A Night at the Dorchester

A Night at the Dorchester.

As I passed the St Mary's Catholic Church tonight, I noticed that they had a sign up with
'Pray what you Want'.

Now our 'Holier than thou' neighbours must be struggling to pull in a congregation, as people turn in the droves to worship instead at the newly refurbished site of the Great Valleys Revival at Penydarren Park and need to inject an element of competition to the altar table.

As I passed the entrance gates, fans were eagerly handing over £50 notes which after the recent Brexit vote and run on the Pound were worth 3 whole Euros on Pay What You Want Community Night.

The big question on everyone's lips was not would Merthyr get three points tonight against the lowly placed Dorchester Town but would the floodlights stay on for longer than 45 minutes this time?

On such an Mid-Week occasion it was refreshing to see so many young children staying up passed their usual allotted bedtime, even if they did seem a little worried about the dark Autumn night and the onset of Halloween later this month.

One child turned to his Father, as he was a little scared of a strange clown dressed in a costume running around scaring people, but once I had assured him that was the normal standard for a Non-League referee he was fine.

Merthyr still reeling from the loss of Adam Davies to Hereford earlier today, started the brighter and in the early exchanges the Merthyr Football Stock Market was quite bullish, as our prime asset, Ian Traylor once again oozed class, pace and touch that sets him apart from the opposition.

Ably assisted by the leggy Refell, he tore into the 'Hardy Boys' trying hard to get behind the full back.

In midfield, the Home Fans witnessed the debut of Josh Yorwerth- believed to be the long lost dyslexic son of Wales Manager Terry Yorath- and what a debut it was too.

Most debutants need time to settle into a side and usually start quite gingerly, but not this
Flame-haired athlete.

As the half wore on, he looked like he had been playing in that position in this side all season.

He was combative, pacey and determined.

He was able to give Captain Marble a night off chewing the opposition ankles, as he made the Dorchester stay in Merthyr very uncomfortable indeed.

Merthyr huffed and puffed and continued knocking at the Dorchester door, with only concierge Captain Jake Smeeton keeping the Welsh lads at bay.

With twenty five minutes on the clock, Traylor once again stole the ball from their left midfielder, Dory Yates, who had the same look on his face as Kim Kardashian, when the sweet right foot of
Scott Barrow put the ball on a 'Silver Tray' for Kayne McGlaggon to head past the static keeper Murphy for a first half lead.

The quality of the curling ball took out both the goalie and the Dorchester defence and was absolutely sublime.

It would not have looked out of place at the Nou Camp- a true Barrowcelona moment.

Even though they were a goal to the good Merthyr didn't rest on their laurels and the eponymous Traylor once again showed that he is even hotter property than a Galaxy Note 7 left in a Hotpoint drier overnight.

His touch, running and effort alone were worth the IOU note that I gave on the way in.

A night at the Dorchester for next to nothing....where do you get that? ....not even the one on the Brecon Road is that cheap.

Dorchester tried hard to get back in the game but certain of their midfielders went missing or looked like 'fish out of water' as they battled against the 'ginger assassin' for the ball.

It seemed they had difficulty 'finding Dory' Yates.

Dorchester and Little Britain Chairman Matt Lucas must have been cursing his Magpie Team's bad luck for not only the first goal but also the second of McGlaggon's brace.

It was one for sorrow, two for joy for the Merthyr fans when the striker, slid the ball passed the of rushing Murphy to find the far corner of the net.

Whilst Dorchester were distinctly three star in attack, Merthyr of late have not been able to land that killer blow like a UKIP MEP and get a second goal.

As the Home Fans collectively sighed with relief, the last play of the game saw a Dorchester free kick strike the bar, after defender Curtis McDonald had shown his own 'drive thru' when he slide tackled an on rushing forward with a bite a Great White Shark would have been proud of.

Man of the Match for me was the returning Scott Barrow who was outstanding on the night and his current form may have been one of the influential deciding factors why Adam Davies felt he had to jump ship and join the Monmouth Rebellion.

He even added a nutmeg to the 'ginger spice' in midfield, as he slid the ball between the legs of their main striker to Yorwerth.

A decent hardworking performance against a lack lustre Wessex Outfit, who battled hard but rarely threatened on a fast playing surface which takes no prisoners and shows less mercy than Judge Jeffreys to sides who struggle to adapt to its pace.

Merthyr were not at their flowing best but the signs are there that they are returning to form and if they can keep the current squad fit then the play-offs and a decent cup run beckons.

A night at the Dorchester?....not for me....I want a day at Wembley in the FA Trophy Final instead.

Boz

Boz1964 wrote:

It seemed they had difficulty 'finding Dory' Yates.

You know as soon as I saw his name on the team sheet I had a premonition I'd be reading something like that later tonight.

Apologies Imp .

It is worrying for you when we share the 'school' of thought.

Ownes has being trying to second guess the title of the Report for years now.

It should concern you if you start to get on the same 'wavelength'.

As the straitjacket and padded cell beckons.....

Boz

I'm just surprised you didn't work in a mention of one of the linesmen last night.

I second that.

I don't always mention the sterling work that our officials do as I like to keep our few 'Friends' 'onside'....you never know when you might need them....Boz

It was his name I had in mind rather than anything he might have done.

I assume you are not familiar with the cast of Friends....and not just some random Boris Karloff wannabe......Boz

Good old Bill.

I am sure that former Bow Street Runner Ownes would agree with this second statement too....Boz