Dorking Wanderers 3 Slough Town 1
Vanarama National League South October 10th 2020 Dorking made it two wins in two for the opening week of the new season, after defeating Slough Town at Meadowbank 3 - 1. Having gone behind via an own goal midway through the first half, goals from Alfie Rutherford and Ed Harris put Wanderers ahead going into the break, and Jason Prior capped a more commanding second half display and the three points with a superb individual strike 15 minutes from time. With Barry Fuller suspended following last weekend's sending off, Marc White was able to bring Callum Kennedy back into the starting eleven having been absent from the matchday squad with injury since the final game of pre-season. It would be the only change from Tuesday's win at Eastbourne. An even start to the game saw both sides have chances early on; Sean Fraser lashing a volley inside the area, blocked close to goal, before Rutherford spurned a good headed opportunity, nodding wide from a corner ball. The opening period was broken up by a couple of stoppages as Prior and Niall McManus collided, both up fairly quickly and ok to play on. Then, Kennedy would go down off the ball shortly after, concerns that he may be troubled again by the injury that had kept him out in recent weeks. He was replaced by Sam Beard. Slough's more direct approach and threat from set pieces and wide was difficult to handle in last season's encounters, and despite showing signs of being more dynamic when moving the ball through midfield this time around, that more recognised threat manifested midway through the half and led to the opening goal. Having gone close to getting a contact from successive deliveries, Ed Harris would unfortunately be unable to avoid stabbing the ball into the bottom right corner of his own net when trying to clear under pressure in the six-yard box. Like last Saturday in the cup, Wanderers were rapid in response to going behind, and got back on terms within three minutes. A chipped ball from midfield found Rutherford in the penalty area, doing well to bring the ball down and retain it, he then showed excellent strength to hold off his defensive counterparts, and slotted home a composed finish. Matt Lench tried an ambitious effort as he was going to ground from 30 odd yards out, winning a corner from a deflection, Lee Togwell then getting on the end of it at the back post and heading over. Rutherford would again have a couple of good headed opportunities go off target as the game continued to sway back and forth steadily, but as half-time drew closer Wanderers ascended, and took the lead. McManus strike after cutting in from the left was nearly diverted on target by the deft flick of Prior, but the ball then took a touch off a defender and behind for a corner. The subsequent delivery was met by Ed Harris, running into a surprising amount of space available at the back post, and slamming his header home. Prior would nod wide and McShane would drive a strike over the bar as Wanderers continued to press in stoppage time. Half-Time: Dorking 2 Slough 1 Jimmy Muitt kickstarted a second half where he would continually cause Slough problems down the right, firing straight down the keeper from the edge of the box a few minutes into the restart. After a good spell of possession, the ball would then make it's way out to the same channel for Isaac Philpot to cross. His delivery found Wes Fogden, who headed just over from a good central position. The tireless display of the midfielder spearheaded Wanderers taking further control of the ball and the game throughout the second half. McManus would thread a ball through to the former Havant & Waterlooville man in the area, doing well to stay on his feet his eventual strike was straight down Jack Turner. Ed Harris would get on the end of another corner, this time heading over, before Fogden and McShane couldn't quite produce an end product after pouncing on a poorly taken quick free kick by the visitors. With a quarter of an hour to go, Prior would produce a moment of real quality to seal the win. After penalty appeals following a corner kick had been waved away, he worked some space from nearly 25 yards out, and drove a superb effort into the top right corner. If only fans were in to see it. The Wanderers back line had kept Slough quiet throughout the afternoon, 'The Rebels' efforts on goal reduced to coming from distance as Lench and sub Dan Roberts, who bagged a hat-trick in the contest between the sides back in February, drove over the bar from just outside the area, Lench also also hitting the wall from a set piece. Prior and McShane would also both have unsuccessful direct free kick attempts late on as well, not quite able to put further gloss on the victory. Marc White spoke to Gary Pascoe after the match: 'In parallels to Eastbourne it was a slow start but when we got going, we really got going, and we deserved to win the game. Partnerships are forming, and Prior's had a great start to the season. Thought we got in a lot of dangerous areas, and could have scored more goals.' On Callum Kennedy's injury: 'The game was tainted by Kennedy getting injured, similar to what he done at Billericay previously. We can only support him and hope he comes back from it.' Daniel Stobbart
Dorking Wanderers (3-5-2): 1 Slav Huk, 2 Isaac Philpot, 5 Ed Harris, 6 Niall McManus, 7 Jimmy Muitt, 9 Jason Prior (c), 10 Alfie Rutherford (18 Luke Moore 69'), 11 James McShane, 12 Callum Kennedy (3 Sam Beard 20'), 23 Wes Fogden, 15 Kane Wills (20 Dan Gallagher 82')
Unused Subs: 16 Nicky Wheeler, 14 Jake Gallagher
Goals: Rutherford 26', Harris 43', Prior 75'
Yellow Cards: Beard 70', Harris 90+'
Slough Town (4-2-3-1): 1 Jack Turner, 3 Louis Lomas, 4 Sam Togwell (c), 6 Lee Togwell (19 Jack McKnight 80'), 7 Max Worsfold (20 Paul Hodges 60'), 8 Matt Lench, 11 Warren Harris (10 Dan Roberts 67'), 12 Cameron McGilp, 15 Aaron Kuhl, 16 Sean Fraser, 18 Ryan Bird
Unused Subs: 2 Josh Jackman, 13 Felix Davies
Goals: Harris og 23'
Yellow Cards: Worsfold 59', Lench 70'
Referee: Joel Mannix
Sponsors Man Of The Match: Jason Prior
Stats: (provided by Olly Wyse @Olly_Wyse)
Dorking Slough
3 Goals 1
6 Shots (on target) 2
10 Shots (off target) 11
7 Corners 4
13 Fouls. 14
21 Crosses. 12
1 Offsides 0
2 Yellow Cards 2
0 Red Cards 0
63% Possession 37%