DPL Dispatch : simplebooklet.com

ISSUE - 03 1 Welcome ………… To the 3rd edition of the Dispatch for our new and exciting 25 / 26 Season, this edition covers the 9 League matches played on Saturday 23rd August and a roundup of the League Games played on the 19th & 20th August. With 4 games, and in some cases 5 games now played by ALL sides, we still have 2 Teams boasting a 100% win record, these are Cobham Sports FC & Holt United FC. There are also now only sides that still boast an unbeaten start to their season, these are Bournemouth Electric FC & Swanage Town & Herston FC. At the other end of the table we still only have 1 side that remains pointless, and they are Westland Sports FC however I am sure and convinced they will be on the board soon. There will also be a new manager in the dugout at Alvington as the Club has made the decision to change their Management structure for the long term benefit of the Club. On Saturday, the very highest standards of Sportsmanship was demonstrated by Wimborne Town FC Reserves in their game with Bridport FC Reserves, with an over hit through ball heading towards goal, the Bees Keeper went down injured with a ruptured Achilles, the ball ended up in the net. Without hesitation, straight from the restart Bridport were allowed to walk through unopposed to score a goal themselves. Well done to the hosts for this gesture ….. May I again remind ALL Clubs to fully read and understand the Rules of the Competition and if you are in any doubt, please contact the relevant League Officer for advice. As your League Secretary, I do whatever I can to help our Member Clubs, however if you require a spare date, then this needs to be submitted in writing by your Secretary a minimum of 6 weeks in advance, this League is NOT a play when you feel like it League, fixtures are scheduled and it is each Clubs responsibility to fulfil those fixtures on the date set. The League is still looking for a Main Sponsor for season 2025 / 2026 and alongside a Main Sponsor there are other Sponsorship packages available, if this is of interest to you, please, in the 1st instance contact the General League Secretary on. dpl.generalsecretary@gmail.com Kind regards. Giles Kilshawe-Fall

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ISSUE - 03 2 LEAGUE ROUND UP – 19th & 20th AUGUST - 2025 The 2nd round of midweek matches saw Cobham Sports FC maintain their 100% start to their season, meanwhile in the Purbeck, previously unbeaten Swanage Town & Herston FC were held to a draw by Balti Sports FC. On Tuesday Night, Cobham Sports FC hit 6 again as they beat hosts Hamworthy United FC Reserves 6-1 at the County Ground, doing the damage for Sports were Asa Phillips with a hat trick, Cameron Beard with a brace and finally Callum Clarke, replying for the hosts with their consolation was Charlie Harries. There was an entertaining draw played out at Days Park as Swanage Town & Herston FC drew 1-1 with Balti Sports FC who continue to impress. Evergreen Mark Ford put the Swans ahead only for Thomas Butcher to equalise for the Weymouth outfit. In the battle of the 2 relegated Clubs, ex Wessex League Verwood Town FC won narrowly at ex Western League Gillingham Town FC, 1-0 courtesy of a strike from Aza Khider, mid-way through the 1st half. On Wednesday night, 1 game was played at the Avenue Stadium as hosts Dorchester Sports FC welcomed the Zebras from Sherborne Town FC Reserves with the home side comfortably beating their opponents 5-1 with goals from Toby Kelly [x2] Kieran Coomber, Owen Peart & Dan Sheehy, scoring the visitors consolation was Tom Beeston

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ISSUE - 03 3 LEAGUE MATCH REPORTS – SATURDAY 23rd AUGUST - 2025 PORTLAND UNITED FC Reserves (1) 1 COBHAM SPORTS FC (1) 4 Portland Utd played host to Cobham Sports in DPL Matchday 5, Portland in the bottom two and Cobham heading the table, but it was a really lacklustre performance from the league leaders, only after introducing the bench midway through the second half did Cobham take firm control of the game to run out 4-1 winners. There was an even start to proceedings, but it was the home side that struck first, Jack Robertson’s poor clearance found him out of possession and Liam Sayers capitalised with a well executed 25 yard effort to put the home side one ahead. Cobham were seeing plenty of the ball but their final pass on many occasions was poor, however, they were back on level terms in the 14th minute, a corner wasn’t dealt with by the Portland defence and Rayner’s tricky footwork saw him play the ball to Chris Manners whose effort on goal was blocked but Joe Wood poked in the rebound to make it 1-1. Wood had a smart drive from 18 yards well saved by Alfie Watts in the 24th minute but back came Portland and Robertson saved well from Kai Kilcoyne, Watts again made a smart save from Callum Clarke in the 41st minute and the game was poised at 1-1 at the break. HT 1-1 Harsh words spoken at halftime from Johny Bines saw Cobham react well as far as possession was concerned but again, too often, their final ball was poor and made it relatively easy for Portland to defend. The turning point came when the bench was emptied in the 69th minute, all the changes made a positive contribution in the final 25 minutes and after a series of spurned chances Cobham finally got the upper hand, in the 72nd minute a superb run by Hector Rayner saw him finish so well with a crisp left footed drive that went into the net via the far post. Cobham were on the front foot and looking far more dangerous in the final third and they scored their third in the 85th minute, they caught Portland on the counter in the 85th minute, Patrick Spiteri made great ground down the left, played the ball to Clarke who in turn found Eze-Sunday who gave Watts no chance to make it 3-1. The scoring was rounded off in the 89th minute, Eze-Sunday won a penalty, Clarke had his spot kick saved by Watts, but he netted the rebound to make the final score Portland 1 Cobham 4.

