Weymouth’s game at Taunton on Friday and Bridport’s home game at St Mary’s on Saturday were both postponed due to waterlogged pitches, but Dorchester entertained Yate Town at the Avenue Stadium on Monday and ran out 2 goals to nil winners.
The Magpies took an early lead when in the 6th minute Harvey Bradbury latched on to a loose ball following a defensive lapse in the Yate penalty area and stroked the ball past the visitor’s keeper Martin Horsell into the net to put Dorchester 1 goal to nil up.
With 25 minutes on the watch the visitors were penalised on the right touchline just in front of the home dug out. The ball was worked into the Yate area and Shquille Gwengwe pounced to drive the ball past the Yate defenders to put the Magpies 2 goals to the good.
After the break neither side managed to add to their tallies despite Matt Neale striking the base of the Yate post with a shot across the keeper from wide out on the left and Dorchester had a big penalty appeal when Gwengwe was taken down deep inside the Yate penalty area, but his appeals fell on deaf ears and the referee awarded a goal kick.
Late in the second half Yate made substitutions and then resorted to the long ball game, but this was all meat and drink to Dorchester’s defenders and the Magpies ran down the clock until the final whistle and banked all 3 points and deservedly so leaving Yate Town to lick their wounds on the coach ride home.
The only other sporting event I managed to attend over the Christmas break was Nurdling on New Year’s Day on the Old Roman Road in Upwey.
The only brief description of the event I managed to decipher are 2 teams 1 with red paint on their faces and 1 with blue paint on their faces throw a block of wood up the hill then try to catch in a dustbin lid. If it goes out of bounds (in the hedge) someone retrieves it with a wooden spoon tied onto a broom handle shouting (Nurdle Ho) as they run up the hill.
Albert the Tall aka Bill Crumbleholme seems to be the Grand Master with his son Simon captaining the blue team and local builder Dave Squibb is there with the whistle to keep order, other that that I really can’t explain the rules in any greater detail, other than to say that everybody ends up in the pub.
Shaq Gwengwe fires in Dorchester’s second goal. Photo Idris Martin