An incredible game of football in what could only be described as a National League play-off classic saw Wanderers come out of the wrong side of a 4-3 thriller which included four goals inside the last ten minutes.

An exciting start graced Meadow Park, with plenty of heavy challenges from both sides setting this game up to be a classic National League play-off clash. A fast start for the Wanderers saw us enjoy the majority of possession, and with just three minutes played, Brennan Camp had appeals for a penalty waved away after being dragged down by a Wood defender.

That bright start brought about the first real chance of the game a minute later, as talisman Jason Prior pounced on a Tony Craig header across the box following a free-kick deep inside our own half. However, his half-volley on the turn bounced agonisingly over Ashmore and the woodwork.

Appeals were later waved away for another penalty inside the first ten minutes, as a fantastic outside-of-the-foot pass from Alfie Rutherford set Niall McManus away down the left—only for his cross to strike a Boreham Wood hand, with the referee subsequently awarding a corner instead.

Despite the tough-to-take setbacks for Wanderers, we pressed on, camping the hosts deep in their own 18-yard area during a five-minute spell, which resulted in various strikes from Josh Taylor being blocked before eventually rolling through to Nathan Ashmore.

However, disaster struck just minutes later as Boreham Wood surged forward on the counterattack, following a quick long throw from their goalkeeper. The ball was immediately threaded through to Eric Sousa, who dispatched it beyond Foulkes into the bottom corner to give his side the lead on 18 minutes. Wanderers, however, will feel hard done by, as although they didn’t play to the whistle, controversy arose when the linesman raised his flag for offside—only for the referee to overrule his decision. 1-0.

Despite going behind against the run of play, we continued to dominate. Jordan Norville-Williams and Charlie Carter linked up well to force a smart block from the Wood defence from a corner, producing our best chance following the goal.

Sousa, however, continued to cause problems for Boreham Wood, capitalising on a poor pass from Tony Craig and using his neat footwork to create space—only for his fierce shot to swerve just wide of the far post.

Another big chance arose when yet another handball shout was waved away by referee Niall Smith. Charlie Carter picked up the scraps and curled an effort towards the far corner from the left. The shot was fierce and evaded all the bodies on the way through, despite multiple men in orange queuing up at the back post.

The dominance continued with Wanderers firmly in control, but despite heavy spells of possession, we went into the break a goal down and needing to overturn the deficit in the second half.

HALF-TIME: BOREHAM WOOD 1-0 DORKING WANDERERS

Second-half proceedings started much like the first, with a frantic opening as both sides competed for every ball. This time, it was the referee’s turn to deny Boreham Wood several penalties, with shouts—most notably as Abdul Abdulmalik went to ground—turned away by the man in the middle.

Then came the big turning point of the night. Jimmy Muitt broke away from the Boreham Wood defence with some fantastic footwork and played a superb ball into Alfie Rutherford. He had time to turn and strike goalwards, the shot taking a massive deflection on the way through to roll into the bottom corner, wrong-footing Ashmore in the process. With just eight minutes gone in the second half, Dorking were back level. 1-1.

Emotions were running high in WD6. After a huge Sousa challenge on Muitt, both teams came together as tensions flared on the pitch. The goal for Wanderers was massive, but the game was far from over. Marc White responded by bringing Matt Briggs on for Niall McManus following the equaliser.

In extraordinary fashion, the turnaround was completed just fifteen minutes after the restart. A free-kick delivered into the box from Jordan Norville-Williams on the right-hand side found Jason Prior rising like a salmon at the back post. He headed down into the ground, and Ashmore couldn’t keep it out. 1-2.

The ecstasy of the second goal surged through Wanderers. We made further changes to freshen up the legs heading into the closing stages, as Alfie Rutherford’s fantastic shift came to an end, replaced by Rhys Murphy.

However, fortunes turned slightly on their head as Wanderers were reduced to ten men with twenty minutes still to play. After an earlier coming together with Sousa, Jimmy Muitt saw red for a second yellow following a cynical foul to prevent a Boreham Wood breakaway. Unfortunately for Murphy, who had only just come on, Rob Milsom replaced him to maintain our strong defensive shape.

A rare Tony Craig header could’ve made all the difference after fantastic work down the left from Brennan Camp and Norville-Williams saw the ball floated to the back post. Craig’s header, however, drifted just wide of the right-hand post.

Matt Briggs turned into a machine down the right-hand side, winning foul after foul and driving us forward. A fantastic solo run with fifteen minutes to play was the highlight—he drove from our own penalty area to just outside our opponents’.

Then, elation. Briggs, the engine of the team, charged through the heart of the defence and in behind, putting pressure on Ashmore and the onrushing defenders. He did just enough to force a white boot to turn it home into the Wood net again. With just eight minutes to play, Wanderers were back in the driving seat. 1-3.

But it was far from done. The Wood fightback was on again two minutes later. They charged straight from kick-off to reduce the deficit, with Abdul Abdulmalik taking several touches inside before firing a superb effort into the bottom left corner beyond Harrison Foulkes’ reach. 2-3.

The comeback would be completed moments later. A corner from the left-hand side was delivered to the near post, where Cameron Coxe met it with a powerful header that crashed into the back of the net beyond Foulkes. 3-3.

With six minutes added on, both sides threw everything at the game. Boreham Wood, with the wind in their sails, attacked relentlessly. They forced Harrison Foulkes into a game-saving stop before Dan Gallagher produced an incredible goal-line clearance to keep our season alive. The action was relentless, and right at the death, a long throw caused chaos in the box. Femi Ilesanmi did just enough to control the ball and fire a fantastic half-volley into the top corner, sparking pure pandemonium in the stands behind the goal. 4-3.

It ended 4-3 to our hosts, and our National League South campaign comes to a close.

FULL-TIME: BOREHAM WOOD 4-3 DORKING WANDERERS

Match report by Henry Bennett