HAMWORTHY Recreation boss Gareth Daniel admitted losing their unbeaten record was the spur they needed to clinch their first Dorset Premier League title since 2005.

Rec made it over the finish line with a game to spare after beating Westland Sports 1-0 at Magna Road on Saturday.

Richard Sands struck after 67 minutes to seal top spot for Daniel in his maiden season as first team manager.

At one point, the club looked as if they would go through the whole campaign unbeaten.

When they suffered their first defeat of the season at Holt United on April 10, some feared Rec would crumble.

After hearing his rivals constantly question the team’s ability to keep going until the end, Daniel was delighted with Rec’s response.

He said: “When we lost to Holt three or four weeks ago, it was always about how we would bounce back from that defeat.

“But since then, we’ve scored 24 goals, conceded one and we’ve had six clean sheets in a row.

“The team has responded well and they’ve finished the season very, very strongly, even though people have doubted how we would finish.”

Despite his side’s success, Daniel is determined to keep Rec moving forward and strengthen up for their title defence next season.

He said: “We said at the start of the season that there were eight sides who genuinely thought they could win the league.

“I think next year will be another very hard season and the league will be very strong and competitive again.

“We will look to get players to the club over the summer to freshen things up and we’ll see what happens.”

Elsewhere, DPL Cup winners Swanage Town and Herston won 2-1 at Wincanton Town, courtesy of goals from Aaron Corby and Will Spetch.

Holt suffered their second straight defeat after going down 3-2 at second-placed Chickerell United. Rob Brackley and Scott Edwards netted for the Bulls.

Despite Martin Warren giving Poole Borough the lead at home to former champions Portland United, the Islanders hit back to run riot 4-1.

In the day’s other games, Sturminster Newton lost 2-0 at home to Weymouth’s second string, while Cranborne went down 1-0 away to Bridport reserves.