Match Report Dorchester Town 2 – 1 Basingstoke Town FA Trophy

Yet another trip down to Dorchester to face a team that we have a tough record against and had struggled to hold onto a point just four days ago at home.
This time it’s the FA Trophy and we need a win.
Pitch Report – Decent looking pitch as we move into the winter months.

The line-up came as a bit of a surprise, as I had been informed earlier in the week that Sam Argent would be cup-tied for this game, however he was in the line-up as the teams came out.

The starting line-up
McAdden in goal, the back-line of Johnson-Schuster (Capt), Hollamby, Collier and Bennett, in midfield Wohlfiel, Kennedy and Atkinson, with strikers Wright, Smart and Argent.
On the bench: Bunting, Sackey, Hunt & MacCauley

The game kicked-off under grey but dry skies, with Stoke attacking the covered-end, where the few Btg fans were again doin their best to get behind the team, with Supporters drum on hand.
We started well and looked up for this game, as we controlled the first few minutes despite the linesman wanting to flag everytime Sam Argent chased the ball over the top.
10 mins in Smart, beats the right back and cuts inside his first shot is blocked and his second touch is to Argent, who turns but is unable to get a shot off and the ball is cleared away.
12 mins in and Argent is able to beat the defense but his shot is well-saved.
16 mins in and a corner from Wright, Hollamby appears to have a free-header, but fails to make a clear contact and it hits a Dorchester defender and is cleared for another corner. The resulting corner falls to Wright whose volley goes wide.
Dorchester are struggling to get out of their own half and on 20 mins Stoke again attack win a free-kick on the left. The free-kick taken by Bennett hits the wall, but again rebounds to Wright whose shot is again blocked by desperate Dorchester defending and is again cleared away.
22 mins in and the home team break into our half and McAdden makes a decent save.
24 mins in with Stoke back on the attack, Smart’s intelligent pass inside finds Argent who beats his marker then his shot hits another Dorchester defender and goes out for yet another corner. The corner comes to nothing.
27 mins in and Stoke again attack, the ball again bounces around the Dorchester box, but we can’t get a clear shot again and the ball is yet again cleared.
33-35 mins match-reporter takes a two-minute break.
38 mins and Dorchester win a corner, but the resulting kick is cleanly taken by McAdden in goal.
43 mins in and more pressure by Basingstoke but again it ends with nothing on target at the goal.
The referee appear to play five minutes of injury time, but with us encamped in their half for large parts of the first-half, we are unable to find a clear shot on goal.
Half-time Dorchester Town 0 – 0 Basingstoke Town
The second half is underway and after 48 mins, Argent wins a free-kick on the edge of the box. Bennett and Wright are there to take the kick, Wright’s free-kick is headed away for another corner.
Bennett takes the corner, the ball is half-cleared to Kennedy who again is unable to get a shot away. Argent then wins the ball in the box, appears to be pulled down the ref gives us nothing and the ball is cleared.
Dorchester win a corner on the right and one of their players is given a free-header, but luckily he fails to make a strong connection and it falls to McAdden who has time to make the save.
This is looking like Tuesday night as Dorchester start to put us under more pressure with two further corners.
My concern is completed as on 53 mins, Dorchester break on the right, the first cross is blocked, but the follow-up finds an unmarked striker who slots it home. Dorchester 1 – 0 Basingstoke Town.
60 mins in and Smart puts the ball in the box to Argent who passes to Wright who doesn’t want to shoot, tries and impossible pass back to Argent and the ball is cleared again. We now appear we want to walk the ball into the goal.
Dorchester attack again, but McAdden make another save.
64 mins in and Hollamby takes a knock to the head. The ref seems to take an age before he allows Kelly to come on and take a look at him.
68 mins in and Wright is replaced by Callum Bunting.
69 mins in and with the ball on the edge of our box, Hollamby takes too long to clear the ball and his clearance is half-blocked the ball bounces around in our box and Hollamby then commits the foul and it’s a penalty to Dorchester. McAdden is sent the wrong way and it’s Dorchester 2 – 0 Basingstoke Town.
We don’t deserve this against a team that is pretty poor in our league, but if you don’t take your chances, then that’s what we get.
74 mins in and it’s nearly 3-0 but Hollamby makes up with a tackle after a Collier gives the ball away on the edge of our box.
78 mins and Smart goes past two defenders, I want him to shoot but he goes down claiming a penalty, the Btg want a penalty, but sorry the ref was right on this occasion and waves the appeals away.
The game is now quickly slipping away from us.
85 mins in and Sackey appears to have come on for Tim Wohlfiel.
88 mins and Sackey playing up high up on the left has time to put a decent cross in but hits the ball out for a goal-kick. Sackey then makes up for that as he then receives the ball is shot come cross fails to get a Stoke touch on it and it whizzes past the goal.
Sorry 93 mins in and I’ve had enough of this and I’m off to the bar, to drown my sorrows on another defeat on the road.
It appears I leave to early (after receiving 3 different versions), Stoke win a free-kick down the left, Bennett’s kick is met by a Sam Argent header that the keeper gets a hand on it, but can’t stop it from going in the net.
Final Score: Dorchester Town 2 – 1 Basingstoke Town Attendance 290

Final Thoughts; So we are now out of the FA Cup, the FA Trophy and languish 16th in the table. Another loss on the road, Another good first half performance, followed up by a very average second-half collapse.

Match Report by Martin French