BOSS Steve Cuss praised Luke Stone for sticking to his task after the striker had bounced back from missing a penalty to emerge as Wimborne Town’s match-winner.

Stone, who had seen his first-half spot-kick superbly saved by Wood goalkeeper Tom King, bagged his first goal in the Southern League deep into injury-time at Meadowbank.

The 24-year-old, who plundered a hatful of goals in the Dorset Premier League for Merley Cobham and Hamworthy Recreation, linked up with the Magpies in January.

Stone, one of the most prolific marksmen in the country at step seven, initially dual registered and continued to play for Merley on Saturdays, while featuring for Wimborne in midweek.

But having decided to join Wimborne permanently, Stone made an immediate impact after being handed his full debut by Cuss in Division One South & West.

Cuss told the Daily Echo: “His performance shows he is a real goalscorer. He came here to try to make an impression at a higher level and has certainly started in the right way.

“In those circumstances, where you miss a penalty, some players may look to shy away for the rest of the game but real strikers keep getting in goalscoring positions.

“Luke did that throughout and got his reward. He was played through by Jamie Davidson and it was a neat and tidy finish. He took a touch, composed himself and slotted it home.

“He wanted to get in the danger areas all the time and didn’t let the penalty miss affect him one bit. He was confident he could carry on and get the winner.

“Luke also won the penalty. He showed really good strength to turn the centre-half and drove into the box before being tripped.

“Mark Gamble, our regular penalty-taker, was unavailable and Luke showed willing to take it. He was denied by an excellent save but it shows he wants to score goals.

“It was Luke’s decision to come to us permanently. We very much wanted it to happen when we dual registered him but were patient and happy to wait.

“He had half-an-hour as a substitute against Bridgwater and I think that whetted his appetite. He has all the attributes to be very successful at this level.”

Victory, Wimborne’s ninth away league win this season, leaves them 10 points shy of the play-off places with just nine games remaining.

Cuss added: “It was a really good performance. We were strong throughout defensively and always looked a threat going forward.

“Although the goalkeeper made a really good save from the penalty, we stuck to it and always looked capable of scoring. It took until the 92nd minute but we got there in the end and deserved to win.”

Magpies: Harvell, Arnold, Oliver, Maybury, Biles, Stokoe, Clarke, Griffin, Davidson, Holmes (Waters, 87), Stone. Unused subs: Costello, Roast.