We were magnificent last Saturday at Dorchester. Absolutely top drawer. It’s the best we’ve played all season. It was the first time for months that I could pick from a full squad, and what a difference it made. We were off the blocks from the whistle. We could have been three or four up in the first fifteen minutes: a Boothy shot hit their keeper, who didn’t know anything about it. A Wormy volley just cleared the bar. Kenno headed the ball across the goal when he should have put it in. Chris O’Connor missed two sitters.
They could hardly get the ball out of their half. Then, on the quarter hour, a defender lobbed the ball forward and their striker raced Robbo for the ball. Robbo shepherded it back to the keeper, keeping his body between their player and the ball. And the ref gave a penalty! I couldn’t believe it. Willo nearly saved it, but it trickled over the line. 1-0 to them. I wasn’t worried. I knew there were goals in it for us. I was right. Within 10 minutes O’Connor levelled it, getting in front of his marker and flicking in a Lewis Hamilton free kick.

At half time I told the players that they had to start converting more chances into goals. We certainly did that. Just past the hour, Wormy finished a beautiful move which started in our own penalty area. The ball was cleared to Andy Drury on the right, he found Wormy in space on the left, and Wormy ran 25 yards with the ball and put it through the keeper’s legs. Lovely. I said last week the lad should be getting on the score-sheet more. And then came Boothy’s ten-minute hat-trick. His first was the best. He controlled a cross with his chest, and brought it down. He feinted a shot, sending the keeper to the tea bar. Now there was only a defender on the line to beat. Boothy looked one way, and hit the ball the other, into the back of the net. That’s class.