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ISSUE - 03 4 BALTI SPORTS FC (0) 0 HOLT UNITED FC (1) 1 Balti Sports FC unbeaten start to their season was ended with a narrow loss against Holt United FC, who remain unbeaten themselves, in very hot conditions at Cranford Avenue in the Dorset Premier Football League. Holt dominated the first half possession maybe not with chances created but certainly with the ball, their midfield in particular causing a lot of problems for the hosts with their movement. Balti did have two chances though, one when Hawker just couldn’t get on to a header and another when Chambers ran through but failed to convert. Holt had a few chances also that went wide or over the bar but then found the net on the stroke of half time when Charlie Cooper brought the ball down in the box turned and shot which took a deflection, which took it into the net off the far post. HT 0-1 Balti started the second half strong with Mussenden going through but finding the Holt keeper up to the task with a good save. The hosts were reduced to 10, courtesy of a sin bin, this coupled with a drinks break took the momentum out of the game. After this break, the visitors took back control of the game, creating presentable chances to wrap it up but with some poor finishing failed to do so. Balti, now back to 11 men started to get down the wings but struggled all day with the final ball and failed to create any more good chances, with the Bulls winners of this tight affair. VERWOOD TOWN FC (0) 1 BOURNEMOUTH ELECTRIC FC (3) 3 Tails were up for the hosts, after their hard fought match midweek win versus Gillingham Town FC. And expectations were high to get a decent result against Bournemouth Electric FC, in the Dorset Premier Football League. The mix of opposition players age and size sort of matched the hosts, however as soon as the match started, Verwood were 2nd best. There appeared to be little resemblance to the squad that played on Wednesday evening and apart from a couple of decent attacks in the 1st half Town didn’t look like they wanted to be playing, let alone scoring. Electric had pace at the front, desire, willingness to run off the ball and accuracy with their scoring, goals from Kyle John-Clement, Joshua Reveanall-Nuete & Jackson Kavita had Electric comfortably ahead at the break. HT 0-3 The hosts now faced a massive uphill struggle in the 2nd half, however instructions given at the break were taken on board as Verwood started to build from the back and put pressure on Electric’s defence. It took a free kick by Sergio Craciun to score direct from 21 yards out, pinning in off the near post to reduce the arrears, and this gave Verwood

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ISSUE - 03 5 the impetus to push for more goals. Tackles started to fly in and then a new substitute was sin binned for 10 mins , putting us under pressure, but Town kept their composure and didn’t concede any more goals. Yellow cards were starting to appear on a frequent basis including somebody in the home dugout, for reasons not yet determined. And that’s the way the game stayed with Electric deserving their win. Photo courtesy of Simon Carlton – carltonphotography@live.com SHERBORNE TOWN FC Reserves (1) 3 HAMWORTHY UNITED FC Reserves (0) 0 Sherborne Town FC Reserves secured a well-earned 3–0 victory over Hamworthy United FC Reserves on a warm afternoon at Raleigh Grove, in a game that featured good footballing patterns from both sides and moments of real quality. The match got off to a bright start with Sherborne settling into the game early, displaying some encouraging passages of play. Their efforts were rewarded midway through the first half when Ollie Crisp broke the deadlock with a composed finish, giving the home side a deserved lead. The tempo of the match dipped slightly as the first half wore on, with both sides battling hard in the heat but unable to carve out clear chances before the interval. HT 1-0 Sherborne came out after the break with renewed energy and doubled their lead through Liam Price, who found the net at the back post following a well-worked set piece. The hosts continued to press and were soon rewarded again – this time Liam Nardiello finishing off a flowing move with a tidy effort to make it 3–0. Sherborne looked dangerous

