DORCHESTER SPORTS 3

BLANDFORD UNITED 1

DORCHESTER Sports came from behind to beat Blandford United 3-1 at the Clayson Stadium to claim a much needed three points in the Dorset Premier League.

Sports handed a first team debut to 16-year-old centre midfielder Jack Steele and he was the heartbeat of Sports’ good football from the start.

The home side applied a lot of pressure but were finding it hard to break down a well-drilled Blandford defence.

Sports had a lot of the ball and Blandford were hoping to hit their opponents on the break. Their plan worked on 25 minutes when the hosts lost the ball and a clever forward pass found Paul Ford who slotted his shot past Sam Turner in the Sports goal to give the away side the lead.

It could have been two shortly after when again Ford this time went past Turner but the impressive Alex Gould was there to clear off the line to keep Sports in the game.

The home side pushed for the equaliser and it came on 36 minutes when Jamie Rawlings slotted his first goal of the season after a Jamie Samways corner was not cleared to make the scores level.

Sports had a penalty claim on the stroke of half-time waved away, as a result of the tackle however Samways had to be replaced by Sports’ 17-year-old top goalscorer Joel Hewitt.

The second half saw the home side again have a lot of the ball but this time used it better in the final third and took the lead on 50 minutes when Ryan Ross found Hewitt who notched his fifth goal of the season. Sports brought on Rich Beasley on 65 minutes and shortly after his pass found Hewitt who blasted in his second of the game to seal the three points for the hosts.

Speaking to Echosport following the clash, manager Ashley James described the win as a “pleasing performance”.

He said: “It was much improved. The tempo was a lot better and we created a lot more chances.

“It was a pleasing performance and a pleasing result, we were the better side. They had a gameplan and were doing it pretty well. We kept pushing but it was proving very difficult to get through them, but it was only a matter of time until we got the goal back.

“The subs worked at half-time and we got goals from the left and the right.”

Dorchester Sports are next in action when they travel to face Westland Sports on Saturday, September 29.

James added: “We should have a fully-fit squad to choose from.”

Sports: Turner, Heal, Gould, Read, Gatehouse, Steele, Will, Samways (Hewitt 45), Rawlings, Ross (Beasley 65), Quinton (Amor 65).

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