BRIDPORT manager John Godbold has revealed the circumstances behind a walkover awarded against the Bees’ second string.

Bridport Reserves, led by manager Richard Middleton, were unable to raise a side against Dorchester Sports on Saturday.

The reserves were struggling with unavailability and injury.

Dorset Premier League rules state players must be signed on at that level.

Therefore, although Bridport have three men’s sides, the majority of their first team could not drop down.

READ MORE: Bridport Res 1-4 Balti Sports - match report

The same applied to the Bees’ third team players stepping up, resulting in Bridport having to concede the three points.

Speaking to the Bridport News, Godbold said: “We took over a situation where certain players were signed on and we didn’t have enough people.

“We’ve got a (first-team) squad of 18, so we’ve got plenty of players. It was just the logistics and the cost of them coming from another club.

“In difficult times, we weren’t in a position for them to be signed on.

“I know people will look at that, but it’s sometimes understanding what’s gone on prior and the situation we found ourselves in.”

In late April, a Bridport XI lost 3-1 to Dorchester Under-23s in a friendly as Godbold got the chance to assess his new-look squad.

He said: “The DPL situation has been good in one way but difficult in others.

“But I’ve been doing lots of watching and listening – I would’ve had to do that at pre-season, so that’s been a positive.

“We’ve got about 10 players that aren’t signed on (at DPL level), so it gives us a chance to look at them.

“(Dorchester) like to pass the ball quickly and play through the thirds, you can see they’ve had good work done on that – the 3G suits that.

“Second half they were able to use width very effectively.”