BOSS Keith Whatling claimed Hamworthy Recreation’s Dorset Premier League title triumph had been fuelled by the “embarrassing” way rivals Merley had handled the Luke Stone transfer saga.

Stone had struck 16 goals in 10 matches for Rec when Ollie Cherrett swooped for his services in October but the Hamworthy Club-based outfit still won the league by six points.

Whatling told the Daily Echo: “A lot of people labelled us a one-man team but I never believed that at all.

“The lads who had created the chances were still going to carry on and I knew we had players capable of putting them away. It was a shame we lost Luke, he’s a cracking lad but we have a lot of class and quality so I was always very confident in our ability.

“The way the other team behaved made us more determined to see it through. The way they did things on social media was embarrassing to be honest and it really wound up a lot of the lads.

“I saw a different side to our squad. They dug in to win games they would have lost or drawn a year ago. That was the difference in the end.”

Rec, who ended their campaign with a whopping 13-1 victory over Sturminster Marshall, will bid to complete the double by successfully defending the League Cup against Mere at Sherborne on Saturday (3pm).

Stone went on to score 19 goals in 13 matches for Merley and dual-registered with Wimborne Town in Southern South & West, making a jump of three levels.

Poole Borough’s testing Dorset Premier League season finished on a sour note with a 7-0 thumping at Bridport reserves on Monday.

Elsewhere, Merley ended with a thrilling 6-3 success over Shaftesbury Town after a 2-2 draw at Portland United on Saturday denied them a shot the runners-up spot on the final day.

Wareham Rangers won 3-2 at Bridport reserves with the Purbeck Sports Centre outfit set to complete their campaign with a trip to Sherborne Town reserves tonight (8pm).

Hamworthy United reserves lost 2-0 to Mere Town.