martin, MacKay, Kirk, Huxley.
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