Alright. It’s been a while since we done one of these, so it’s apologies if you’ve been missing your TSOF blog content. But we’re back! We invite you to endure another of our belated ramblings, and a first for the 2026-27 campaign.
This could be down to the collective hangover of relegation from the Southern League Premier South. A disaster of a campaign that brought the DTFC community back down to earth with an almighty bump after a playoff challenging season that brought so much hope. We now find ourselves in the Southern League Division One South or Step 5, as the kids like to say (The irony of a Southern League Division One South game taking place 20 miles from Birmingham wasn’t lost on us, by the way) This is a level the club has not found ourselves in for more than 50 years – but we’re here now, and after what felt like a tepid pre-season campaign, we might as well try and enjoy it, eh?!
As mentioned, our post and pre-season hangover had brought its challenges but in hindsight, much of that was probably down to the fear of the unknown. In returned Glenn Howes as manager. All but 5 players from last year’s disastrous squad had moved on and we’d recruited a varying range of players, blending from talented “local lads” to proven, reliable players from this level. From a league perspective, we were joined by familiar clubs, Hungerford, Tiverton and those lot down south, throw in some Southern Premier clubs from years gone by, like your Swindon Supermarine’s and your Bideford’s, local pre-season and Dorset Senior Cup acquaintances Portland and Shaftesbury, but besides that, I don’t think its arrogant to say I’d never heard of half the fucking names in this league. Well… maybe a bit.
One of which includes the opponents for this blog: Sporting Club Inkberrow. Back in April when our relegation was sealed and the TSOF WhatsApp group browsed through names of our potential league opposition for this season, Inkberrow was one that instantly stood out. Partly because of the obscurity of the name and the size of its location. Partly that 2 of our exiled supporters, Dev and Ollie had grown up a stones throw from the village. Neither would have thought over the years of supporting the Mighty Magpies that these sides would be crossing paths. Ollie, brought up in the nearby Worcestershire village of Broughton Hackett didn’t realise Inkberrow even had a football club, and Dev before kick-off highlighted that Inkberrow were playing on a field in quite literally a village league only 5 years ago. To put it in perspective, Inkberrow is so small, that it didn’t even appear in Jakub’s SatNav, meaning they had to wing the final leg of the trip. “”Fuck me, we’re 2.5 miles away and still no signs for Inkberrow! It’s like the abandoned village of Tyneham”
So how has the 2026-27 so far gone, I hear you ask? Pretty fucking good actually! Or as good as could be expected after a catastrophic opening game against them lot over the hill. A fixture which couldn’t have come at a worse time for us, and a better time for them. A 5-1 hiding and warranted scepticism ahead of a season in a league that we’re all so desperate to get out of ASAP.
Hats off to Glenn and the squad though. We quickly followed that up with a 2-0 home win against Paulton and slowly plugged away by grinding out a further 8 league wins, as we approach this game looking to make it 10 wins on the bounce – something the club certainly hasn’t achieved in my 30 years of supporting this club. We came close in the 2002/03 season, when Mark Morris’ iconic team won nine-on-the-bounce, as we won 16 of the last 17 games to win the league… but ten-on-the-bounce seems to have never been achieved. If any Dorchester Town historian or stattos can confirm otherwise, hit us up!
That’s the potted waffle of the past few months over with, now onto the match itself. Having lived up in Sheffield coming up to 2 years now, attending Dorch games are few and far between for me these days, so this being my first watch of the season, with Sporting Club Inkberrow being one of my more “local” games. Local to the point that I was actually able to spend most of my Saturday morning with some family time before tramming it to Sheffield station for my 11:56 train to Worcestershire Parkway. My experience of away days has had its share of public transport glitches up north and the only minor one on this occasion was a 20-minute delay. Meaning poor Ollie had to spend that time pacing laps around the clusterfuck of a carpark at the station, generously waiting for my arrival.
We were on our way, seeing some of the picturesque sights of the Worcestershire countryside, while Ollie provided me some insights of the lovely part of the world he spent much of his childhood. After we arrived in Inkberrow, we were directed by a steward to the bizarre detour towards the supporters’ entrance to the ground that involved going through various football, cricket and rugby pitches before finally making it to the only slightly more advanced set up of the venue in question. As we entered the turnstile we were joined by Rob, Dev, and the Polish Magpie contingent, Jakub and Gabriel, who bravely made their own way up from Dorchester even with the weekend closure of the M5 – not that he was bothered by that: “Perks of driving a large pickup truck with amber lights…Turn them on, put on a hi-vis jacket and drive straight through!”
