Rob Milsom’s penalty ten minutes from time ensured Dorking Wanderers reached the final of the Surrey Senior Cup for the first time since 2022. 

A bright start from the Wanderers at Meadowbank lit up the floodlights, hopefully for the penultimate time at home this season. Rhys Murphy lined up a free-kick from thirty yards out inside the first two minutes, but his audacious effort sailed well over.

The opening ten minutes saw us enjoy the majority of possession. Matt Briggs was finding plenty of joy down the left, and his cut-back came agonisingly close to finding an onrushing Alfie Rutherford. Jimmy Muitt also struck a well-hit half-volley from the edge following a corner, but much like Rhys’ earlier effort, it went high and wide.

The first shot on target, however, came against the run of play. Matt Briggs held onto the ball for too long, allowing David Smith to rob him and thread Abdulate Salami through on goal. His low drive across goal was well held by Harrison Foulkes.

Our visitors were growing into the game, but despite their persistence, they were caught on the counter as Rutherford worked the ball out to Muitt on the left. He then played a one-two with Jordan Norville-Williams and saw his curling effort to the far corner headed away by Luke Read.

The Robins continued to threaten the Wanderers’ goal. Following a corner from the left by Fabio Saraiva, David Smith’s backheel inside the six-yard area came close but rolled kindly for Foulkes to gather under pressure.

Following Muitt’s early injury, Bobby-Joe Taylor returned in red and white for the first time since last year and made an immediate impact, drilling a fizzed cross to the near post that McKenzie Foley held well.

However, the biggest chance of the game thus far fell to Rutherford just over half an hour in. Josh Taylor robbed the ball from Tom Bradford on the halfway line and broke away, sending our striker in behind on the right. From an acute angle, he came ever so close to finding the far corner.

Just two minutes later, the chances kept coming for Wanderers. Some fantastic footwork from Bobby-Joe set us on our way, and with Murphy holding the ball up and finding the former on the byline, his cross nearly caught Foley out at the back post. The clearance fell to Briggs, who set the ball perfectly in front of himself for a volley, forcing Foley into an unorthodox save that caused chaos in the box. Neither James McShane nor Murphy could convert the rebound.

A swift Wanderers counter-attack created the next chance with three minutes left in the half. Taylor, Rutherford, and Norville-Williams all combined to send Taylor through on goal, but despite his best efforts to turn away from Michael Dada, his shot went straight into Foley’s throat. It was the last major chance of the half.

HALF-TIME: DORKING WANDERERS 0-0 CARSHALTON ATHLETIC

The second half began with a substitution for the Wanderers as Barry Fuller returned from his loan at Ashford United to replace Brennan Camp.

The veteran defender helped tighten up the back line, leading to the first chance of the half. Foulkes collected the ball under no pressure and sent a fantastic volley from his hands into the path of Rhys Murphy. But the best efforts of a retreating Kyron Horsley-McKay were rewarded, as his right boot blocked the goal-bound shot.

Michael Dada was running the show in the Carshalton midfield throughout, and he showed his class again with a fantastic turn on halfway that allowed him to drive into space and blast a fierce effort just over the bar ten minutes into the half.

James McShane was one of the driving forces for a Wanderers side desperate to break the deadlock. With Rhys Murphy challenging Foley, McShane picked up the loose ball and hit a low volley that posed no trouble for the visiting ‘keeper. He had another effort moments later from a similar position, but sliced it well over.

A dangerous high foot around the hour mark forced Barry Fuller off early after taking a heavy blow. Rob Milsom replaced him, with Bobby-Joe moving to the right and Matt Briggs making way for Luke Moore in midfield.

With just over twenty minutes to play, Sharon Ifeanyi was causing all kinds of problems down the left on the counter for the visitors. He had big penalty shouts waved away by the referee after breaking away from Dan Gallagher and feeling contact from the midfielder, which he felt warranted a penalty. McShane was replaced by Niall McManus during this phase.

Carshalton continued to apply pressure. A short corner routine started by Saraiva on the left found Dada on the edge of the box, whose curling effort came close to finding the far corner but was deflected around the post, much to Foulkes’ relief.

The Robins, now in teal, piled even more pressure on the Wanderers’ defence. An unexpected long-range effort from over thirty yards, struck with venom by Saraiva, nearly caught Foulkes out, but he tipped it over to safety.

Then the breakthrough finally came with ten minutes to go. Norville-Williams broke into the box and was brought down by a challenge from Horsley-McKay, earning a penalty. Rob Milsom stepped up and converted with composure. Foley guessed the right way, but the ball was just out of his reach. 1-0.

There was a huge let-off for Wanderers shortly after, as Milsom’s clearance under pressure fell into a dangerous gap between Foulkes and the onrushing Smith. The Carshalton striker reached the ball first, rounded the keeper, but Foulkes recovered superbly to gather the ball.

In the four minutes of added time, Foulkes collected a deep cross from Kwaku Frimpong, and a weak effort from Nabeel Ghanham rolled harmlessly into his hands. Moments later, Rhys Murphy had a chance to wrap up the game, but his lob clipped the crossbar, and McManus couldn’t follow up the rebound.

With the one-goal advantage and minimal threat from the visitors late on, the Wanderers held on to advance to a second Surrey Senior Cup final in four years.

FULL-TIME: DORKING WANDERERS 1-0 CARSHALTON ATHLETIC

Attendance: 733

Match report by Henry Bennett