Groover's delight
by David Swain

Monday December 27th 2004

Clearly the more fired-up of the two sides, the high-scoring Magpies banished the memory of their 8-0 thrashing at Weymouth a year earlier with Matt Groves grabbing a superb hat-trick.

On his 271st appearance for the Magpies, the former Pompey trainee provided the perfect finish to a route one move to give his men a 27th minute lead.

A Lee Phillips header cancelled that out just three minutes later with the Magpies defence appealing for offside and it was 1-1 at the break.

However, there was only one side in it after the interval with the Magpies tremendous work-rate providing the platform for two more from Groves and another from midfielder Mark Jermyn as Weymouth's big following was stunned to near silence.

With Jason Matthews suspended for two games, Portuguese keeper Francisco Ramos returned to the scene of his impressive Terras debut in the October FA Cup clash.

The injured Wilde was also missing from a Weymouth side that has changed a lot since that encounter while Mark Morris's starting eleven was exactly the same as that which suffered a 1-0 reverse that day.

And that might have been the score after only four minutes when Kirk Jackson's dangerous ball across the goalmouth forced Justin Keeler to chest for a corner.

The kick caused pandemonium in the home goalmouth and when the ball eventually found its way to an unmarked Phillips six yards out his rasping drive was brilliantly parried by Craig Bradshaw.

Dorchester's survival spurred them to take the game to Weymouth and Jamie Brown conjured two neat cross on the turn in as many minutes with first Roy O'Brien and then skipper Matty Bound winning important headers to clear the threat.

Then an outrageous first time volley from Keeler was inches away from giving the Magpies a spectacular 11th minute lead with Ramos powerless as the ball dropped just over his bar.

Antony Griffin over-lapped down the right and got in behind Charlie Welch to whip in a low ball across the goalmouth that Groves and Ramos both missed at the near post, and a lunging Joseba Barandiaran just failed to force hom at the far stick under pressure from O'Brien.

But the big talking point of the first half came on 21 minutes when Brown turned the screw on Ramos as he dribbled the ball back into his area in order to pick it up.

The ball was still on the ground when Brown came sliding in and appeared to catch Ramos on the foot. The keeper's clear reaction was to lash out and kick Brown on the thigh before collapsing to the ground.

If Gillingham referee Keith Pike saw the incident he must have chosen to ignore it, for after delivering a lecture to both men, he failed to produce a card of any colour.

The chants of 'cheat, cheat' from the home fans behind his goal were still ringing in Ramos' ears when Groves gave first blood to the Magpies two minutes later.

Bradshaw launched a big clearance down the centre and as the ball bounced into the Terras area Groves brushed past both Steve Tully and Bound before beating Ramos over his head with a sweet first time finish.

Danny Byrne was the inspiration behind the Terras leveller on the half hour.

His ball over the top of an advancing home defence found Phillips timing his run to perfection to beat the offside trap and he had all the time in the world to beat Bradshaw with an unchallenged header from eight yards.

Dorchester's appeals for a penalty went unanswered when Keeler went sprawling inside the area at the end of a surging break through the Terras defence, but his growing influence brought a second for the Magpies five minutes into the second half.

Mark Robinson sent him chasing down the left and when speared in an early cross, Groves pulled away from his marker to make contact with his out-stretched right boot and volley ball fiercely past Ramos from six yards.

Back came Weymouth with Bradshaw smothering Bound's 25-yard free kick that came at him low and through the wall.

Then Simon Radcliffe's recovering challenge just did enough to hold up Phillips when looked to be clean through with Bradshaw completing the rescue by pushing out the striker's crosshot.

A relieved Dorchester soon stretched the margin to two goals on 63 minutes when Barandiaran extricated himself from a posse of defenders in the left hand corner and delived a peach of a cross.

With Ramos glued to his line Mark Jermyn stormed in to plant a powerful header past him from just outside the six-yard box.

Johnson introduced new signing Robert Traynor on loan from Crawley but his side's last chance of becoming the latest side to cash in on a hitherto charitable Dorchester defence, disappeared on 73 minutes.

Phillips out-paced Gary Middleton and unleashed a tremendous shot which a diving Bradshaw pushed against his far upright.

Mark Boyce was first to the rebound but, forced to cross by an alert defence, he saw a lunging Phillips toe-poke the ball wide of the other upright from close in.

Six minutes later it was well and truly over for the Terras when a right wing corner was headed out to Robinson, he volleyed a first-time pass straight back towards goal and there was Groves to steer the ball past Ramos for his hat-trick.

Weymouth : Francisco Ramos, Steve Tully, Charlie Welch (Simon Browne 69mins), Matty Bound, Roy O'Brien, Bernardo Cariata (Kieran Keene 69mins), Danny Byrne, Ian Hutchinson, Kirk Jackson, Matt Boyce (Robert Traynor 59mins), Lee Phillips

Subs not used : Ryan Hill, Simon Welch

Dorchester Town : Graig Bradshaw, Anthony Griffin, Simon Radcliffe, Graig Middleton, Alex Browne, Mark Jermyn, Mark Robinson, Justin Keeler, Jamie Brown, Matt Groves, Joseba Barandiaran

Subs not used : Warren Byerley, Gareth Keeping, Diogo Andrade, Steve Llewelyn

Referee : Mr K Pike (Gillingham)

Bookings :

Weymouth :

Dorchester Town : Jamie Brown (foul)