Dorking Wanderers 1 Enfield Town 1

Report by Andrew Warshaw

In constant wind-swept rain swirling horizontally, Enfield Town defied the filthy conditions to pick up only their fourth away point of the season in a gutsy performance in Surrey.

Sam Youngs’ equaliser early in the second half may not have moved us off the bottom of the table but with the three teams above us all losing it closed to the gap as well as extending our unbeaten record to three games in all competitions.

That may not seem much on paper given two of them were draws and one won on a penalty shootout but it was the latest example of the green shoots of a slow but significant improvement — against a side, let’s not forget, who spent two seasons at step 1 and are trying to get back there.

With both our Welsh youth internationals back in the side, Town threatened first on the artificial surface with a low, driven shot from the edge of the box by Alfie Tuck that zipped just wide of Harrison Foulkes’ left-hand post.

From then on, Dorking took control by dominating possession and putting in a series of dangerous crosses, particular down our right flank.

 That said, a combination of poor finishing and excellent protective work by our back three – each  of whom put in a marathon shift — meant Rhys Forster  was not unduly troubled.

Having weathered the proverbial early storm, we started to get on the ball and show more adventure, exemplified by a Lennon Peake 20-yard drive forward before he was fouled.

But on 37 minutes  we fell behind as George Francomb’s freekick was nodded home by Alfie Rutherford though it looked to most of us like an own goal from Christian Scott.

Just before halftime came a pivotal moment in the game when the referee ignored Dorking screams for a penalty after Tony Craig when down while challenging for a bouncing ball in our area.

It could have gone either way but we’ve seen loads of decisions go against us this season and it meant we were very much still in the game at the interval

H-T 0-1

We needed to be braver on the ball and whatever was said at halftime, that’s exactly how we re-emerged. More intent, more purpose.

It immediately paid dividends when Peake’s left-wing cross fell to Sam Youngs who struck a far-post volley to level the score (pictured)

As the conditions worsened, so the need for concentration intensified and further clear-cut opportunities were hard to come by though Dorking regained the momentum by pushing us back.

Jake Hutchinson, Billy leonard and Mickey Parcell all came off the bench to add fresh legs but with the minutes ticking away, that familiar feeling of a last-gasp opposition goal was never far from the minds of the Town faithful tucked in a distinctly unimpressive shack-like away corner.

But this was one occasion when we got what we deserved, a tribute to all concerned and, as Gavin Macpherson made a point of stressing afterwards, especially to those fans who braved the wretched weather to help us preserve as point.

“Conditions were atrocious on an unfamiliar surface at one of the biggest teams in the league,” said Gavin who changed system during the game from two up top to one up and three behind in order to engage Dorking’s defenders more effectively.

“We were never going to have the lion’s share of possession and set out largely to frustrate them. There are different ways you can achieve results and discipline is one them. I was very angry with their goal  because we’d told the boys what to expect just a minute before the freekick was taken. We sunk a bit in the first half but halftime gave us a chance to get up the pitch which made Dorking less comfortable in possession.”

So could this be a springboard?

“I think to be fair the springboard started few weeks ago and what you are seeing now is a gradual progression even though the top end of the pitch is still obviously still an issue,” added Gavin.

Forster; Cox, Thompson, Benjamin; Payne, Tuck (Leonard 72), Youngs, Scott, Adjei-Hersey (Parcell 86); Peake, Shakpoka (Hutchinson 65)