Parkway dig deep to earn a spirited point after a bruising night in Dorset
Dorchester Town v Parkway | Match ReportPlymouth Parkway showed every ounce of their growing resilience as they battled from behind twice to claim a hard-earned point at the Avenue Stadium, on a night where grit, character and sheer refusal to fold proved just as valuable as quality.
 Dorchester TownPlymouth Parkway 
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Chris McPhee kept faith with the side that stunned higher-league Salisbury in Saturday’s FA Trophy thriller, but Parkway’s plans were torn apart inside the opening minutes. Midfielder Jake Smith, one of the form players of recent weeks, went down in agony after a coming together and was stretchered off following lengthy treatment. News later filtered through that he had been taken to hospital, a cruel setback for a player who has been central to Parkway’s recent upturn.
The reshuffle threw Taylor Scarff into action sooner than expected after injury, partnering Jack Veale at the back as Ryan Brett returned to his natural midfield role. But the early change only added to a cagey opening in which Dorchester dominated possession and pressed Parkway into a more cautious, patient build-up, a total contrast to the high-tempo chaos of the weekend.
Parkway’s brightest spark, again, was James Watts-Barciela. The winger repeatedly beat his man but couldn’t quite find the telling final ball, and when Parkway needed composure, they instead conceded a familiar soft goal. On 23 minutes, Will Spetch rose highest from a corner to head Dorchester in front, the fourth consecutive league goal Parkway have conceded from a corner, and a wound that continues to reopen at frustrating moments.
Dorchester fed off it. The hosts grew in confidence, swarming midfield, forcing mistakes from a Parkway side who struggled for rhythm. Haste headed straight at Mack Allan when free in the box, Barciela was cynically fouled whenever he threatened to escape, and the visitors failed to piece together any meaningful control in a half where their own errors fueled Dorchester’s momentum. At the break, the home side were full value for their 1–0 lead.
Parkway made a necessary change at the interval, with Gunnar Franke replacing Jenson Ireland, who couldn’t replicate his recent strong form. But the early exchanges mirrored much of the first half: needless fouls, dangerous free-kicks conceded, and a back line increasingly stretched by Dorchester’s sharp, hungry midfield.
For a punishing 10-minute spell, Parkway simply couldn’t get out. Dorchester turned the screw with corner after corner, while the visitors’ attacking transitions broke down before they even began. Only wayward finishing and one superb, point-blank reflex stop from Allan kept the deficit at one.
McPhee’s response came on the hour as Farren Simons replaced Mikey Williams, prompting a switch to a 3–5–2 in search of control. But while Dorchester continued to waste gilt-edged chances, opportunities that should have buried the game , Parkway finally carved out space to breathe.
And then, completely against the run of play, came a moment that flipped the night on its head. Will Sullivan, full of willing industry all evening, found space wide and whipped in a teasing ball that evaded everyone and arced into the top corner. A freak finish, perhaps, but one Parkway would gladly take as their route back into the match.
Yet the joy barely lasted 60 seconds. Straight from kick-off, Dorchester surged forward again. A flurry of shots ended with Allan unable to gather cleanly, leaving Tom Smith on hand to prod into an empty net and restore the home side’s advantage.
Dorchester, though, kept squandering chances, to the point of farce at times, and Parkway’s persistence finally began to tell. Hall and Rio Garside ran tirelessly, dragging their side up the pitch phase by phase. Rio flashed one wide before Parkway produced their first true moment of crafted quality on the night. Sullivan turned provider again, this time cutting the ball back perfectly for Callum Hall, who swept home his second goal in as many games to haul Parkway level and spark a late surge.
If Dorchester had been the better side for most of the contest, it was Parkway who finished the stronger. Shocked by the equaliser, the hosts suddenly lost their poise as Barciela weaved through defenders only to see a shot blocked, and Franke’s header drifted inches wide.
As the crowd grew tense and five minutes were added, Parkway finally showed calmness in the back line. Scarff and Brett marshalled the yellow shirts, clearing set pieces that had caused chaos all night, urging composure as Dorchester hurled everything forward.
But the final whistle brought relief and a sense of quiet pride. Parkway had been second best for long spells, stretched, error-prone, and missing the structure Smith usually brings, yet they refused to fold. They battled. They stayed in the fight. And in the final 10 minutes, they were the better side.
After a bruising evening in Dorset, a point felt big, and deserved in its own way. Not for quality. Not for control. But for sheer perseverance.
The journey back to Devon will be lighter for it.
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