Bromley 2-1 Dorking
Dorking missed out on the opportunity to set a new away record in the National League, falling behind late on to a long range- effort against an in- form Bromley.
Marc White made two changes from Saturday’s disappointing FA Cup exit at the hands of Horsham. Luke Moore was handed the captains armband in place of the absent Jason Prior, whilst Ryan Seager earned a spot in the side ahead of Callum Kennedy.
The Wanderers came into the encounter in somewhat of a barren spell against Bromley, having never scored at Hayes Lane prior to Tuesday evening. However, with six minutes on the clock, a defensive mishap from the home side allowed Dorking to open the scoring. A poor back pass from Bromley’s Lewis Passley left the ball at feet of Thomas Blair, who coolly brushed into the box and struck low beyond Grant Smith.
Bromley have been reliable at home in recent weeks, with their last defeat at Hayes Lane coming in August, and looked to exemplify such form with a swift equaliser. Amidst a period of mounting pressure on the Wanderer’s, the hosts would be granted their wish. An in-swinging corner on the fifteen-minute mark met the oncoming Deji Elewere, blasting a header past Harrison Male for Bromley’s leveller.
Andy Woodman’s men maintained their pressure on Male’s goal in search of a quick turnaround, with their best chance of the latter stages being provided by a defender. Lewis Leigh, involved in the first goal via his in- swinging corner, found himself on the end of another set piece, on this occasion sending a free-kick inches above the crossbar.
Dorking looked to avoid another close call but could’ve been caught out a minute later by top scorer Cheek. The in-form centre- forward came racing into the box for the Ravens in sight of his eighth of the season and Bromley’s second on the night, in the end only finding the hands of Harrison Male froma low- driven strike.
HT 1-1
Bromley begun the second half in the same manner that they finished the first by piling continued pressure on the Wanderers, however found themselves unable to break a resilient Dorking back line. A gliding run into the midfield from Corey Whitely created shooting space for the winger, ultimately sending a shot straight at Male between the sticks.
As the game ticked away, Bromley began to grow tedious against a defiant Dorking. A blinding move from Ben Krauhaus into the box caused momentary concern for Male in goal, with the youngster sending the resulting effort into the collective arms of the Dorking shot- stopper.
Dorking were almost rewarded for their defensive stability with a late winner, having been presented a handful of chances in the dying minutes. Minutes after a comical attemptfrom substitute Niall McManus in hitting the ball on his hand, Josh Taylor, an ex-teammate of ‘keeper Grant Smith at neighbours Maidstone, forced the hand of his former- teammate through a blinding strike, producing a strong save from the latter.
Marc White’s men were almost at the finish line of a famous point in South London, but unfortunately had their work undone via a curling effort from Corey Whitely. In the fifth and final minute of stoppage time, the in- form winger picked up the ball from distance and powered home past a bewildered Harrison Male, ending an encounter which Dorking came agonisingly close to collecting a point from.
Tonight’s result sees the Wanderers slip to seventeenth in the National League table, ahead of this weekend’s expected sell out at home to Aldershot Town.
Bromley: Smith, Elewere, Leigh (Woods 59), Passley (Miller 76), Cheek, Okoli, Webster ©, Whitely, Topalloj, Krauhaus, Olomola (Dennis 59)
Substitutes: Sharman- Lowe, Reynolds, Woods, Dennis, Miller
Unused Substitutes: Sharman- Lowe, Reynolds
Bookings: Whitely, Leigh, Krauhaus
Dorking Wanderers: Male, Pybus, Briggs (McManus 66), Cook, Taylor, Moore ©, Seager, Gallagher, Ottoway, Blair (Joe- Taylor 57), Francomb (Fuller, 79)
Substitutes: Huk, Joe- Taylor, McManus, Kennedy, Fuller
Unused Substitutes: Huk, Kennedy
Bookings: Taylor, Pybus, McManus
Officials: Jason Richardson, Thomas Cooke, David Pilling, Ross Murphy
Attendance: 2,135 (157 away)
George Taylor