Dorking Wanderers 1 Tonbridge Angels 3

Match 93/21/1957 - Saturday, 5th February 2022 - National League South

Dorking Wanderers (1) 1 Rutherford 7
Tonbridge Angels (1) 3 Turner 36 Wood 61,75
Attendance: 1,504

Admission: £9 Senior
Programme: £2
Mileage: 106/5,099

When an opposing manager says you were good you know it’s been a good afternoon. When that manager is Marc White and he says that Tonbridge Angels were excellent, then the afternoon has been a memorable one. In the midst of the lockdown and the curtailment of the season I thought the Dorking boss was a bit of a twat, with his hair-brained schemes principally designed to offer his club the opportunity of promotion from a situation that was not going to afford it. Among those rants of self-interest there were elements that made sense and some of his recent interviews, even prior to this unexpected defeat, were measured and he came across as very likeable, even if the hat perched on the top of his head looks a bit strange!

Dorking Wanderers came into this game on the back of 10 straight league wins and sitting proudly at the head of the table, six points clear of Maidstone United. So, despite Tonbridge supporters turning out in big numbers, there was not a great sense of expectation.

Steve McKimm had Sonny Miles, making his record-breaking 377th starting appearance, available again and recalled loanee James Taylor to the starting line-up with Harry Hudson and Adam Coombes taking their places on the bench.

Dorking’s Meadowbank Stadium has always been a bit soulless but their apparent preparation for National Conference football next season has seen the introduction of a strange version of segregation, that allows supporters to mix in an outside catering area, but reduces the atmosphere inside the ground even further.

Dorking’s recent run has included scoring goals for fun including five goal hauls against Billericay and Ebbsfleet and an eight goal demolition of Havant, so when their leading goalscorer Alfie Rutherford capitalised on an uncharacteristic mistake from Miles after eight minutes, who misjudged a lofted ball in a swirling wind, Angels supporters were justifiably fearing the worst.

Tonbridge found themselves under a fair amount of pressure but they limited their hosts to a couple of opportunities, but only one of which tested Henly to any degree.

Meanwhile, the Angels were slowly working their way back into the game with Joe Turner to the fore and when he took a heavy challenge that the referee inexplicably chose to ignore, it was at the back end of a period when the decisions seemed to be going against the visitors.

After 36 minutes, Tonbridge got reward for their hard work when a cross from Luke Jenkins found Turner who cut in from the left and buried a shot into the bottom corner.

A turning point in the game arrived on the stroke of half-time when the Dorking skipper, Barry Fuller was dismissed for a poor challenge on Tom Parkinson. Fuller had already received a yellow card for dissent when a penalty appeal was turned away but his tackle brought a straight red from the official.

White made the rather strange decision at the beginning of the second half by making all three of his substitutions in one go that appeared to signal an attacking intent and within four minutes, Rutherford missed a golden opportunity that was probably a bigger turning point in the game than the sending-off. A straightforward channel ball saw the Dorking hitman bearing down on goal and when he rounded Henly one would have staked your mortgage on the net rippling but his rolled effort drifted wide of the far post.

And, from that point, it was the visitors who took almost complete control of the game. The midfield trio of Tom Beere, James Taylor and Adam Lovatt gave their counterparts no time to breathe and cracks were beginning to appear at the back as free kicks were being conceded with regular abandon.

On 61 minutes, one of the free kicks was made to count. Jenkins lofted the ball into the area and substitute Sami El-Abd (no friend on Tonbridge supporters over the years) sliced a clearance that came back off the crossbar for Tommy Wood to bundle home.

Jenkins had a shot that cleared the bar before needing to be substituted after what had been another fine performance by the 19-year-old AFC Wimbledon loanee.

On 74 minutes, the Tonbridge support were praying that ultimately they would not rue a golden chance as a shot from Wood, when unmarked on the left side of the six yard box, sailed over the bar.

But, within a minute, the fans were cheering his name once more as he scored his second goal to put the Angels 3-1 up. A shot from Jamie Fielding was only parried by the Dorking goalkeeper, Dan Lincoln, and Wood was on hand to gobble up the rebound.

Rutherford had a shot that brought a regulation save out of Henly as the league leaders mounted a nothing more than huff and puff attempt to save the game.

On a day when none of the other relegation threatened sides take full points these were three well deserved points and how do we know they were deserved? Because Marc White said so!