Ian Traylor scored both Merthyr Town goals in their 2-1 Southern League away win against Dorchester Town at the Avenue Stadium.

The Martyrs earned a third successive Premier Division win and have earned 10 points from their last four fixtures.

They now play Royston Town away on Tuesday evening.

‘Traylz’ fired Merthyr ahead after 17 minutes and outpaced a Dorchester defender to score with a clinical finish.

“Taylor has good pace and he exploited that, particularly with Merthyr’s second goal,” said Dorchester manager Steve Thompson, a former Bristol City and Wycombe Wanderers midfield player.

“The first goal we conceded was poor from a defensive viewpoint, while Traylor had ground to make up when he chased a pass before his second. But he went past our player and scored.

“We had earned five wins and a draw in our last six home matches and it’s disappointing to see that run come to an end. We hit the bar twice, but I have no complaints about the result.

“Merthyr came here and did a good job in a scrappy game.”

Corey Jenkins recovered for from his ankle injury started for Merthyr, while Owain Jones made his full debut.

Swansea-born Jones, 21, played for Pontardawe Town juniors before he was spotted by his home city club.

Wales under-21 international Jones spent a decade with Swansea City, joining their youth development at the age of 10, and he adds another attacking threat for the Martyrs.

Ryan Prosser returned to the bench after an illness which forced him to miss St Ives Town match.

The Martyrs started brightly and took a deserved lead after 17 minutes when Dorchester tried to play out from the back on a wet and heavy pitch.

Neil Martin and Ross Carmichael were hounded by Jones and Traylor, forcing Martin to roll an under hit pass backwards. Traylor raced onto the loose ball and calmly swept his shot past Chris Weale.

Merthyr forwards continued to harry Dorchester’s centre-backs, allowing Jones to be slotted through on goal. But as the striker looked to pull the trigger, Carmichael slid in brilliantly and cleared the danger.

Ashley Evans headed a Corey Jenkins cross just over the bar after 24 minutes, while Weale made a double save to deny Jones and then Traylor.

The Martyrs added their second on 47 minutes when Harry Franklin’s pass allowed Traylor to run past the final defender and cooly slot into the net.

After 65 minutes Dorchester reduced the arrears when Luke Winsper hit a fierce strike from 25 yards to pull a goal back.

The home team had some pressure, but Merthyr had opportunities to extend the lead.

Kerry Morgan shot over when clean through, while Traylor’s cross was cut out by goalkeeper Weale when Prosser looked set to score.

Home goalkeeper Weale was voted man of the match which speaks volumes for the Martyrs performance. They are now 17th in the table on 44 points with 10 games left to play

Dorchester Town: Weale, Egan, Martin (Lanahan), Rose, Carmichael, Bowles (Lowes), Bastick, Winsper, Pope (Rodriguez), Leigh-Gilchrist, Collins. Unused subs: Ayunga, Brookes

Merthyr Town: Hewitson, Davies, Tancock, Evans, Patten, Harris, Jenkins (Prosser), Wright, Jones (Morgan), Franklyn (Reddy), Traylor. Unused subs: John, Price

Attendance: 409

EvoStik Southern League Premier Division

Merthyr Town remaining fixtures 2017-18

March

Saturday 13 v Royston Town A

Saturday 17 v St Neots Town H

Saturday 24 v Biggleswade Town A

Saturday 31 v Bishops Stortford A

April

Monday 2 v Frome Town H

Saturday 7 v King’s Lynn Town A

Tuesday 10 v Chesham United H

Saturday 14 v Kings Langley H

Saturday 21 v Banbury United A

Saturday 28 v Redditch United H

Premier Division top scorers: 1 Brandon Goodship (Weymouth) 28 (including 3 penalties); 2 John Mills 25 (6); 3 Aaron O’Connor (Kettering Town) 19 (0); 4 Ian Traylor (Merthyr Town) 18 (1); 5 Levi Landricombe (Tiverton Town) 19 (1); 6 Jefferson Louis (Chesham United) 18 (3); 7 Adam Marriott (Royston Town) 18 (4); 8 Matthew Stevens (Kettering Town) 17 (1); 9 James Dobson (Slough Town) 16 (0); 10 Christopher Flood (Slough Town) 15 (1); 11 Jamie Cureton (Bishops Stortford) 15 (1); 12 Samuel Smart (Basingstoke Town) 15 (0).

EvoStik Southern League

Premier Table

#	Team	Pl	HW	HD	HL	AW	AD	AL	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
1.	Hereford	35	14	1	3	12	4	1	26	5	4	86	28	58	83
2.	King’s Lynn Town	36	12	4	1	11	3	5	23	7	6	79	31	48	76
3.	Weymouth	37	12	3	3	11	3	5	23	6	8	80	42	38	75
4.	Kettering Town	34	13	2	1	8	5	5	21	7	6	82	39	43	70
5.	Slough Town	31	13	4	3	6	3	2	19	7	5	76	36	40	64
6.	Chesham United	37	9	6	4	8	5	5	17	11	9	74	44	30	62
7.	Tiverton Town	35	13	1	4	6	1	10	19	2	14	58	53	5	59
8.	Banbury United	37	6	6	7	10	4	4	16	10	11	75	49	26	58
9.	Royston Town	33	12	1	4	6	3	7	18	4	11	62	45	17	58
10.	Basingstoke Town	36	12	3	2	3	4	12	15	7	14	71	54	17	52
11.	Hitchin Town	35	9	4	4	5	4	9	14	8	13	51	50	1	50
12.	Frome Town	34	6	3	8	9	2	6	15	5	14	65	66	-1	50
13.	St Neots Town	37	8	4	6	5	7	7	13	11	13	61	65	-4	50
14.	Stratford Town	35	7	6	4	6	3	9	13	9	13	53	55	-2	48
15.	Farnborough	37	8	2	8	6	3	10	14	5	18	70	90	-20	47
16.	Redditch United	36	9	7	2	3	2	13	12	9	15	60	57	3	45
17.	Merthyr Town	36	7	5	6	4	6	8	11	11	14	60	75	-15	44
18.	Biggleswade Town	35	7	5	5	5	2	11	12	7	16	39	42	-3	43
19.	Bishop’s Stortford	35	7	3	8	4	4	9	11	7	17	54	63	-9	40
20.	Dorchester Town	37	9	2	8	1	7	10	10	9	18	54	72	-18	39
21.	Kings Langley	37	4	7	7	2	5	12	6	12	19	44	77	-33	30
22.	St Ives Town	33	2	4	9	4	2	12	6	6	21	43	78	-35	24
23.	Dunstable Town	37	2	1	15	1	3	15	3	4	30	24	119	-95	13
24.	Gosport Borough	35	1	2	15	1	1	15	2	3	30	23	114	-91	9