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ISSUE - 03 6 throughout and were unlucky not to add more to their tally, striking the woodwork on more than one occasion. Despite the scoreline, Hamworthy showed moments of promise and will look to bounce back quickly. A clean sheet and three valuable points cap off a strong team performance from the hosts, who will now turn their attention to a swift rematch against Hamworthy United – the sides are set to meet again at Sherborne on Wednesday evening in the Preliminary Round of the League Cup. GILLINGHAM TOWN FC (1) 3 SWANAGE TOWN & HERSTON FC (2) 4 Swanage Town & Herston FC travelled to Gillingham Town FC and returned to the Purbeck with 3 points following a 7 goal thriller in The Dorset Premier Football League. The first chance of the game fell to Ocean Smith created by Ford but home keeper Hind produced a good save. Swanage were then awarded a penalty, but leading scorer Ford saw his spot kick well saved by Hind who palmed his shot on to the crossbar to safety. Gillingham created a couple of chances that were just off target as they gradually grew into the game. Swanage finally made the breakthrough when Prior burst through but was denied by keeper Hind however Curtis Young followed up for a calm finish. The hosts equalised on 44 minutes through Grady Crittall but a minute later marksman Mark Ford seized on to a free kick from Young to finish from close range to atone for his earlier penalty miss. HT 1-2

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ISSUE - 03 7 Swanage scored their third when Niall Dixon headed home from a Herrington corner. It was centre back Niall Dixon again who completed his brace getting the last touch from a free kick. Swans seemed to then take their foot off the gas as the hosts hit back with goals from Grady Crittall, who completed his brace and Cameron Butler. It was now game on however both sides were unable to add any further goals and the Swans returned to the Purbeck with 3 points and still remain unbeaten this season. Photo courtesy of Gerald Dimarco – ST&H FC DORCHESTER SPORTS FC (1) 3 BOURNEMOUTH SPORTS FC (0) 1 It was the battle of the Sports at the Avenue Stadium in the Dorset Premier Football League as Dorchester Sports FC hosted defending Champions Bournemouth Sports FC who have a very good record , when playing their, but this time it was the home side who took all 3 points. Dorchester started well and had chances to take the lead before the away side had two goals ruled out for off side, The hosts best chance fell to Elliott brown at the back post but he was unable to take advantage, Dorchester’s front 3 were lively and it was Toby Kelly who played in Kieran Coombs to give the home side the lead just before the break. HT 1-0 Owen Peart’s corner was headed in by Brin Doyle for his first Dorchester goal to double the lead, but Bournemouth came back firing, Taylor Webb smashed a goal back with 15 minutes to go, it was out backs to the walls for the home side as Bournemouth then hit the post but Nick Hutchings in the home goal was in fine form, catching everything that Bournemouth threw at him, it was from his catch and quick long ball release to Alex Godfrey in stoppage time that secured the points as the skipper returned from injury to score his first goal of the season to wrap up the points. WESTLAND SPORTS FC (0) 0 HAMWORTHY RECREATION FC Reserves (0) 1 It was a close encounter at Alvington on Saturday in the Dorset Premier Football League as the hosts went in search of their 1st points of the season. To be fair, both sides struggled to create any big chances, but it was the visitors who edged it. It was Hamworthy who had the first big chance after forcing Harrison Wallis to make a fine double save. Sports only chance of the half fell to Harrison Foster whose shot was blocked after looking likely to head into the bottom corner.

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ISSUE - 03 8 HT 0-0 The second half was much of the same with both sides only really creating half chances, Hamworthy did break the deadlock eventually in the 81st minute after they beat the Sports offside trap with right winger Bryce Banfield smashing home from a tight angle. The hosts then felt they should of had a penalty but the referee turned down the appeals such is the current luck of the Alvington outfit !! Hamworthy saw the game out and took home the three points leaving Westland’s still with no points after 4 games. POOLE BOROUGH FC (0) 0 BLANDFORD UNITED FC (2) 4 Another home defeat, and with still no goals scored or even creating a chance these are worrying times for Poole Borough FC as they were Royally beaten by Blandford United FC at the Moor. The away side settled the quicker and a flurry of corners kept the home side on their toes. A number of near misses and Munday saves kept the away side out but a good finish into the bottom corner put the away side in front courtesy of Ryan Horwood. Munday again kept Blandford out before the visitors struck the woodwork twice in quick succession. A bad facial injury caused by a reckless swinging arm, which went

