Dorchester Town

Dorchester Town FC is a semi-professional football club from the county town of Dorset of the same name. Dorchester is located seven miles from Weymouth, which sits on the coast. The football club was formed in 1880.

After playing in friendly matches ‘The Magpies’ became members of the Dorset League in 1896 as founder members. Little success came their way until Town became league champions in 1937-38.

The club became members of the Western League for the 1947-48 season; where they were placed in Division Two. A runners-up finish in 1949-50 was rewarded with promotion to Division One.

The 1950’s was to be a good decade for Dorchester. In 1954-55 they were crowned as Western League champions. The same season saw a good FA Cup run from the qualifying rounds to include a Round One victory over Bedford Town before going out to eventual semi-finalists York City.

The following season Town reached the first round stage again. On this occasion they were defeated 4-0 at Carrow Road away to Norwich City. In 1956-57 a trip to West London in the first round ended in defeat to Queens Park Rangers. Victory over Wycombe Wanderers saw the Magpies reach round two in 1957-58 before bowing out to Plymouth Argyle.

A runners-up place in the Western League in 1960-61 was as close as Town came to further honours before switching to the Southern League in 1972-73; where they began life in Division One South.

Manager David Best led a side including former Bournemouth team mates Harry Redknapp and John O’Rourke to a runners-up place in the 1977-78 season and promotion to the Southern League Premier Division.

A year later the Southern League reformed to just a Midland and South Division following the formation of the Alliance Premier League; which later became the Conference and then the National League.

Dorchester lifted the Southern Division title in 1979-80 but lost the championship play-off inal 5-1 on aggregate to Bridgend Town. Trevor Senior began to make his mark up front, while Graham Roberts was sold to Weymouth for £6,000 before going on to stardom.

The 1981-82 season saw another fine FA Cup run to entertain The Avenue faithful. Minehead were dispatched in Round One to set up a derby with AFC Bournemouth. The first game ended 1-1 with Town going out 2-1 in the Dean Court replay in front of a gate of 8,700.

The 1982-83 season saw the Southern League committee see sense as the Premier Division was reintroduced; with Dorchester among the competing clubs. Senior was sold for a £35,000 fee to Portsmouth.

Despite the success, the club found themselves in financial trouble as the team were relegated to the Southern Division in 1983-84. The club rebuilt with the team going on to clinch promotion to the Premier Division in 1986-87 as divisional champions.

In 1990 the club moved a few hundred yards down Weymouth Avenue to a brand new stadium, which was named The Avenue Stadium. The impressive and aesthetic stadium was designed and is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall.

Stuart Morgan was introduced as the new manager in the summer of 1993, with star midfielder Darren Garner being sold to Rotherham United for £30,000 a year later. The 1995-96 season saw Town appear in the first round of the FA Cup once again; before being defeated by Oxford United.

A couple of close shaves with relegation ensued until the team went down to the Southern League Eastern Division in 2000-01. Despite the demotion Town won through the qualifying rounds of the FA Cup before losing out in Round One at Wigan Athletic.

AFC Bournemouth moved into the Avenue Stadium for the 2001-02 season while their Dean Court home was being redeveloped. The additional income assisted Dorchester and manager Mark Morris whose side won promotion as Eastern Division champions to the Premier Division in 2002-03.

The 2003-04 campaign saw Town reach the end of season play-offs. Wins against Bath City and then Tiverton Town saw the club reach the newly formed Conference South. A final day defeat saw the team just miss out on a play-off position in 2004-05.

Morris resigned the following campaign, which was followed by a brief spell under Mick Jenkins before he was sacked as Eddie Mitchell bought the ownership of the club; appointing Shaun Brooks as Director of Football with the club going full time professional from the summer of 2007.

Local property developer Mitchell was not a very popular man. He allegedly received death threats from irate fans in 2009 over the running of the club; where his son Tom was a player. His plans included a merger with neighbours Weymouth.

However Mitchell became less involved with Dorchester as he looked to take over at AFC Bournemouth. After Mitchell’s departure the club returned to semi-professional status with the club owned by the community as fans became the shareholders.

Town were relegated back to the Southern League at the completion of the 2014-15 season after a bottom place finish. The team continued to finish in the bottom third of the Premier Division table; ending the 2016-17 season in eighteenth position under manager Craig Laird.

