Despite being forced into several late changes and being without almost an entire first choice threequarter line, Dorchester made Wimborne fight all the way before eventually conceding defeat to the league leaders.
The visitors elected to play with the wind and rain in the first half and were soon in front when their fly half kicked a simple penalty for offside. Dorchester had a chance to equalise but Jim Rossiter’s kick dropped just short.
Minutes later Rossiter made amends and levelled the scores with successful penalty goal. Dorchester had the upper hand in the set piece and were making their opponents scrap for everything in the loose. They were however conceding too many penalties with the inevitable result that they lost field position and then points, a second penalty goal giving the lead back to the visitors.
Dorchester hit back and after a concerted attack on the Wimborne line Gareth Biddle’s long pass freed lock Lee King to trundle over in the left hand corner. The hosts continued to force the pace but silly mistakes allowed Wimborne to kick two further penalties and as half time approached Dorchester would have been happy enough to go in only four points behind.
However, in the last play of the half Dorchester were gifted a try when Wimborne tried to run from their own line. The ball was spilled and hooker Mat Chalker was on hand to grab it and gleefully dive over the line. Rossiter added the conversion to give the hosts a three point lead.
Dorchester, with the wind behind them, were now slight favourites, but Wimborne are not top of the league by accident and their second half performance was much improved. The continuous drizzle helped neither side and the game developed into a war of attrition.
Mid way through the half Wimborne were back in front, their left winger crossing in the corner after heroic defending had kept the visiting forwards at bay for several minutes. An excellent Rossiter penalty put Dorchester back in front but they were unable to hold on and despite their best efforts Wimborne squeezed over in the right hand corner for the winning score. The touchline conversion put the icing on the cake for the visitors.
There was still time for Dorchester but Wimborne were not about to let victory slip and kept a very tight grip on the game, not allowing Dorchester to mount any meaningful attacks and running the clock down to the final whistle.
Acheson Construction man of the match: The Whole Team.
Team: Hodgson, Chalker, Cottell (Borries 65), King, Makepeace, J Gower (Hawkins 55), Newsam, Dixon; D Gower, Rossiter; Biddle, Waddington, Miller, T Gower; Read;
