A new era for the Dorking Wanderers B team has been ushered in through recent weeks as manager Charlie Dunne assembles and prepares his side for another campaign competing in the Southern Combination Division One (Step 6), looking to very much continue the progress of recent years where the B’s have finished in 3rd place in each of the last 3 seasons.

Charlie’s appointment was confirmed back in June following the departure of previous manager Ruben Gaspar, and a new back-room team have also assembled during pre-season with assistant coaches Ainsley Brown and Simon Ray, plus physio Franco Dean, all coming on board. Whilst Franco is welcomed as a new face to the club, Ainsley and Simon extend their current involvement in the club’s pathway and set up having managed and coached teams across the Dorking Wanderers youth section in recent seasons. Former Assistant Manager Jack Clements and Head Coach Sam Cave have both stepped down from their B team roles after last season but continue to be involved at the club in the Elite and Academy section’s respectively as Lead Development Phase coaches.

Following the club initiative put in place this time last year, the Wanderers B team will continue to be formed purely from academy players for the season ahead and a number of familiar faces will remain part of the squad for 24/25 as they enter their second year on the academy education and football programme. Goalkeeper Harry Charlesworth, defenders Luca Fulco and Jay Richardson, midfielder and newly appointed captain Neo Wooster, and striker’s Ollie Rawlins and Jacob Todman will all look to play a key part again in the forthcoming campaign, and will be joined by a raft of new players including winger Joshua Hebert, midfielder Ted Sullivan and forward David Obeng-Adjei, all enrolling with the Wanderers academy from September.

Pre-season preparations wrapped up last weekend following a six-match schedule which, after back-to-back defeats to Flackwell Heath and Aldershot Town U21’s, saw the newly assembled side begin to gel and find their rhythm, defeating FC Romania at Meadowbank and earning draws away to Balham FC and Shoreham FC before edging past Hollington United Community 2-3 down in Hastings. Strikers Ollie Rawlins and Jacob Todman have been in good form through pre-season, with last year’s top scorer Rawlins finding the net 3 times and Todman scoring 4.

On a glorious south coast afternoon last Saturday, the B’s came up against a spirited Hollington outfit who impressed with their outstanding work rate, forcing Wanderers to dig deep to find their creative patterns and decisive moments in the final third. Goals from Rawlins, David Obeng-Adjei and a brilliant strike from midfielder Max Holland secured the win in the end, and a real positive from the match was six U16 players making the step into men’s football, which is testament to the work being done throughout the academy and the trust being put into the players rising through the club’s pathway.

Manager Charlie spoke highly of Saturday’s opposition post-match:

“A word on our opponents Hollington who from the very start extended unbelievable hospitality and my personal thanks goes to Ross and the team for looking after us. From the investment in the club house to the playing surface, the whole club impressed me and I will be keeping a keen eye out for their results moving forward. I’m hoping their class off the pitch is matched by top performances and results on it, and they go on to have a great season, of which I’ve got no doubt they will. A good challenge overall for us today and hopefully we can revisit at some point in the future.”

In the past week the full list of fixtures for Dorking Wanderers B have been confirmed and are available to view now via the following link:

https://fulltime.thefa.com/displayTeam.html?id=293821399

Tickets for Dorking Wanderers B team games will remain the same as last season – Adults £8, Concessions £6 & Children 8+ £4. First team season ticket holders will be able to watch B team matches for free as part of their ticket.

Stay up to date on all the information regarding upcoming B team matches and matchday coverage of each game throughout the 24/25 season via the Dorking Wanderers Academy Twitter page – @academy_dwfc

Dorking Wanderers B will face Infinity FC on Saturday August 3rd in a 3pm kick off before hosting Chessington & Hook United at Meadowbank on Tuesday August 6th in a 7:45pm kick off.