Jason Prior helped secure back-to-back home wins at Meadowbank as his brace, along with Jimmy Muitt’s finish, saw Wanderers run out 3-1 winners in a dominant performance over Slough Town.

It’s becoming customary for us to start home games on the front foot, and once again, Wanderers were the early pace-setters as Alfie Rutherford began the half with two big chances. His first effort saw him drive into the box to get himself one-on-one, but Horlock spread himself low to block Rutherford’s drilled strike. His second, however, forced a fantastic reflex save to the goalkeeper’s right after Alfie wriggled past defenders, drove into the box, and aimed for the top-right corner, only for Horlock to get a crucial hand to it.

The strong start set the tempo, and we grabbed the opener just over twenty minutes in as Jason Prior and Alfie Rutherford linked up yet again. Some brilliant work in midfield saw Charlie Carter beat two players and unleash a shot from distance, with Horlock spilling the ball into Rutherford’s path. Unselfishly, Alfie squared it across the six-yard box for Prior to tap home into an empty net. 1-0.

We nearly doubled our lead just two minutes later when Briggsy battled with Lewis Miccio, won possession, and cut the ball back to Alf Rutherford, but his scuffed effort on the swivel trickled agonisingly wide of the left-hand post.

Slough’s resistance wouldn’t hold for much longer, as we made it 2-0 with a fantastic team move just after the half-hour mark. With several men in red involved in midfield, Carter delivered a cross-field ball to Briggs on the right, who squared it to Jimmy Muitt. With a quick touch and a sliding finish, Jimmy fired into the side netting. 2-0.

After signing a one-year contract extension just days earlier, Alfie was desperate to mark the occasion with a goal. He came close again when Briggs broke down the left and delivered a perfect cross into his path, but once again, Horlock was there to deny him.

However, it wasn’t a completely perfect first half for Wanderers, as the Rebels pulled one back just before the break through top scorer Slavi Spasov. A failure to clear our lines allowed Miccio to deliver the ball into the striker’s feet, and he turned before drilling a low shot into the bottom corner via Foulkes’ near post. 2-1.

HALF-TIME: DORKING WANDERERS 2-1 SLOUGH TOWN

The early stages of the second half saw us continue to dominate, and Jason Prior thought he had his second goal of the game when he struck a powerful volley home from a corner. However, the referee disallowed it for a foul, despite strong protests from both players and fans behind the goal.

With Rutherford’s stinging strike being parried away by Horlock, it felt like it just wasn’t going to be his day. Marc responded by making two changes to help see out the game, bringing on Rhys Murphy for Rutherford and Jordan Norville-Williams for Briggs.

We remained in control, and eventually, our dominance paid off as we sealed the victory with a third goal. With twenty-five minutes to play, a pinpoint corner delivery from Rob Milsom found Jason Prior, who lost his marker and powered a header towards the top corner. Although Horlock got a hand to it, the pace of the ball was too much as it deflected off the woodwork and into the net—what’s quickly becoming a trademark Prior finish. 3-1.

Minutes later, Jack Young replaced Charlie Carter, and Slough nearly capitalised on a defensive lapse. Substitute David Ogbonna found himself one-on-one with Foulkes after a failed clearance from Rob Milsom, but the Wanderers keeper rushed out well to deny him. Ogbonna had another bite at the cherry, but Dan Gallagher was quick to sweep up the danger, with Morgan Williams eventually clearing the ball.

With Niall McManus and Bobby-Joe Taylor replacing Jimmy Muitt and Rob Milsom late on, Slough posed no further threat to our penalty area. The final whistle confirmed our rise to the top of the National League South on goal difference, securing our fifth win in six games. Next up we make the short trip to Hampton and Richmond on Tuesday evening, and we hope to see you there!

FULL-TIME: DORKING WANDERERS 3-1 SLOUGH TOWN