Click here to listen to Glenn Pennyfather’s post-match interview.

 

Sam Higgins’ brace helped earn a persistent Chelmsford City side three more Blue Square Bet South points from an arduous test against Dorchester Town at Melbourne Stadium as Head Coach Glenn Pennyfather praised his players for sticking to their task right to the end of the fixture.

 

City’s supporters had to wait until ten minutes from the end for their team to open the scoring against bottom club Dorchester, who nearly claimed a point until substitute Higgins came on to steal the show with a quick-fire double. But while Higgins claimed the headlines, Glenn also chose to praise the man he replaced, Billy Bricknell.

 

“You try and change things and bring fresh legs on and it did change today,” he explained after the match. “Billy, again, worked his socks off for 65 minutes and Sam’s come on and got the rewards. It works both ways – Sam did that hard work at Basingstoke and Billy came on and got the rewards. That’s what it’s all about, the squad game.”

 

Glenn retained faith in the starting eleven which disposed of Dartford on Bank Holiday Monday, although left winger Takumi Ake had to assume a place on the bench with a sore ankle while Ricky Modeste deputised. City had the first real attack of the game on 16 minutes as Bricknell beat a defender in a sprint for a long ball on the right-hand side before cutting in and striking just the wrong side of the post from the edge of the box.

 

Dorchester’s 27th-minute response arrived in the shape of a Steve Devlin first time, left-footed volley comfortably over goalkeeper Ashley Harrison’s crossbar from distance although City thought they’d taken the lead seven minutes later. Stephen Reed stood a ball up to the far post which was converted by a leaping Anthony Cook into the net, though the midfielder only earned himself a booking for deliberate handball.

 

Moments later that error looked costly as defender Mark Jermyn got forward at the other end to whistle inches over the bar on the bounce from long range. Though it was the visitors’ turn to draw a breath four minutes after the interval when Reed’s corner was nodded back into the danger zone by Adam Tann and Bricknell in turn headed goalwards where only the chest of a defender prevented it from crossing the line.

 

There was a lengthy stoppage towards the middle of the half as Dorchester’s James Coutts received treatment for a troublesome-looking leg injury which saw him hobble off and this was followed by a trio of Dave Rainford headers just over for City, two of which were from Reed dead balls and another arrived via a swirling Mark Haines centre.

 

Set pieces looked like a potential route towards an opening goal as time ticked away, but Glenn insisted: “We have our game plan and didn’t get too frustrated although I think it was frustrating at times for the supporters because we’ve been used to scoring goals early so far this season. Sometimes teams set their stall out with ten men behind the ball and it’s difficult to break down but you’ve got to keep probing away and we did that.”

 

The 66th-minute introduction of Higgins after a long shift from Bricknell certainly gave Dorchester something to worry about and he was immediately in the thick of things with a turn and shot which was deflected wide from the edge of the box. Then, with ten minutes left on the clock, a right-wing ball was diverted at the far post by the head of Takumi Ake into the path of Higgins, who glanced past ‘keeper Simon Evans.

 

That brought a sigh of relief from the home supporters but they were treated to another strike just two minutes later in comedic circumstances. Higgins received a Rob Edmans knock down 25 yards from goal and ratcheted a first-timer at Evans which the custodian got his palms behind. Though he could only watch as the loose ball then rolled behind him and dribbled in apparent slow motion into the bottom corner.

 

It was a gift of a goal, and Higgins could have completed his hat-trick in injury time, but the clincher was nothing more than City deserved according to Glenn, who added: “Sam can strum the ball and I know it was a goalkeeping mistake but I thought we deserved that for the amount of pressure we had and the amount of balls we put into their box and I felt it was a really tough game for us today in difficult circumstances.”

 

City:

 

1 Ashley Harrison

2 Mark Haines

3 Marlon Patterson

4 Adam Tann

5 Sami El-Abd

6 Dave Rainford (C)

7 Stephen Reed

8 John Martin

9 Billy Bricknell

10 Anthony Cook

11 Ricky Modeste

 

12 Takumi Ake (On for Modeste, 62)

14 Liam Bellamy

15 Rob Edmans (On for Reed, 73)

16 Sam Higgins (On for Bricknell, 66)

 

Dorchester Town: Simon Evans, Ryan Hill, Neil Martin (Kyle Critchell, 54), Mark Jermyn, Nathan Walker, Scott Guyett (C), Nick Crittenden, James Coutts (Matt Groves, 61), Ryan Moss (Stuart Douglas, 78), Dave Allen, Steve Devlin. Unused Substitutes: Jamie Frampton, Saul Otobo.

 

Bookings: City: Cook (34, handball). Dorchester: Moss (69, dissent).

 

Referee: Nigel Lugg (Chipstead).

 

Assistant Referees: James Macey (Bexley) and Martin Lehane (Bexleyheath).

 

Attendance: 821.

 

City Man of the Match: Adam Tann.