DORSET secured promotion to the second tier of English Futsal despite a 3-1 defeat to Bristol.
After a merger of the Futsal leagues, Dorset’s spot in Tier Two South has been confirmed for next season, meaning trips to Southend, Cambridge, Milton Keynes and to West London – one of the biggest clubs in the country with a following of more than one million subscribers on YouTube.
The club thought they may have missed out on promotion after their defeat to Bristol, but their spot in the second tier has now been confirmed.
Dorset’s Joe Dibben said: “I think it’s really exciting step for the club.
“It’s the right time for us to be there in terms of how quickly we’re developing as an organisation, with all the youth teams that we have and the big events that our home games are now becoming.
(Image: Callum Huddy for Dorset Futsal Club) “So after the several hundred people we’ve had, the recent games, it should be really exciting.”
Against Bristol, their visitors to LEAF Academy had control of the game, sitting deep and inviting Dorset onto them.
They scored two first half goals on transition to lead 2-0 at halftime, with Dorset struggling to move the ball quickly enough to breach the Bristol defence.
(Image: Callum Huddy for Dorset Futsal Club) After the break, Dorset started the second half with renewed energy and scored through Claudio Carvalho to make it 2-1.
But, despite Dorset seeming to gain momentum, it was Bristol who regained control of the game and once again scored in transition, to seal a deserved 3-1 win.
Up next for Dorset is their first-ever national cup final, as they travel to the Manchester Velodrome to meet Carlisle next weekend in the NFL League Cup final.