Steve Thompson came in as manager in September 2017 with former Magpies favourite and fellow Football League star Trevor Senior as his assistant. The duo ensured the side stayed clear of relegation in the 2017-18 campaign.

Dorchester Town FC will play in the Southern League Premier Division South in the 2018-19 season.

My visit

Saturday 22^nd July 2017

Taking advantage of a Saturday off work I booked a cheap advanced train down to the Dorset coast via Megabus. While my ticket was meant to be for Weymouth I noticed that we’d be stopping in Dorchester. This was too good a chance to turn down.

It was just gone 11am as the train arrived at Dorchester South. I was wondering how jobsworth the staff would be regarding my ticket, so I was delighted to find an open gate straight out into the street.

The skies were threatening as I walked the fifteen minutes through some nice suburban streets before arriving at the retail park by the ground via an alleyway under the railway. I was met by a closed stadium with nobody about.

A walk all the way around the weather worn perimeter walls and gates looked like I was heading for disappointment. It really was a substantial and secure facility. I was close to surrender, when I found a possible solution.

A discarded chair had been left in the beer garden outside the main entrance. After a quick equation I reckoned I’d be in business to take photos of at least three sides of the ground and so it proved. Being tall really was an advantage!

Avenue Stadium really was a magnificent non-league ground, even if it could have done with a good clean up and larger attendances to keep it in good order. I couldn’t see the Main Stand properly, but images online told me it was a superb and aesthetic structure.

To the left was an open terrace, with the other end covered. The far side had two covered terrace sections with the entrance and exit building in the centre. Ornate gables added to the scene. Thought had obviously gone into its planning.

Ideally a bus was due down to the coast. The number 10 bus took me all the way to Weymouth seafront. My day was going well!

Dorchester Town 0 Hendon 3 (Saturday 29^th September 2018) Southern League Premier Division South (att: 443)

An unlikely return to ‘Dorch’ came thanks to the FA’s league allocation committee as they had plonked Hendon into the Southern League despite being members of the Isthmian League for over half a century.

The club were making the best of it and manager Jimmy Gray had assembled a decent outfit in a short space of time. Dons were one of five teams with the same points tally at the top of the table as we embarked on another coach journey.

One bonus as a groundhopper was that I was getting some new grounds in and got to travel on the spare seats on the team coach. A real camaraderie had been built in a short space of time between players and supporters.

The planned closure of part of the M27 meant a 9am set off from Silver Jubilee Park. I’d only had six hours nap after returning from a very sociable three days in Germany and fell asleep from just past the North Circular Road to seeing some cranes near the docks on the coast.

It hadn’t been the best sleep ever, but I was in infinitely better condition than on departure. Tom Stockman had sorted the DVD player and we were into a second Johnny English film when I fully came round.

It wasn’t perfect for concentration as the lads at the back had their music going. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get into modern black music, which is a shame as I give anything a go. Give me Motown, funk and soul over rap and hip hop every day!

Our amiable driver was ahead of time as we stopped at a garage, whose staff must have wondered what was going on as we poured off needing the loo and refreshments. The rear bushes certainly got a decent watering by us older hands using a bit of noddle.

The last twenty miles of the trip was on slower roads as we ventured past Tolpuddle, home of the famous Martyrs. We arrived before 1pm which meant I was put on pub patrol; especially when the turnstiles and bar didn’t open until 2pm at the stadium.

Around fifteen minutes later five intrepid explorers were thrilled with the news that the Boon Doggle from the Ringwood Brewery was only £2.60 a pint in the Victoria Hotel. There was a bit of a kerfuffle as everyone wanted to buy a round!

We discussed the usual stuff fans do on a Saturday lunchtime before a game. Far too soon it was time to be heading back. I had a word with the friendly lass behind the bar who sorted us a large taxi to take us back down to the ground.

Admission into the The Clayson Stadium, as the venue had been retitled in a sponsorship deal was £11, with a programme £2 and a go on the half time draw a further quid. There was time for a pint of average Greene King IPA in the bar under the stand.

