For all we know, this could be the Wanderers’ final visit to the historic York Road, with the hosts’ plan to move just 1.8 miles south to Braywick Park. The ground that has been called home since 1871 has proven to be a fortress of late, with The Magpies winning four of their last five on their own patch.
The Wanderers travelled to Berkshire in search of making it three wins from three, following high-scoring wins over Ebsfleet at Meadowbank and Enfield in North London on Tuesday night. The Wanderers listed two changes from their victory at The Dave Bryant Stadium. Brennan Camp and Charlie Carter were replaced by Alfie Rutherford and Tony Craig. Paul McCallum also returned to the bench.
It did not take long for the Wanderers to threaten the Maidenhead defence. Sam Pearson beared down on goal in the early stages of the encounter, however, his effort was dragged wide of the near post, causing no trouble for Jordi Van Stappershoef in The Magpies’ goal.
The first real opportunity for the hosts came on the stroke of the 20th minute, a long ball was sent forward by Van Stappershoef, which allowed Liam Dulson to play the ball through to Dillon De Silva, who found himself with plenty of space to slot the ball calmly past Harrison Foulkes to give the hosts the advantage. 19’ 1-0
The Wanderers set out in search of an instant response, Kai Enslin’s twisting and turning caused problems for Owen Cochrane. Enslin found the space to unleash an effort on goal, however, The Magpies’ shotstopper was able to palm the effort away from danger.
The best of our chances came moments before the half an hour mark, Tony Craig skipped beyond his man inside the 18-yard box and flashed an effort across goal, which saw the centre-half be denied by the upright. The loose ball was fired goalwards by Alfie Rutherford, but the shot crashed against Josh Umerah and went out for a corner kick.
Sutton United loanee Siju Odelusi looked the most likely to double the hosts’ advantage before the break, his effort was teed up from twenty-five yards out, however, it was deflected and calmly collected by Harrison Foulkes.
Marc White was dismissed during the half-time interval.
Half Time: Maidenhead United 1-0 Dorking Wanderers
Wanderers’ chances were few and far between throughout the second period, Charlie Carter looked lively since his entry, he was able to drift past two defenders and aim for a red and white shirt in the box, unfortunately, nobody was on cue to turn the ball home on this occasion.
The Magpies had dominated the majority of the ball from the restart, and their pressure paid off 15 minutes from time. Some brilliant combination play between Owen Cochrane and Matt Robinson found Liam Dulson on the edge of the area. His strike was emphatic and arrowed straight into the top corner to double the hosts’ advantage. 75’ 2-0
As the clock ticked down, Frank Vincent and Kai Enslin caught the Maidenhead defence off-guard with a quick free kick manoeuvre. Enslin found the space to deliver the ball to Rutherford, however, the effort was placed inches wide of the near post.
Ryan Peters’ side were able to see out the game cleverly in the dying embers. Yearwood, Umerah and Pendlebury helped to hold the ball in the corner and run the clock down. Eventually, the referee blew the whistle for full time, ending in defeat for The Wanderers. However, we are posed with a chance to put it right, with a trip to Torquay on Tuesday night, for our longest away trip of the season.
Full Time: Maidenhead United 2-0 Dorking Wanderers