50s: Making History

After a bright start to the season, both our squads arrived at the Littledown Centre in Bournemouth for Round Two of the Dorset Walking Football League in buoyant mood. As well as arriving with confidence, we also arrived with a history making Toko Robbins – more on that in a bit.

After Round One of the 50s Dorset Walking Football League in October, DSWFC Storm were nestled nicely in second spot behind Amesbury, while Thunder were fourth (from bottom). A sunny autumnal morning felt just right for football and League Round Two.

DSWFC Matchday Info

DSWFC Tournament Report

Both teams were looking to kick-on in Round Two after good showings in Round One during October. One advantage of having two teams in the league is the squads being able to support each other. O this occasion, only one set of fixtures clashed, so the squads were able to support each other a lot when not playing.

Dexter’s Storm

Storm’s fist match of the day was against a Bournemouth Whites squad who’ve started the season in disappointing fashion. They’re new to the league and have found the early going tough. Within minutes of the start our 50s top scorer, Luke Hitchen, had picked up an injury – he wouldn’t play another second of football in this league round! However, Gary Craig picked up the goal scoring responsibility with aplomb in this match, scoring both goals in a 2-1 victory. That took Gary’s goal total for the season to five.

Next up was top-of-the-table Amesbury. With Storm just a couple of points behind, a win would see us swap places and a Dexter’s team go top after five matches. However, a win from a competitive match wasn’t achieved by either team. It was a great match to watch – combative, engaging and sprinkled with goals (from Gary, again). The 2-2 score line, a “Desmond” if you like, was a fair result. It was also the first time Amesbury had dropped any points this season, in their fifth match.

After three wins and two draws in the first five matches of the season, Storm finally suffered their first defeat of the season in match six against Dorchester. The Magpies had a slow start to the season compared to their own high standards – and League Round Two was no exception to that. They’d opened the day with a 2-1 win against Weymouth, before losing by the same scoreline to Eastleigh. They proved too determined for Storm though and saw us off 2-0… our first blank of the season.

Four points from three matches feels a bit disappointing, and slipping to fifth spot reflects that. However, the league is close with just three points covering second to sixth.

Dexter’s Thunder

Of Thunder’s three fixtures at the Littledown Center, the league table suggested our opening fixture, against Verwood, was the one we had the best chance of points in. However, Verwood played better than their league position would’ve suggested. They went 1-0 up early in the second half.

They let us back in by wracking up four non-walking offences and Jase (Sheath) duly put away the penalty. But then as seems standard for us in the early part of the season, we also conceded a spot kick for the same reason – this one though was superbly double-saved by Mark Cope in goal, saving the initial penalty and then also the rebound.

Considering the way the match panned out, a 1-1draw wasn’t a complete disaster, but up next was the juggernaut that are Bournemouth.

We were straight into match two against Bournemouth which was always going to be tough. We held them goalless at half time through some considerable effort. Unfortunately, we couldn’t hold on in the second half and Bournemouth ran out comfortable 3-0 winners. This match was very similar to our game against Dorchester in league round one, where that was also 0-0 at half time, before we lost 4-1. The half hour matches (compared to 24 minutes last season) make it so much harder to hold out against better opposition.

Our final match of the day came in the form of Weymouth. From the outset it was clear our stamina was faltering, which in turn affected our concentration. Too many lapses and a Weymouth squad who will always punish those, saw us 3-0 down part way through the second half. Jase scored his second goal of the day, but it was to be no more than a consolation, and the game finished in a 3-1 defeat.

So just one point picked up on a day which started with so much optimism.

Dexter Sports Making History

Video Highlights: Storm vs Amesbury and Dorchester

Here are a few highlights from our matches against Amesbury and Dorchester.

DSWFC Tournament Results

DSWFC Player Season Stats

Here you can see the DSWFC 50s tournament appearances and goals for the season to date.

Player	Tournaments	Goals
Allen, Simon	2	0
Baker, Simon	2	0
Ball, Martin	2	0
Bulloch, Billy	2	–
Cooke, Simon	1	0
Cope, Mark	2	–
Craig, Gary	2	7
Gorridge, Neil	1	0
Hitchen, Luke	2	4
Lodge, Dave	1	1
Robbins, Toko	1	0
Sheath, Jase	2	4
Shute, Andy	2	0
Snell, Darren	2	0
Webb, Nick	2	0
Wheeler, Darren	1	0
Wilson, Andy	1	0

League Overview

Amesbury continued their strong start to the season, and remain unbeaten after six matches – they’re the only unbeaten team. Defending Champions, Bournemouth, had a better day than Round One, collecting maximum points and moving ominously into second spot. Then come Eastleigh, Dorchester and Storm, all with 11 points.

A league within the league has started to form, with the bottom four sides already drifting away from the rest of the division. Just two wins between all four of them suggesting a growing divide between the top and bottom teams in the league.

Why not take look at the Dorset Walking Football League tables. It includes all the results and history of the 50s, 60s and 65s over the past few seasons.

Future Dates

The next round of the 50s Dorset Walking Football League is scheduled for Sunday 4 January 2026. At the time of publishing the location and kick-off time have yet to be decided. Check with your own club nearer the time.

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