Page 24 - Yate Town FC v Dorchester Town 010122

The return to the top Southern Division was a rollercoaster of
emotions for Dorchester fans. Having been a mid-table team for a number
of years, a brush with relegation came at the start of the nineties,
and Stuart Morgan was introduced as manager in 1993. In his first full
season, Morgan took the club to sixth in the league, followed by the sale
of Darren Garner to Rotherham United for £30,000 during the summer.
The following seasons were a mixture of highs-and-lows, flirting
with relegation on a number of occasions, facing Oxford United in the 1st
Round of the FA Cup, reaching the last 16 of the FA Trophy for only the
second time, and finishing fourth in the Premier Division in 1997/98.
Unfortunately, in the following seasons, the Magpies were unable to
rekindle the same form, and following a number of close-shaves at the
wrong end of the table, the club were relegated to the Eastern Division at
the end of the 2000/01 season, despite a strong FA Cup run culminating in
a 3–1 First Round defeat at Wigan Athletic's 25,000 all-seater JJB Stadium.
Under the guidance of manager Mark Morris, Dorchester's young
squad regained their Premier Division status within two years, defeating
King's Lynn on the final day of the 2002/03 season to take the Eastern
Division title ahead of Eastbourne Borough, scoring 114 goals in their 42
league games.
The first season back in the Premier Division was a difficult one but
the club succeeded to reach the end-of-season play-offs, where victories
over Bath City and Tiverton Town saw Dorchester become a Conference
club for the first time in the newly formed Conference South division.
A mid-table finish the following year ended with the resignation of
Mark Morris – arguably the club's most successful manager in recent
history – with Mick Jenkins taking charge of the first team. His reign,
however, was short-lived. Despite the club's tenth success in the Dorset
Senior Cup, the team narrowly avoided relegation by finishing 17th in the
league, and Jenkins was sacked just a month later in the wake of Eddie
Mitchell taking over the ownership of the club.
Mitchell's arrival at the helm saw former Dorchester midfielder
Shaun Brooks installed as Director of Football, and the club announced it
would be making the step up to full-time football ready for the 2007/08
season. The Magpies maintained Conference South football until the
2013/14 season, when relegation to the Southern League occurred, where
they have remained to this day.
The club became a Community Benefit Society (CBS) in the summer
of 2015. Since then, a 3G pitch has been laid at The Avenue Stadium, which
has become a hub of activity and the home of sport in the town.