A frustrating evening on the road sees Dorking fall to defeat at Tonbridge Angels.

The hosts kicked off on a crisp autumn evening at Longmead Stadium. Tonbridge started with intent, quickly winning a free kick after a handball near our right-hand corner flag. The resulting free kick took a slight deflection off the wall and fell to their number 14, Jamie Fielding, who backheeled the ball into Foulkes’ net.

Tonbridge sustained their pressure, creating a major opportunity with a two-on-one break against George Francombe. However, the attacker’s pass across the box narrowly missed his teammate, who would have had a clear shot from close range.

Our first shot of the game came from Josh Brooking, who picked up the ball at the edge of the box and fired a shot, but it didn’t trouble the hosts’ keeper, Toby Steward.

After a Tonbridge corner was comfortably gathered by Foulkes, we launched a counterattack with Brooking playing in Alfie Rutherford. He rounded the keeper, but his effort was cleared off the line by a covering defender. The resulting corner was easily dealt with by the home defence.

The first half concluded with similar action as we cleared another Tonbridge corner, breaking quickly down the right with Brooking. His excellent cross found Rutherford, but his header went wide.

Half time Tonbridge Angels 1 – 0 Dorking Wanderers.

Wanderers manager Marc White made one change at halftime, with left wing back Seb Bowerman being replaced by Jordan Norville-Williams.

We started the second half on the front foot, dominating possession and passing purposefully in the Tonbridge half. This led to a great chance when Jimmy Muitt broke down the right flank and whipped in a cross, eventually finding Brooking, whose powerful shot was cleared off the line by a Tonbridge defender.

Our second substitution came at the hour mark, when center-back Rob Milson was replaced by Bobby-Joe Taylor, who shifted to the left flank while Norville-Williams moved to left-sided center-back.

Another excellent opportunity arose as a cross found Rutherford at the penalty spot, forcing Steward to make a sharp save to keep us from equalising.

We continued to pile on the pressure, with a great cross from Bobby-Joe bouncing through the penalty area without connecting with an attacker or defender. Norville-Williams then stepped up to take a free kick just outside the box; though he appeared set to cross, his powerful shot caught the keeper off guard but narrowly missed the near post. Shortly after, the gaffer made our final substitution as Matt Briggs replaced Niall McManus.

Our last chance of the game saw a major penalty appeal turned down following a long throw from Brooking that found Briggs, whose shot was blocked by a defender, leading to calls for a handball from our fans.

Tonbridge’s first and final real chance of the half came in the closing stages, with a curling effort that forced a diving save from Foulkes.

Despite our best efforts, we were unable to find the equaliser, and the game ended 1-0 to the home side. Join us this Saturday as we look to get back to winning ways against Welling United at Meadowbank.