Dorking Wanderers 4 Swans 0
Tuesday 25th January 2022. Surrey Senior Cup, 2nd Round.
Dorking Wanderers 4 Walton & Hersham 0.
For almost an hour at the Meadowbank Stadium there was little to choose between the two sides, despite the gulf in league placings. There were three whole divisions between Swans, leaders of Step 5 Combined Counties League Premier Division South, and the front runners of the National League South of Step 2, but that did not show as the result of the tie lay in the balance for the first 58 minutes. Swans were playing some excellent football, and were deservedly still at parity with their opponents, but a defensive error gifted the home side the lead, and from that point it was always going to be an uphill struggle to get back into the tie. A contentious free-kick led to them going 2-0 down with just under twenty minutes remaining, and when another defensive blunder quickly increased the deficit to three goals, any hopes of getting back into the match effectively disappeared.
A Swans’ side lacking the services of the cup-tied Ollie Twum went close to taking a fourth minute lead when Dominic Ogun beat Dan Gallagher in the right of the box before laying the ball back to Dean Rule. Rule made room before forcing a save from home goalkeeper Slav Huk at his near-post, with Ogun just unable to force the ball in as it ran loose. Alex Kelly then played Rule down the left to have a shot blocked behind for a corner. Harry Mills was soon laying the ball inside from the right to Joe Hicks on the edge of the box, but he could not get the power behind his shot to seriously trouble Huk.
Play continued to be mainly in midfield, with both sides comfortable in possession, and when the home side did threaten to get through, Swans’ disciplined defending invariably caught them offside. It was close to the end of the first quarter before Swans’ goal was seriously threatened. Bobby-Joe Taylor got Nicky Wheeler free on the left, and when he picked out James McShane at the far-post, the former Swan could only shoot into the side-netting as Harry Pointing put him under pressure. Pointing then did well to get back and clear the ball as Jimmy Muitt got in a shot on goal after being played into the right of the box by McShane. Wanderers had hit a good spell, causing Swans more problems at the back, and Wheeler got in on the left to drive in a shot that Liam Allen got a touch on to deflect wide for a corner on the right. A second corner on the right soon followed, and Isaac Philpot headed over at the far-post when Allen failed to make a clean catch. The Swans’ keeper then had to get the ball behind at his near-post when Wheeler drove it in from the left. Wheeler continued to look the home side’s main threat, and he again drove the ball in from the left, this time the ball taking a deflection to go through to Allen at the near-post.
With just under ten minutes left of the half Swans went close to taking the lead when Mills was fouled just outside the left corner of the box. Mills struck the free-kick well, but was just wide of the near-post. Another chance soon followed when Eddie Simon won the ball in the middle of the pitch before laying it through to Mills. Ogun carried the move on to play Rule clear into the box, but he was stretching, and could only toe-end the ball into the gloves of keeper Huk.
With Allen now facing a three game ban following his red card at Molesey, the opportunity was taken to give stand-in keeper Leighton Fanshawe time in goal by bringing him on for the second-half.
Soon after the resumption a long ball got Wanderers’ Luke Moore away on the left and Darren Oldaker to have a shot blocked behind for a corner. Ten minutes into the second-half the home side won a free-kick out on the right touchline, and when Bobby-Joe Taylor delivered the ball in Mills was able to bring it clear. Mills was soon driving the ball into the home box from the right, and Kane Wills had to clear it over his own crossbar and behind for a corner.
With 58 minutes played Wanderers made a double change, and just a minute later they took a fortuitous lead, although the substitutions had nothing to do with the goal being scored. Fanshawe rolled the ball out to Hicks, only for the Swans’ skipper to pass it straight to Moore, who had the simplest of tasks in passing it into an open goal.
Swans tried to respond immediately by building-up a fine move on the right, resulting in Kelly driving the ball across the goal-face.
Louis Collins was shown a yellow card for a foul, giving Wanderers a free-kick out on the right touchline, but Fanshawe made a confident catch from Callum Kennedy’s ball into the box.
Swans were by no means out of the tie, and another fine move on the right got Ogun into the box, but he couldn’t open up the space for a shot. But with just under twenty minutes remaining the home side doubled their lead. It looked a harsh decision to penalise Swans for a foul just outside the box, but Oldaker drove the free-kick in-off Fanshawe’s right post.
On the balance of play a 2-0 deficit did not look to be out of Swans’ reach, but just two minutes later the home side were gifted another goal, effectively settling the tie. The ball was crossed from the left, only for Fanshawe to drop it straight at the feet of Moore, who rolled it into an open goal.
Fanshawe went down to save a shot from inside the box by Wills as Swans looked to be losing heart and Wanderers began to dominate. Fanshawe made another good catch when Kennedy crossed from the left. With eight minutes of normal-time remaining the home side won a corner on the right, leading to a shot from the left of the box that Fanshawe kept out with a fine save at his near-post, only for Josh Taylor to follow up and score. Taylor then provided the pass for Moore to get into the right of the box and drive in a shot that clipped the top of the crossbar on its way over.
So Swans departed the County Cup, with a 4-0 score-line a harsh reflection on their contribution to a fine game.
Swans’ Team: Liam Allen (Leighton Fanshawe 45’), Darryl Siaw, Louis Collins, Harry Pointing, Max Hustwick, Joe Hicks, Harry Mills (Reece Brewster 75’), Eddie Simon, Dominic Ogun, Alex Kelly, Dean Rule. Subs. not used: Will Kouadio, Stuart Baldwin. Caution: Collins, foul (64’).
Dorking Wanderers’ Team: Huk, Philpot, Gallagher (El-Abd 45’), B-J Taylor, Oldaker, Muitt, Wills (McManus 58’), J. Taylor, Wheeler (Kennedy 58’), McShane, Moore. Sub. not used: Torpey. Scorers: Moore (59’ & 73’), Oldaker (71’), J. Taylor (82’).