Dorking Wanderers Match Preview

Having faced second placed Maidstone in their last match, City welcome the league leaders Dorking Wanderers to Twerton Park on Saturday.

This will be the first visit by the Surrey club since their win in the Play-Offs Eliminator in July 2020 when a Ryan Brunt penalty was not enough to avoid defeat.

Since then there have been two league encounters at Dorking, City achieving a fine win there last season but producing perhaps the worst defensive display of the present campaign in a 4-1 defeat.

Prior to that October meeting we actually sat two places above Wanderers in midtable but the latter have been in fine form since then. Following a defeat at Chippenham in early December, Marc White’s team picked up maximum points from their next ten matches, five of which were away from home.

34 goals were scored in this run and the teams dispatched included Havant (by 8-0!), Oxford, Dulwich and Ebbsfleet.

It finally came to a halt last Saturday when struggling Tonbridge Angels came away from Meadowbank with a surprise 3-1 victory.

Wanderers have only played one other match at Twerton, an Adam Mann goal winning it for City earlier in that play offs season.

Two other clubs, Guildford and Dorking United and Dorking have visited many years ago but neither had anything to do with the present set up who started life in the Crawley and District League as recently as 1999. Amongst the founders was present chairman and team manager Marc White and he has helped the club to a remarkable eleven promotions in just over twenty years.

He has gradually put together a very strong squad who are looking like making it a two horse title race with Maidstone; the two are divided by just three points but the Kent side have a match in hand.

Amongst those who City will have to keep a close rein on is Alfie Rutherford, whose 20 goals in 22 outings makes him equal top scorer in the League.

If they can match last Saturday’s performance then City fans should see their team take the leaders all the way and tickets for the match can be purchased from the Club’s website.