Charlie Carter was undoubtedly the star of the show at Meadowbank as his six minute hat-trick & an Alfie Rutherford effort during the first half made it a Good Friday against Hampton & Richmond Borough.

There couldn’t have been a more perfect start, as we got ourselves in front with only 43 seconds on the clock. Josh Taylor’s long throw from the right-hand side caused plenty of confusion amongst the Beavers’ defence, with the ball floating over Max Merrick and landing at the feet of Charlie Carter on the goal line, who helped to trickle it over the line. 1-0

If you thought starts didn’t get any better, you haven’t met our skipper, who got his second with just 90 seconds on the clock. He pounced on a Jason Prior knockdown, cut inside from the left, and drilled a strike into the bottom left corner to double our lead. 2-0

In extraordinary fashion, just three minutes later, Carter completed his hat-trick with arguably the pick of the bunch. After Matt Briggs got down the right, he whipped in a superb cross to the edge of the 18-yard box, where Charlie was on hand to fire a superbly struck half-volley—executed with great technique—into the bottom right corner and beyond Merrick’s reach. 3-0

The game then, predictably, began to calm down as we settled after an incredibly frantic start. We continued to maintain the majority of possession during the first half. Hampton & Richmond, however, did eventually get their first meaningful effort towards Harrison Foulkes, but James Roberts’ strike from the edge of the box flew well over the bar and didn’t trouble our goalkeeper.

With half an hour played, the fun just wouldn’t stop. Matt Briggs and Alfie Rutherford pressed hard on the last man of the visiting defence to pounce on a long ball from Rob Milsom. That pressure paid off, as Briggs capitalised on a defensive mistake and laid it off for Rutherford, who smashed it across goal into the bottom corner. 4-0

Despite a late surge from the Beavers—including a shot from Roberts from a tight angle which forced Foulkes to go low and gather, and a spectacular volley from Josh Taylor from 25 yards that crashed against the bar— We went into the break four goals to the good.

HALF-TIME: DORKING WANDERERS 4-0 HAMPTON & RICHMOND BOROUGH

With a comfortable lead, Marc looked to the bench to give Jason Prior a rest ahead of the big Easter Monday clash against Worthing, replacing him with Rhys Murphy—who nearly got on the scoresheet seconds after coming on. Some good link-up play between him and Rutherford allowed the latter to thread the striker in on goal, but he was denied by the legs of Merrick.

However, just a few minutes later, the visitors got themselves on the scoresheet. Archy Taylor did well to cut in from the right and won a penalty after being brought down inside the box. James Roberts stepped up and converted, sending Foulkes the wrong way. 4-1

Marc White again turned to the bench, replacing Matt Briggs with Jordan Norville-Williams, who got involved straight away—whipping in a cross from the left to spark a goalmouth scramble that was eventually cleared by a desperate Beavers’ defence.

The next phase of the match saw little action at either end. The closest chance came with 20 minutes to go from a free-kick just outside the box on the left, which Rhys Murphy curled just over the bar. During this period, Marc also brought on Dan Gallagher and Jack Young for George Francomb and hat-trick hero Charlie Carter.

The best chance of the half fell to us with just 12 minutes left, as Rutherford struck a first-time volley from just inside the box, which blazed over the bar. An even better opportunity came minutes later—after a lovely touch from Muitt dragged his marker away, his shot across goal fell to Rutherford just six yards out, but Merrick did well to spread himself low and collect the ball.

Our final change of the day saw Niall McManus replace Rob Milsom for the closing stages, whilst we were still controlling possession. Despite further efforts from Rhys Murphy and Niall McManus, which were both comfortably held by Merrick, the visitors grabbed a second in the third minute of added time. Ibrahim Jalloh found the ball at his feet on the left, was shown inside, took a big touch into space, and fired a powerful strike that cannoned off the left post and past Foulkes. 4-2

Despite being pegged back twice, we held on for another vital three points in the promotion race. Next up for Wanderers is Worthing on Monday in a crucial top-of-the-table clash, before we return home to face Chesham United on the final day of the season.

FULL-TIME: DORKING WANDERERS 4-2 HAMPTON & RICHMOND BOROUGH

Match report written by Henry Bennett