GOSPORT BOROUGH 1

Lee 29

DORCHESTER TOWN 4

Seymour 13, 80, Bailey 61, Kite 74

DORCHESTER Town completed a marvellous 4-1 victory at fellow Evo-Stik Southern Premier South strugglers Gosport Borough.

Ben Seymour opened the scoring at Privett Park with a creative flick to convert a Cameron Murray corner before Boro captain and ex-Terra Tony Lee equalised with a fine turn and shot.

After half-time, Dorchester kicked on and netted three times in 19 minutes as Josh Bailey swept home at the near post before Harry Kite added a deflected third.

Seymour then rounded off the scoring with a well-taken curler to hand the Magpies a deserved three points.

Dorchester named an unchanged side for the fourth game in succession, with the only addition to the bench being goalkeeper Mike Edgar marking his return from injury.

Last season, Dorchester beat a struggling Gosport 7-2 at home and drew 3-3 in the return fixture.

However, Steve Thompson’s men faced a much-strengthened Boro side, including the likes of ex-Magpies Sam Lanahan and David Jerrard, while former Weymouth players Pat Suraci, Lee and Matt Tubbs are also stationed at the Hampshire outfit.

Gosport’s improvement on their previous troubled season was clear from the outset, with the hosts thwarted by goalkeeper Kingsley Latham in the third minute.

Boro’s move stemmed from a Dorchester attack, with a swift and incisive break upfield culminating in Joe Lea earning a one-on-one chance only to be denied by the imposing figure of Latham, who blocked superbly.

Antonio Diaz, fresh from scoring his first Magpies goal at Weymouth in midweek, then aimed a wayward shot at goal before Dorchester took the lead.

Boro goalkeeper Pat O’Flaherty produced an excellent tip round the post from a header but was powerless to deny Seymour from the resultant Murray corner, as the Exeter loanee marksman deftly flicked the set-piece into the net for his eighth goal in a Dorchester shirt. 

Gosport were far too frequently guilty of wilting having conceded first last season, but their newly-found resilience was evident when the Hampshire outfit scored a leveller in the 29th minute.

Matt Casey’s header and Pat Suraci’s free-kick came to nothing for Gosport, but the hosts scored at the third time of asking through a moment of brilliance from Lee, the striker’s rapid turn and powerful low shot beating Latham to equalise.

Suraci’s free-kicks where causing Dorchester problems and the Magpies lost out in another aerial duel, this time the header going over.

Gosport continued to press as half-time approached and Latham had to be alert to gather Lee’s through ball, preventing Ryan Pennery from going through one-on-one.

Immediately after the resumption, a lazy piece of defensive play nearly saw Diaz score a fortuitous second, only to see a clearance clatter off the Spaniard and loop narrowly over.

With players battling swirling wind and rain, it was perhaps no surprise to see a Lee shot drift over the bar having caught a strong gust.

But Dorchester mastered the tricky conditions, playing against the wind, to score a second.

Kite proved the catalyst and was unlucky to see his attempt blocked before Bailey tucked home at the near post for his first Dorchester goal in the 61st minute.

Fortune smiled on Dorchester with 16 minutes to play as Kite got in on the scoring act, the midfielder picking up Murray’s shot and letting fly from 25 yards with a deflection taking his effort beyond O’Flaherty.

Confidence was flowing through the Magpies after the third goal and Kyle Egan sped down the right, interchanging with Murray, before zipping a trademark cross to Diaz who could only fire over.

The visitors’ wait for a fourth lasted just six minutes as Seymour latched onto an astute ball from Billy Lowes to clinically bend home his ninth goal in nine games with a ruthless finish.

As the clock wound down, Latham was worked by a tame Lee shot as Dorchester saw out an impressive victory to rise into 18th, level on points with Gosport and Wimborne, ahead of a trip to rock-bottom Staines Town on Tuesday.

Gosport: O’Flaherty, Lea, Lafleur, Casey, Roberts, Byrne, Lanahan, Bennett, Lee, Pennery, Suraci. Subs not used: Tubbs, McAllister, Medway, J Brooks, Jerrard

Magpies: Latham, Egan, Martin, Carmichael, Bailey (Rose 83), Kite (Winsper 83), Murray, Lowes, Seymour, Diaz (Blair 83), Jackson. Sub not used: Edgar

Referee: Greig Walker

Attendance: 181

CONTACT ME:
t: 01305 830990
e: neil.walton
@dorsetecho.co.uk
twitter: @EchoSportNeil