Alfie Rutherford framed this afternoon as “such a big thing” ahead of Aldershot’s visit to Meadowbank, and the massive home crowd that turned out in support was emblematic of the size of the occasion. In previous rounds, we defeated Wingate & Finchley and Salisbury, but Aldershot were set to pose the toughest test of the competition so far, sitting 19th in the National League.

Captain Charlie Carter produced a wicked delivery which Jason Prior turned goal bound and just over Marcus Dewhurst’s crossbar, and from the resulting corner, Carter beat his man to head just past the far post.

The chances for us continued quickly after, with Jimmy Muitt latching onto a long ball before unleashing a ferocious drive across the face of goal.

The visitors came close to taking the lead against the run of play in the 11th minute, in a chance that was fashioned mostly by us, as goalkeeper Harrison Foulkes’ clearance ricocheted off striker Kwame Thomas and over the bar, much to the relief of Foulkes and the Wanderers fans behind the goal.

Shots attacker Hady Ghandour, after a frustrating string of offside calls, ensured Foulkes’ gloves remained warm in the 21st minute, with a speculative effort that was easy to gather.

Jason Prior remained a threat as the half wore on, and almost found himself on the scoresheet as Dennon Lewis floated in a cross to the far post, but our number nine was unable to add enough power to the header for it to beat Dewhurst in goal.

Josh Barrett put the visitors ahead in a gutting blow just before half time, with a looping effort after good work by Jed Meerholz. 43′ 0-1

With a total of ten additional minutes, there was plenty of time for us to respond before the half-time whistle.

Alfie Rutherford came close with an effort that was diverted over the bar, however what followed was a further gutting blow as Aldershot striker Kwame Thomas finished a crossed free kick to put the visitors further ahead. 45+5′ 0-2

There was still time to halve the deficit and provide impetus for the second half, however, and it was James McShane who did just that, with a composed close range finish. 45+10′ 1-2

Half Time: Dorking Wanderers 1-2 Aldershot Town

This impetus was diminished very quickly after half time however, as Ghandour squared the ball across for Josh Barrett, who doubled his tally for the afternoon. 1-3

After a Prior header that went wide, we once again pulled another goal back as Dennon Lewis got in behind the defence and produced a composed finish to get ourselves back into contention. 2-3

As we pushed for an equaliser, Lewis came agonisingly close to the equaliser, striking the bar with a curled effort from the edge of the box, Louis Storey saw his header flash across the face of goal and Prior somehow diverted over the bar from close range.

In the 89th minute, we piled on the pressure, creating a multitude of chances one after the other, but it wasn’t to be as the visitors stood firm to see the game out.

We’ll pick ourselves up and look forward to next week: an away fixture against Ebbsfleet United in the National League South on the 18th October.

Full Time: Dorking Wanderers 2-3 Aldershot Town