SLIMBRIDGE 2
Bence 20, Collins 60
SLIMBRIDGE stunned Dorchester Town 2-0 at the Avenue Stadium as the Magpies’ 10-game winning streak came crashing to a halt.
Dorchester dominated for large spells but goals either side of half-time from Luke Bence and Casey Collins proved their undoing.
Slimbridge were the more ruthless side in front of goal but also relied upon three huge saves by Callum Godfrey and survived a strong penalty shout as Dorchester endured a frustrating afternoon.
Dorchester showed two changes from their 3-1 win at Sporting Club Inkberrow last weekend as Matt Buse and Jayden Nielsen returned to the line-up at the expense of Freddie Beale and Hassan Jalloh.
Corby Moore’s presence on the bench was a big boost for the Magpies, who in midweek saw British Virgin Islands international Kyran Samadi dual-register with Bashley and loanee Henry Spalding return to Poole.
Slimbridge, meanwhile, began the day bottom and named only three subs as they aimed to halt Dorchester’s stunning run of 10 straight league wins.
That sequence of results, combined with the Swans having conceded 29 times in 11 games, seemed to suggest a comfortable afternoon was in store for Dorchester.
However, Slimbridge were game for the fight and adopted a shoot-on-site policy as Theo Lynden and Olly Sully tested Ryan Hall from long-range either side of Nielsen’s scuffed effort at the back post.
Kicking with the wind of Storm Boelo, Dorchester were bossing possession without creating a chance of note as Matty Burrows volleyed just over, before Ieuan Turner’s header drifted wide from a fabulous Nielsen delivery.
And on 20 minutes Slimbridge punished poor defending as the home defence failed to deal assertively with a regulation delivery to the back post, Bence bundling home from all of two yards out.
Slimbridge could have doubled their lead three minutes later when Collins escaped to the right byline and Jay Williams clattered his clearance against Theo Browne only for the rebound to bobble wide.
Dorchester summoned a strong response to a patchy five minutes as Swans’ keeper Callum Godfrey pushed clear after Burrows cut inside and fired at goal.
Godfrey’s next save was even better, diving at full stretch to paw clear from Ethan Taylor following superb play by Harvey Bertrand.
Slimbridge later wasted a three-on-one chance on the break but it was Dorchester who ended the half on the front foot as Buse was unlucky to see his deflected 20-yard effort trickle wide of the near post.
Chances came thick and fast in the second period as Burrows curled over before Sully steered his finish wide from 18 yards at the other end.
In the 57th minute, Dorchester were incensed when Nielsen was flattened in the area when trying to collect Taylor’s flick, the referee allowing play to continue where Burrows saw an effort blocked.
Still smarting from the incident, three minutes later Dorchester went 2-0 down thanks to a quality finish from Collins who controlled Sully’s pass and struck a sweet low strike beyond Hall from just inside the area.
Home boss Glenn Howes responded by making three subs in 10 minutes, with Beale and Olateju plus Liam McFarlane coming on for Jack Winsor, Nielsen and Bertrand.
With Dorchester therefore committing more bodies forward, Purrington shanked wide from a Burrows cross and Taylor spun into space before being denied by a sprawling Godfrey once more.
Dorchester’s best move of the game followed as Beale combined with Taylor only for the latter to dink wide from 12 yards with eight minutes remaining.
McFarlane then produced a glorious cross to find Ollie Haste and Taylor unmarked, only for Haste to jump into Taylor’s back and ruin the opening.
The Magpies were with four minutes left grateful to Hall for keeping out Collins as Dorchester took liberties in search of a route back into the game.
But Dorchester could not fashion another chance and a sliced injury-time Burrows free-kick summed up their exasperation as Slimbridge took home the points.
Magpies: Hall, Bertrand (McFarlane 71), Haste, Turner, Purrington, Taylor, Buse (C Moore 53), Burrows, Winsor (Olateju 61), Nielsen (Beale 61), Williams.
Sub not used: Ihnatenko.
Slimbridge: Godfrey, Holmes (Soule 77), K Moore (Bifulco 67), Kang, Bence, Giles, Sully, Lynden, Browne (Cross 90+3), Stokes, Collins.
Referee: Nicholas Whittington.
Attendance: 391.