Patrece Liburd was the Magpies' man of the match
DORCHESTER TOWN
1	Francisco Ramos
2	Jamie Cumming
3	Jake Smeaton
4	Danny Clay
5	Patrece Liburd
6	Roy O'Brien
7	Jamie Gleeson
8	James Rowe		67
9	Jones Awuah
10	Jon Docker		79
11	Nick Eastham
Substitutes
12	Alex Browne
14	Mark Jermyn		79
15	Tom Mitchell
16	Tareq Khalil
17	Ivan Forbes		67
.
BASINGSTOKE TOWN
1	Nick Jones
2	Tyrone Smith
3	Tom Bird
4	Jason Bristow
5	Joe Dolan
6	Connor Hamilton
7	Ben Wells
8	Scott Fitzgerald
9	Michael Charles
10	James Taylor		71
11	David Tarpey
Substitutes
12	Ben Townsend
14	Matt Neems		71
15	Marc Vockins
17	Bledian Fejzullahu
.
Referee
Lee Collins (-)
.

Saturday 22nd March 2008
		Dorchester Town	1
		Eastham 8
		Basingstoke Town	0

Eastham fires Magpies to victory

by Ky Capel

Nick Eastham's early goal proved the difference as Dorchester picked up their first Blue Square South win in two months with victory over Basingstoke at the Jewson Stadium.

The three points, together with defeats for Welling United and Weston-super-Mare, saw the Magpies close the gap in the race against relegation to six points.

Knowing this was a game they could not afford to lose Dorchester came flying out of the traps looking for the early initiative.

Two minutes in and former Weymouth stopper Nick Jones had to get down to his right and push away Danny Clay's 25-yard drive.

The Magpies were presented with a glorious chance to take the lead just 60 seconds later but when the ball fell to Eastham, following Patrece Liburd's knock down, the Salisbury City loanee blazed his effort over the bar.

But the young striker made amends by opening the scoring at the second attempt. Clay's lofted cross found Jones Awuah at the back post but he saw his shot well saved by Jones. However, Awuah was able to head the rebound back into the six-yard box where Eastham was on hand to turn the ball home.

At the other end, Francisco Ramos had to tip over Ben Wells' cross from the right on 13 minutes in Basingstoke's first real foray.

But the home keeper was afforded a let off when James Taylor somehow only headed against a post 11 minutes later.

Ramos, under extreme pressure, failed to deal with David Tarpey's cross from the left and the loose ball fell to Taylor but his diving header came back off the woodwork.

Just before the half-hour Jamie Cumming's miss hit cross was gathered by wind and almost caught Jones unawares but he was able to collect under his crossbar.

The visitors almost found an equaliser before half-time. Wells' corner from the right caused panic in the box and Scott Fitzgerald hooked a shot goal-wards but Ramos reacted well and palmed it safety.

The Magpies came out for the second period determined not to let their advantage slip away. Solid defending coupled with a distinct lack of ideas from the opposition helped keep the lead intact.

Wells' dipping effort from distance was the closest Basingstoke came to a shot on target.

Eastham almost capitalised on the windy conditions as Rowe's ball forward slowed, however, Jones won the race and was able to clear.

As the afternoon wore on the away side began to force the issue through several corners, but the best chance in the dying minutes fell the way of Eastham.

Substitute Ivan Forbes cut in from the right side and drove along the edge of the Basingstoke box before laying off to the unmarked Eastham whose shot could only find the body of Jones as opposed to the back of the net.

In added time there was a moment of chaos in the Dorchester box until Awuah hacked the ball clear to the delight of the home support.

The second half wasn't the most pleasing to watch but all that will be remembered is the fact that the Magpies picked up a crucial three points in the fight against relegation.

	MATCH STATS
8	TOTAL ATTEMPTS	4
4	ATTEMPTS ON TARGET	1
4	ATTEMPTS OFF TARGET	2
0	HIT WOODWORK	1
4	CORNERS	7
1	OFFSIDES	2
19	FREE-KICKS CONCEDED	8