Dorking Wanderers 3 – 1 Wealdstone
Dorking Wanderers3 - 1
WealdstoneWealdstone were defeated 3-1 by Dorking Wanderers on a rainy Tuesday evening at Meadowbank.
A strong start for the home side saw them ahead just 12 minutes in after James McShane tapped in to open the scoring.
Dorking doubled their lead, 25 minutes in, when a clever header from Jason Prior fizzed past Jed Ward in the Wealdstone goal before Josh Taylor’s clever finish had the hosts three goals up before the end of the first period.
An early second-half goal for Sam Bowen looked to mount a comeback for the Stones, and despite their plethora of chances in the second period, a dramatic comeback wasn’t to be.
Stuart Maynard made two changes to the team that drew 0-0 with Altrincham, with Corie Andrews replacing the injured Tahvon Campbell and Micah Obiero coming back from suspension to replace Charles Clayden.
Looking to make an instant impact, on his first start of the season, Corie Andrews came close to opening the scoring just two minutes in when a quick Stones break found the striker inside the box, but a strong block from Prior denied his goal-bound effort.
The Home side reacted well to the early scare, beginning to control the early stages and found a breakthrough, 12 minutes in, after a loose pass from Bowen set Dorking on a quick counter, with Seb Bowerman squaring to James McShane, who tapped the ball home.
A dominant start from the away side saw them two goals to the good after 25 minutes after another pinpoint cross from Bowerman met Prior in the box, who placed a clever header past Jed Ward.
The Stones best chance of the half saw Obiero played through on-goal, but the winger’s outside of the boot effort flashed wide of Harrison Male’s goal.
But the missed chance immediately came back to bite the Stones, and they found themselves three goals down, 35 minutes in after a smart finish from Taylor found the back of the net.
Knowing the mammoth task on their hands, the Stones came out of the blocks flying in the second period and should’ve been ahead after Male parried Obiero’s effort into the path of Kyle Smith, but with an open net to aim at, the youngster fired high and wide.
With the momentum still on their side, Maynard’s side continued to pressure the Dorking goal and set themselves up for a comeback, 58 minutes in, when Bowen drilled an effort into the bottom corner.
More big chances began to fall for the Stones as they looked to continue their comeback, with the next big chance falling to Andrews, whose fierce effort was once again saved by Male.
Five minutes later, substitute Sean Adarkwa was the next player to test the Dorking resilience as he cut inside and hit a well-struck effort towards the top corner, but another big save from Male denied him a goal.
Despite their valiant attempts to level the score, the second-half comeback wasn’t meant to be for the Stones, leaving them with their first defeat in three games.
Next up for the Stones is a tricky tie away at Chesterfield on Saturday at 3pm.
WEALDSTONE: Ward, Cook (c), Barker, Mundle-Smith, Smith, Bowen, Ferguson, Allarakhia (Clayden 24), Obiero, Abdulmalik (Kretzschmar 86), Andrews (Adarkwa 72). Subs not used: Charles, Barrett.
Attendance: 1,356
Report by Will Beaman
Stuart Maynard Post-Match Interview HERE
Jon Taffel Match Pics HERE
Match Highlights HERE
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