Roy O'Brien was stretchered off towards the end of the match
DORCHESTER TOWN
1	Gareth Stewart
2	Gary Bowles
3	Jake Smeeton
4	Danny Clay
5	Patrece Liburd
6	Roy O'Brien		90
7	Nick Crittenden
8	Kevin Hill
9	Ryan Moss
10	Jamie Mudge
11	Leon Osei
Substitutes
12	Nathan Peprah Annan
14	Michael Walker		90
15	R. Marsh-Brown
16	Tom Mitchell
17	Regan Coward
BASINGSTOKE TOWN
1	Ross Kitteridge
2	Aiden Lewis
3	Robbie Watkins
4	Jason Bristow
5	Joe Dolan
6	Sean Hankin		46
7	Sam Tucknott		80
8	Tom Williamson
9	James Faulkner		61
10	Sido Jombarti
11	Matt Warner
Substitutes
12	David Tarpey		80
14	Phil Ruggles		46
15	Jide Ogunbote
16	Jamie Lovegrove
17	Carl Gibbs		61
Referee
C.J. Powell (Poole)

Tuesday 12th August 2008
		Dorchester Town	0
		Basingstoke Town	0

Scrappy home start for Town

by Ky Capel

Dorchester'S opening home fixture of the new campaign ended in a rather scrappy stalemate with yet another injury scare to a key player.

Team captain Roy O'Brien left the field of play in second-half stoppage time with an ankle injury, just three days after forward Ivan Forbes was stretchered off with knee ligament damage against Braintree.

Both sides hit the woodwork last night, however, clear cut chances were scarce for either side.

Manager Shaun Brooks was forced to make one change from Saturday's 1-0 win at Braintree as Leon Osei came in for the injured Forbes.

Dorchester were first to go close when, after just three minutes, Nick Crittenden's free-kick was met by Kevin Hill at the far post. 'Stoke keeper Ross Kitteridge though, reacted well to tip the ball over the crossbar.

Five minutes later and the visitors had their first sight of goal but James Faulkner snatched at his effort, dragging it wide.

A last-ditch interception from Aiden Lewis prevented Jamie Mudge gaining a clear run on goal following Ryan Moss's attempted pass.

Basingstoke then went close through Tom Williamson. Neat skill from former Terra Sido Jombarti set up Williamson 20 yards out and his low drive clipped the outside of Gareth Stewart's right-hand post.

Dorchester rattled the frame of the goal themselves when Mudge should have put them ahead. Crittenden's corner from the left was met by Mudge but his volley, from six yards out, crashed the top of the crossbar and went over.

Jake Smeeton tried his luck from distance just past the half-hour mark and was unfortunate to see his fierce drive palmed away by Kitteridge.

The Magpies had a goal ruled out for a foul on Kitteridge two minutes before the break. Crittenden's corner was headed goal-wards by Hill.

Patrice Liburd jumped with the keeper and the ball bounced into the back of the net, however, referee Powell signalled for a free-kick in Basingstoke's favour to bring an end to the home supporters' celebrations.

Visiting midfielder Sean Hankin saw his night come to an abrupt end after he limped off moments before the half-time whistle.

Faulkner though, still had time to force Stewart into his first save of the night, albeit a comfortable one.

Five minutes after the restart Faulkner cracked the Dorchester crossbar with a 25-yard strike, which had Stewart beaten, before Kitteridge got behind Osei's shot at the other end.

Midway through the half, Mudge flashed an effort wide from just outside the box after good work to bring the ball under control.

Strike partner Moss was then denied twice in a matter of seconds. First, the summer signing drilled a shot low to the far post, which Kitteridge clawed away, and then saw a looping header saved on the goal-line by the Basingtoke gloveman.

The Magpies were pressing forward, in search of the elusive goal. Mudge hooked a shot wide while Hill saw a goal-bound header crucially blocked.

Osei was leading the charge, bursting forward at ever opportunity, and it was one of his runs that led to Hill almost opening the scoring.

When Dorchester weren't denied by the opposition, they invariably found themselves stopped in their tracks by one of the assistants' flags.

Mudge found Moss late on but the latter, under pressure, fired high.

The game ended on a sour note for the hosts as skipper O'Brien exited the field on a stretcher to leave Brooks cursing his luck on the injury front.

	MATCH STATS
9	TOTAL ATTEMPTS	5
6	ATTEMPTS ON TARGET	1
2	ATTEMPTS OFF TARGET	2
1	HIT WOODWORK	2
9	CORNERS	6
16	FREE-KICKS CONCEDED	10