By James Gray
DORCHESTER TOWN 4
Smith 9, 25, 45+2, Pardoe 59
BIDEFORD 0
A first half hattrick from midfield maestro Tom Smith ensured a return to winning ways for Dorchester Town as they kicked off their FA Trophy campaign with a 4-0 drubbing of Bideford AFC.
The result at a windswept Avenue Stadium sees the Magpies pocket £2,450 in prize money and advance to the First Round of the tournament, which will take place on Saturday October 25.
Dorchester boss Tom Killick made three changes from the side which began the 3-0 defeat to Farnham Town in the FA Cup last weekend, with Smith, Cameron Murray and Jadyn Crosbie coming into the side at the expense of Matt Buse, Charlie Wooding and Wayne Robinson.
Goalkeeper Gerard Benfield, who had missed the start of the season due to injury, made a welcome return to the bench, while Jack Dickson, Luke Roberts and Wes Fogden missed out on the matchday squad altogether.
The game was less than ten minutes old when Dorchester opened the scoring, courtesy of a fine solo effort from Smith. A long pass from Dorchester goalkeeper Joe Besant was headed on by Crosbie for his strike partner, Joe Parker, who, in turn, nodded down into the path of Smith. He then cut inside former Magpie Louie Slough before curling a brilliant shot into the bottom right corner of the Bideford goal.
Dorchester's bench were left feeling aggrieved in the 24th minute when their appeals for a penalty were waved away by match referee Dylan Baylis, after he judged Javan Wright not to have handled the ball in the box.
It proved to be a decision that did not come back to haunt the hosts as they doubled their lead moments later through Smith.
Marcus Daws and Corby Moore traded passes on the Dorchester left before the former played in an unmarked Smith, who, from just outside the Bideford 18-yard box, unleashed a low, rasping drive that left visiting keeper Shaun Semmens stranded and Dorchester 2-0 up in the match.
Killick's side continued to bear efforts down on Semmens' goal, with Smith, Daws, Moore and Luke Pardoe all going close for Dorchester as the opening 45 minutes drew to a close.
Referee Baylis decided to add on two minutes of first half extra time and it was in the second of those that Smith grabbed his and Dorchester's third goal of the half.
Daws, who proved a constant threat to the Bideford defence all afternoon, started the move with an outside of the boot pass to Parker down the Dorchester left. The Magpies number nine advanced to the edge of the box, returning the ball to an onrushing Daws, who swiftly squared for Smith to finish from close range.
WATCH: Dorchester boss Tom Killick assesses his side's 4-0 victory over Bideford in the FA Trophy
Half time arrived soon afterwards with the Magpies holding a dominant lead over their lower league opposition.
After the break Dorchester missed a golden opportunity to extend their advantage further as Murray's curling effort went narrowly wide of Semmens' left upright.
Bideford, to their credit, produced a spirited second half performance, with Jamie Hearsey's long distance effort forcing Besant into a smart save.
But, despite Bideford's improvement, there was nothing Semmens could do about Dorchester's fourth goal of the game, which came in the 59th minute from the left foot of Pardoe.
Another long pass from Besant was flicked on by the head of Crosbie for Daws on the Dorchester left wing. He glided past a Bideford defender and crossed low to find the onrushing Pardoe, who blasted home first time past Semmens.
Bideford's response for the remainder of the half was a positive one and Besant was made to work hard for his clean sheet as he repelled dangerous efforts from both Jack Winsor and Scott Robinson.
With the result all but secured, Killick made a raft of substitutions, but it was the introduction of goalkeeper Benfield which caught the eye of most of those watching on from the stands.
A late injury to Crosbie forced Killick to throw on his only remaining substitute as an emergency outfield player and prevent Dorchester from finishing the match with ten men.
Despite chants from the Dorchester faithful imploring Benfield to get on the scoresheet, the towering shot stopper's on-field contributions were limited to a handful of touches and the game concluded without any chance of note for either side.
Magpies: Besant, Wright, Spetch (Hutchinson), Haste, Pardoe (Buse 60), Moore, Murray, Daws, Smith (Wooding 60), Parker (Robinson 60), Crosbie (Benfield 89)
Robins: Semmens, Richards, Roberts, Moyse, Gardner, Slough, Hearsey (Wright 67), Winsor (Shearer 90), Robinson, Ewing (Turner 79), J. Wright (De Selincourt 85)