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ISSUE - 03 9 unpunished, held the game up for ten minutes before the away side extended their lead from the spot courtesy of Jake Kelly. HT 0-2 Blandford thought they had added a third seconds in to the second half but it was ruled out for offside but they didn’t wait long for the third with a simple close range effort converted by Steve Smith as usual Munday was in top form in the Borough goal but his heroics were not enough as a fourth was conceded following more poor defending allowing Ashley Cope to wrap up the game. Photo courtesy of Benjamin Smith – BUFC WIMBORNE TOWN FC Reserves (2) 4 BRIDPORT FC Reserves (1) 1 Wimborne Town FC Reserves picked up a deserved 4-1 win against the Bees from Bridport FC Reserves at the New Cuthbury in the Dorset Premier Football League, with a superb piece of Sportsmanship demonstrated by the hosts just before half time ….. Wimborne started the better of the 2 teams but not much separated the sides until James Storey arrowed one into the top corner with 40 minutes on the clock. Wimborne’s second goal was a bizarre scenario where Harrison Snow over played a through pass and as the ball went towards the Bridport keeper, he went to ground with a suspected Achilles rupture and the ball trickled into the net. Then In an example of sportsmanship Wimborne Town FC Reserves let Bridport’s Josh Baker walk the ball from the ko and score a goal to offset the bizarre goal 1 minute prior. HT 2-1 The second half was dominated by Wimborne and further goals came courtesy of James Storey, completing his brace and Taylor Broadley with two well taken goals, so the hosts picked up the 3 points and our thoughts go to the visitor’s keeper who we wish well in his recovery.

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ISSUE - 03 10 COUNTY CORNER Who play open aged Football (Adult) – “KNOW YOUR RIGHTS” IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR SEASON 2025 – 2026 • All clubs with open age teams will be required to have a named Club Welfare Officer at the point of affiliation for a New Season. • All open age teams with 16/17-year-old players must ensure that the team coaches must have an in-date FA DBS in place. • It is the responsibility of clubs to ensure that they are aware of any 16/17-year-olds playing, and to adhere to the FA DBS requirements.

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ISSUE - 03 13 LEAGUE CUP 2025 – 2026 1st Round 26 Aug Verwood Town FC – [A] v Cobham Sports FC 27 Aug Sherborne Town FC Res – [B] v Hamworthy Utd FC Res 2nd Round 10 Sep Wimborne Town FC Res v Gillingham Town FC 16 Sep Bridport FC Res v Westland Sports 17 Sep Dorchester Sports FC v Balti Sports FC 20 Sep Blandford United FC v Swanage Town & Herston FC 20 Sep Bournemouth Electric FC v Poole Borough FC 20 Sep Holt United FC v Portland United FC Res TBC Hamworthy Rec FC Res v Winner [B] TBC Winner[A] v Bournemouth Sports FC Quarter Finals V V V V Semi Finals V V Final V

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ISSUE - 03 14 IFAB – Laws Of The Game Update 25/26 CAPTAINS ONLY PROTOCOL Purpose and Rationale The protocol is designed to strengthen respect between players and referees by formalising that only the team captain may approach the referee to discuss key decisions. The aim is to reduce incidents of mobbing, dissent, and intimidation of match officials — improving the environment for everyone involved in the game. Key Points • Normal, respectful interactions with referees are still permitted; however, dissent (by word or action) remains a yellow card offence — even for captains. • Only the captain from each team is allowed to approach the referee on major decisions. • Captains are responsible for ensuring teammates stay away from the referee during these moments. • Referees may delay the restart to allow captains to communicate messages back to their teams if necessary.

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ISSUE - 03 15 Additional Details • If the goalkeeper is the team captain, an outfield player must be nominated to fulfil this role for referee interactions. • A “captain-only zone” of 4 metres will be established around the referee; no other players are permitted within this area. • Any non-captain entering this zone should be cautioned for dissent by action. If multiple players enter, at least one must be cautioned, and the incident will be reported to the relevant authorities. • Competition organisers are encouraged to introduce sanctions for repeated breaches across the season. National Implementation This protocol will be implemented consistently across: • All professional competitions • The National League Pyramids • County FA-administered football Our approach is to create alignment and consistency from the top tiers to grassroots, improving behaviour towards match officials at every level. Education and Communication We are currently rolling out education for referees, County FAs, Referee Development Officers, and other stakeholders to ensure clear understanding and consistent application. Clarification for Youth, Veterans, Disability, and Grassroots Levels Although IFAB have included an arm signal to initiate the protocol at these levels, in England we will not adopt this. Referees will manage the protocol themselves, using their existing match management skills. If you have any questions or would like to discuss the details further, please don’t hesitate to get in touch through refereedevelopment@thefa.com

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ISSUE - 03 19 The DPL runs a Competition throughout each season to do with Respect and is based around the Points the Match Referee awards each Club in the following areas on a Match Day. • Behaviour of Managers • Behaviour of Players • Behaviour of the Captain Each area is marked out of 10 with 2 points deducted for each Sin Bin received & 3 points deducted for each S6 Red card received - (Foul & Abusive Language) Each block is measured over 5 games with the Club receiving the most marks getting £100.00 from the League – from games 6 – 10 onwards there is also a further award of £50.00 for the side with the most improved performance against the previous block of 5 games.

DPL Dispatch

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