Martyrs Will Survive Unless it's Dorchester Flash in the Pan

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 25 September 2017 at Loadlok Stadium (Penydarren Park)
Result	Merthyr Town 1 Dorchester Town 1
Competition	Southern League Premier Division (Step 3)
Hopstats	Ground 627 on the lifetime list.  I am here from a shortlist of three because there were more shots on goal (26) in the SECOND period of last night’s NHL ice hockey game between Anaheim Ducks and Winnipeg Jets.  The first and third periods had been linked to Athersley and Whitby.  It’s random-ish.  See previous post for details of my niche.
Context
Dorchester are in the lower half of the table but will have noted that Merthyr (aka The Martyrs) lost 13-1 at Chesham last week, as did everyone else in football.  The development side fulfilled the fixture after a turbulent week off the pitch.  Since then there have been boardroom resignations from this fan-owned club, the creation of an interim board, a huge and well-supported financial appeal, and a week of exhortations to the locals to #packthepark.  Local papers, Argus and Echo, gave some reasonable coverage to the financial issues and the public support of Cardiff and Newport managers (Neil Warnock and Michael Flynn), alongside the pages and pages of rugby.  The All Blacks are in Cardiff and that clash kicks off just after this match ends.
In one sentence
Dorchester coped well with the occasion and a draw was probably a fair result.
So what?
The clubs lie 14th and 20th.  First signs are that Merthyr will have enough backing, and enough character on the pitch, to survive as a club and even hold on to their Step 3 place.  They probably need about another 18 points or so, with plenty of games left.  Dorchester may feel that today was two points dropped but near the bottom an away draw is usually not to be turned down.
Match Report
Members of last week’s development team were introduced to the crowd before kickoff and received a heroes’ welcome.  Once the whistle went, Ian Traylor could have given Merthyr a dream start with a good turn in the box but his shot was over the bar.  Dorchester weathered that early storm and the first half-hour was pretty ordinary but earnest fare in the sunshine.  The visitors had a half-chance of their own from a fluffed clearance.  After the half-hour mark, the game settled into a more open and adventurous phase with Merthyr threatening to take the lead.  The exact opposite happened after 37 minutes with a classic away team counterpunch.  Dorchester poured forward when the ball bounced for them on the left flank.  A dangerous cross was duly volleyed in by Blake Davies.  Good goal, and they saw out the rest of the half. Merthyr’s equaliser came fairly early in the second half.  A through ball found Adam Davies in an advanced position and he set himself well for a good, calm finish as the keeper came out.  Game on. The home side showed visible belief that a win could be had.  Kerry Morgan shot just wide and then a deflected Traylor volley hit the post.  Dorchester’s Twitter feed suggests that it hit both posts, but I was unsighted.  The two sides continued to slug it out, mainly in midfield and with defences on top, keeping up a reasonable level of entertainment for this passing neutral in the encouraging crowd of 923.  We were somewhat entertained too by the ever-increasing number of detailed announcements about cars and vans to be moved from the vicinity. At the end of the day, Dorchester did enough as the away side to earn their point and Merthyr certainly did not deserve to lose.
Ground Pix
Lots of them today.  This place is a good example of why I have become a daylight groundhopper in the last couple of years.  Lots of character and an interesting setting.
Match Pix
Merthyr are in the white-and-black.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
Green drew with Orange today which has no effect on the standings. Results so far: Based on conventional 3pts for a win, 1pt for a draw, but also -1pt for a goal conceded (GC) and +5pts for a clean sheet (CS).  Colours ranked on a points per game (PPG) basis. For new readers the odd .5 was caused by a shocking half-and-half shirt and the .1 was due to a substitute goalkeeper in a different colour.  The Fire Cracker colour was confirmed with the help of the social media team at Dulux UK, and it deserves to be last, trust me.  All of this arises from a comment attributed to Petr Cech that orange is the best colour for a goalkeeper because it changes the behaviour of other players around the box. P W D L GC CS Pts PPG Red 9.0 4.0 1.0 4.0 9.0 3.0 19.0 2.111 Maroon 4.0 2.0 1.0 1.0 6.0 1.0 6.0 1.500 Blue 30.1 12.0 6.0 12.1 47.0 10.0 45.0 1.495 Grey 41.5 20.0 9.0 12.5 68.5 11.0 55.5 1.337 Green 68.0 34.0 9.0 25.0 115.0 17.0 81.0 1.191 Orange 27.5 9.0 5.0 13.5 45.5 5.0 11.5 0.418 Purple 11.0 5.0 2.0 4.0 25.0 2.0 2.0 0.182 Yellow 27.0 7.0 6.0 14.0 57.0 5.0 -5.0 -0.185 Pink 14.0 4.0 4.0 6.0 29.0 1.0 -8.0 -0.571 Radioactive Bile 12.0 5.0 0.0 7.0 26.0 1.0 -6.0 -0.500 Black 5.0 1.0 3.0 1.0 14.0 0.0 -8.0 -1.600 White 1.9 0.0 0.0 1.9 4.0 0.0 -4.0 -2.105 Fire Cracker 1.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 4.0 0.0 -4.0 -4.000
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!  Always difficult to plan ahead at this time of year but my four “priority” Step 3 grounds to complete “The 232” landmark are: Ashton United, Tiverton Town, Whitby Town and Athersley Recreation (Shaw Lane’s landlords).  In the event of bad weather it will probably be somewhere closer to home.  Coverage of the Varsity Match (rugby union) will also follow in early December.