As we settled to the outside bar area behind the goal, I refreshed myself a pint of passable premium lager and probably one of the worst burgers I’ve ever eaten at a football match. It ticked all the boxes. Dry bun. Check. Chef larder dry patty. Check. Unmelted plastic cheese. Check. “Would you like onions with that?”, “yes please!”. Any added extras to get my fivers worth. Could this burger be a metaphor for the 90 minutes ahead? Nah. Dorch tend to win games of football these days, and we were all cautiously confident that if we keep it professional, that 10th consecutive 3 points will occur.
Howes isn’t one to tinker with his squads too much unless he needs to, and the Magpies went unchanged from the side that won 3-0 at home against Melksham in midweek. In what was a fairly lacklustre start to the game, both sides tried to find a rhythm with one or two half chances for either side. A notable input during the opening spell was us being told to sit down by the 4 or 5 older Inkberrow fans sat in the temporary stand behind the goal. It certainly felt like we’ve entered a division consisting more of local spectators than avid supporters.
With not a lot happening on the pitch, 20 or so minutes in, the deadlock was broken and it was the home side that took the lead. Inkberrow no.7 beat a couple of Dorch defenders before finding Connor Stanley in acres of space to slot it past Ryan Hall. The proverbial “1 down” has been a common quote over the years and much of the time it leads to other numbers ending with “down”, but even with this early setback, we knew we had plenty of time to turn this around. We hardly came out all guns blazing but on 33 minutes we won a corner on the right-hand side. An in-swinging delivery from Freddie Beale was met perfectly by stand in captain in the absence of the injured Will Spetch, Ollie Haste, who’s header had enough power to push past the keeper who parried into the corner. 1-1 and the Magpies can reset and kick on from here.
Thing is, from fans I’ve spoken to, what seems to be a theme with a few of our wins this season, is we tend to invite pressure from the opposition but with our nous and cutting edge, hit teams on the break. Having the likes of Matty Burrows and Ethan Taylor leading the line though, there’s always a good chance an opportunity or two will come along and will be dispatched.
Half time soon arrived and 1-1 was a fair reflection of the 45 minutes. We knew we needed to get at them early second half, and that we did. Just 5 minutes in, a passage of play saw Beale find Burrows on the left-hand side, whose weighted cross found Taylor open near the back post to nod past the keeper to make it 2-1. The remainder of the half was exactly how people have told me how our games have been all season. Yes, we had a few chances and a penalty shout for handball waved away, but we seemed to invite Inkberrow pressure and allow them plenty of possession in attack. As expected in this league, the quality in the final third lacks from opponents, that could ultimately punish us in a higher league. But with years of watching this club those nervy habits do not go away.
As the fourth official indicated 4 minutes injury time, it was a simple case of see the game out, take the points and get out of there. However, we did one better than that and eased those nerves for the final minutes. A late Inkberrow attack was hoofed clear by Haste who found Ethan inside our half who spun past the defender and slotted past the approaching keeper from distance to put the game to bed. Kinda reminiscent to Fernando Torres for Chelsea against Barcelona in 2012. But instead of being the Nou Camp in a Champions League semi-final, it was a village in Worcestershire in the 8th tier of English football.
Full time blew. 10 wins on the bounce and back to the top of the league thanks to Swindon Supermarine’s 1-1 draw with Falmouth. “This is what it’s like every game”, echoed Jakub. Bloody hell, watching 90 minutes of that every week would be stressful but if we keep coming away with 3 points from them, then who the hell cares!
10 games as they say, gives an indication to how the season may pan out. Top of the league after 11 and there are certainly no complaints. We know there’s still a long way to go and there will be many twists and turns over the coming months. But it’s certainly going to be fun regardless, winning games along the way. The fact we haven’t controlled many games yet either bodes well for what’s to come or we’ll get caught out by some of the so-called stronger sides. I’ll let those who’ve watched far more football than me be the judge of that.
As the 30 or so Dorch contingent made their ways back to Dorset and varying parts of the country respectively, Ollie headed back to Northamptonshire via Worcestershire Parkway to drop me off and a brief stop at the big Tesco which fittingly structured similar to the county town’s very own superstore on Mutants Avenue. Journey back always feels sweet after a win regardless how long they are. The WhatsApp group kept the ride going with some entertaining reading, (which is often more common after a defeat than a win) including Jakub sending thirst traps meant for his girlfriend which were swiftly deleted but receipts are always kept. How a side like us can win 10 league games on the spin and still potentially end Tuesday evening in third place. And a failed history lesson with DTFC celebrating the club’s 146th birthday, only for Cam to later realise it was in fact Sunday and not Saturday.
So happy birthday Dorchester Town Football Club. The beating heart of the town. The source of nearly a century and a half of bitterness. The founding forefathers who met up at the Kings Arms Hotel on this day in 1880. You would’ve loved Sporting Club Inkberrow away. FR.
