Match Report by Joe Sullivan
Dorking Wanderers welcomed Rushall Olympic to Meadowbank for their last pre-season friendly before the 24/25 season kicks off. Wanderers came into this game off the back of a 2-1 win over Farnham Town, in which new signing Rhys Murphy and Leon Keogh scored the goals. This was one of Dorking’s 4 wins from their 6 pre-season games so far this summer; their only loss came against Dulwich Hamlet on the 20th of July. Rhys Murphy, the 33-year-old from Yeovil Town and ex-Arsenal academy player, has settled in very quickly under Marc White, bagging four goals in his first six games for the club. He started again on Saturday up top with strike partner Jason Prior. Dorking fans will be hoping these two can link up throughout the upcoming season as they search for promotion back up to the National League.
A scrappy game to begin with as neither side could really keep the ball long enough to create any chances in the final third. That was until the fifth minute when, Rushall striker, McDonagh, dropped deep and played a nice pass round the corner to Pennant. It looked as though their right-winger was through but George Francomb recovered well and stopped the attack with some good defending.
The ball over the top for their wingers was a common theme throughout the game for Rushall, as their aim was to try and pull apart the Dorking back three. Early warning signs for Marc White’s team as the opposition had a couple of dangerous corners early on. Another chance for Rushall came in the 18th minute when Martin, the away team’s number 17, won the ball in the middle of the pitch with a well-timed tackle and then played a nice ball through to the target man McDonagh, but Camp got back and made a brilliant last-ditch tackle just as their striker was about to shoot, saving a certain opening goal. Moments later, Dorking launched their first attack of the game straight from the tackle by Camp. Briggs got the ball over on the right-hand side and swung in a slightly overhit cross. However, Jason Prior just about kept it in play and cut it back to Muitt on the left side of the box, who was then fouled by the Rushall right-back. Free-kick to the Wanderers. Jimmy Muitt decided to take it himself and aimed for the top right corner, but the goalkeeper denied his effort with a good save and Dorking received their first corner of the game.
Their second corner came in the 27th minute when Rhys Murphy’s cross was blocked. Dorking took it short and the ball found its way to the far post where Prior was waiting to fizz it back across goal to an open Rhys Murphy. Unbelievably, Dorking’s new striker hit the bar from 5 yards out and the ball ricocheted to safety. A couple minutes later, a quick free-kick by Rushall on the half-way line caught Dorking’s defence off guard. Pennant ran on to the long pass but failed to get his shot away on time and Tony Craig cleared the ball. Still no effort on target for Rushall at this point in the game.
The home team had another good opportunity to take the lead on the 35th minute when Josh Taylor came out wide and whipped in a cross from deep between the two centre-backs, towards Prior. He chose to go with his left boot and tried to loft it over the Rushall keeper, who was slightly off his line, when using his head may have been a better option. His effort went over the bar. A miscommunication by a couple of Dorking players in the 38th minute down the right flank, ended up with Pennant racing into the penalty area. He drilled in a low cross to the feet of Gerry McDonagh; however, Camp was there again as he slid in front of the ball and blocked the attempt.
The last action of the half was an altercation between Matt Briggs and McWilliams, after the Rushall player tackled the Dorking right-winger unfairly. A few words and pushes were exchanged before McWilliams grabbed Briggs round his throat. The two players were pulled apart by their teammates and both players were shown a yellow card.
Dorking half time subs:
OFF: Murphy, Briggs, Pybus, Camp
ON: Rutherford, Bobby-Joe Taylor, Moore, Fuller
2nd Half-
Both teams had bright starts to the 2nd half. Dorking had a good opportunity to take the lead when Charlie Carter got in behind the Rushall defence but had no options in the penalty area and couldn’t make anything happen. The ball was smothered by the keeper. In the 54th minute McWilliams raced down the right-wing and put in a good cross but it was cleared. The Rushall right-back ran with such momentum that he collided with the advertising board and required medical attention. During this time the away side made a substitution. The number 8, McGlinchey came off for a trialist. Another injury came in the 60th minute, this time for Carter when he went into a tackle with Luke Benbow. The Dorking midfielder came off worse and was replaced by Aaron Kuhl. The only goal of this pre-season friendly came in the 64th minute, for Rushall Olympic. Danny King played a lovely ball down the wing to the left back, Brad Bood, who hung the ball up for Benbow in the box. His header was saved brilliantly by Foulkes in the Dorking goal but he palmed it straight into the path of a Rushall trialist who smashed it in off the bar from a couple of yards out.
The pressure was on for the Wanderers to get back into the game. The tension had got to some players as they began to rush and give the ball away. Frustration was beginning to show on the pitch, on the bench and in the crowd. Marc White made his last substitution of the game when he brought George Francomb off the pitch and reinstated Josh Taylor to the game. In the 78th minute a terrible mistake that involved Aaron Kuhl and Luke Moore gifted Rushall the chance to kill the match; but their attacker missed the one-on-one and the goal by quite some distance. Dorking had been saved by some poor finishing. It still didn’t seem as though the home team were going to score any time soon as Rushall were pinning them in their own half and pushing for a second. It looked less likely that the Wanderers were going to equalise the more the game went on. In one last attack, a lofted ball by Josh Taylor made its way in behind the Rushall back line in which Luke Moore gave chase to. The goalkeeper rushed off his line and got to the ball, clattering Moore in the process. Desperate penalty appeals were waved away and the referee blew his whistle on a disappointing afternoon for the Wanderers.
Overall, this was not the result or performance White would have wished for on the Dorking’s last pre-season friendly, going into the new campaign, but from previous games there is a lot to be optimistic about.