It really was good to be watching a game in such an excellent stadium. It was perhaps a bit too big for Dorch and there were signs of wear through under use. The only other grumble was that the stewards were over officious, but they are controlled by the local councils rules regarding safety certificates.

The food was decent enough. £6 for a cheeseburger and chips looks a lot but the portions were more than generous. I wasn’t on my own in thinking that the steps to the gent’s loos were taking us up a huge tower.

Everything was on a grand scale. There was little wonder that AFC Bournemouth had managed to reside at Avenue Stadium while Dean Court had been rebuilt. It was now also home to Yeovil Town Ladies FC.

It was as well that the stadium held the attention, as there was precious little going on out on the pitch to entertain. Both sides looked OK until reaching the final third of the excellent artificial pitch before moves breaking down.

Former Scarborough Athletic midfielder Cameron Murray saw a free kick go just over for the hosts while Matty Newman replied for Hendon with a shot that curled wide. On fifteen minutes Magpies full back Kyle Egan saw a shot beat Danny Boness in the Dons goal but hit the post.

Boness made a smart stop from Murray on the half hour mark. Hendon lost their dominant defender Guri Demuria to injury which meant Luke Tingey dropping back. A scrambled effort was cleared by defender Lee Chappell to deny Dorchester on the stroke of half time.

It was a lovely day, so I didn’t bother with half time refreshments, preferring to soak up the sun and have a chat with fellow fans. We lamented that play had been as bad as at Swindon Supermarine a few weeks previously.

Whatever Gray said to his charges seemed to work. He later admitted that he’d been brutally honest with the team in the changing room. Dorch missed a sitter when Aaron Rodriguez spurned a free header just five yards out. It was to be the turning point of the game.

Referee Declan O'Shea was to play a large part in proceedings. He adjudged that Shaquille Hippolyte-Patrick had dived in the area and promptly showed him the yellow card. I thought it was a shocking decision and offered my feedback.

The home fans down the side near me were also surprised and having a laugh at the call. I moved round behind the goal to join the rest of the Dons fans as another decent penalty shout was waved away.

It was all Hendon as Hippolyte-Patrick and Ricky German had both been denied by Dorch defender Ross Carmichael. Shortly after Hippolyte-Patrick went down under a soft challenge but Mr O'Shea pointed to the spot.

I was undecided whether he was making decisions by numbers or he had a guilty conscience? It was amazing how many Hendon fans and management saw each decision differently afterwards! Whatever, German stepped up to slot home past baby faced keeper Mike Edgar. The custodian made a fantastic stop shortly after to deny the goal scorer.

Just gone the hour mark Hendon doubled their advantage. The marauding Stephane Ngamvoulou found German thirty yards out. He ran at a terrified defence with pace and power before setting up Hippolyte-Patrick to put the chance away calmly.

The Dons were paying some scintillating football and looked like scoring each time they went forward. Dorch had strong appeals for a penalty but the man in black decided the foul had taken place outside the box. The official was getting it from all four sides of the stadium!

With ten minutes remaining German made it 3-0 when he collected the ball just outside the box and outmuscled a couple of challenges as he ran across goal before powering a shot past a defender and Edgar into the opposite corner.

Only a bit of wastefulness and carelessness from the big man kept the score to 3-0 when he could have played in a colleague or bent his run to beat the offside trap. Despite those small faults, he and the team had put in a great forty-five minutes.

The players received a deserved ovation as they sat for their post-match debrief out on the pitch. Howie Hall also got a rendition of “Happy Birthday” as the players went down the tunnel. They seemed in good form in the bar afterwards.

Dorchester had been excellent hosts. They even brought rolls round to visiting fans after the match while we watched the opening stages of Chelsea v Liverpool. I was shattered and stuck to Lucozade. I really must have been tired.

Before we set off on the return journey, manager Gray and a couple of the other lads went into the Tesco’s next door and came back with beers and soft drinks. The manager came round the coach and offered each fan a beer.

That summed up non-league football and the brilliant atmosphere that had been built at Hendon FC. I mean, could you imagine footballers or managers at the top end of the game being bothered to do anything like that?

Sure enough I fell asleep again, waking near the M25. Our driver rounded off a top day by going back up the Edgware Road to SJP and dropping us fans off near the bus stops so that we could get home easily. It had been that kind of day!