DORCHESTER Town are “hurting” after a 6-1 thrashing by Poole Town, manager Glenn Howes admitted.

Dorchester enjoyed numerous bright moments in the opening half an hour as Alex Moyse fired them ahead.

However, Cam Murray’s equaliser began to turn the game and Matty Neale’s headed own goal, plus Tony Lee’s agile third, put Poole 3-1 up at the break.

Lee nodded home from a corner and converted a penalty for his hat-trick before tucking home a loose ball in the area to score three goals in the final 16 minutes.

While Howes had few complaints about the result, he felt the scoreline did not accurately represent the game.

He told Dorchester’s media team: “We’re obviously hurting. The scoreline, I don’t know if it’s a reflection of the game.

“We have to give Poole an awful lot of adulation, not too dissimilar to Chesham.

“They’re a very well-organised and coached side. Credit to Tom (Killick) and his management team.

“We set out to distort it, and I felt we did that in the early parts of the game, which was pivotal in us getting our noses ahead.

“It’s not the be all and end all but we conceded from three set-pieces and a penalty. They had a significant bearing on the game.

“We had two or three chances and you don’t get too many against sides of this quality, so you have to be extremely clinical and ruthless.

“I felt we were lacking that in moments of the game.”

Howes said: “We felt how we created that goal was how we wanted to set out.

“Everybody could see that the first 20 to 30 minutes we were on the front foot, were extremely aggressive, as were Poole.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t sustain that. They’re an extremely experienced and resilient side who can weather storms.

“I’m (not) sure we’re in a position where we can do that just yet. The teams were almost polar opposites at times.

“I don’t want to take anything away from Moysey because he’s been waiting a long time for that goal and enjoyed his moment."