Dorchester Town 0 Woking 1
Blue Square Bet South – Avenue Stadium
24th September 2011


The Cards maintained their place at the top of the Blue Square Bet South with a dour win at struggling Dorchester, lining up with Aaron Howe in goal in place of Andy Little, Jay Davies at number six, and Jez Sole at eleven, with Doyle, Hammond and Binns on the bench.

In a game with few clear-cut chances it was the home side that started slightly more positively, Nathan Walker heading a corner harmlessly wide in the opening minute.
Overall, however, the play from both sides was scrappy, with too many quick punts forward and few passes connecting.

Woking’s first chance came in the 5th minute, Wayne Gray heading Derek Duncan’s free-kick on to Moses Ademola, who found himself relatively unchallenged in the box, only to drag his shot wide of the post.

With the ball moving end-to-end, although mostly without any real purpose, the next chances came to the home side. Firstly, Nicholls lobbed well wide after 7 minutes, before Dickenson crossed the ball in low and hard from the byline, only for the sliding Moss to lift his effort over the bar. Unfortunately for the Magpies’ fans their side never came as close as this in the remaining 82 minutes.

With 18 minutes gone the visitors were rather fortunate not to go behind to an opportunistic piece of play by the Magpies. Awarded a free-kick just inside the home half, Steve Devlin spotted Aaron Howe off his line and attempted a 60-yard lob which had the Woking custodian back-peddling, only for the ball to drop narrowly over the crossbar to the relief of the away fans and players alike.

Howe was pumping a succession of long kicks forward, but the home defence dealt with them comfortably. With both sides cancelling each other out, and some wayward passing, they were few significant moves. Too often the home side managed the hard bits only to let themselves down immediately afterwards, a trait they will have to resolve if they are to avoid another season near the bottom of the table. Although they did manage to hurl the occasional ball into the Woking box, they were more hopeful than accurate, and Howe remained untroubled.

At the other end it wasn’t until the 39th minute that the Cards managed a shot on target, Walker-Lewis easily holding Paris Cowan-Hall’s long-range effort. Just before the interval Moss managed to escape the Woking defence and the linesman’s flag only to lose control of the ball. There was just enough time for the Cards to fashion a couple more goal attempts before the whistle, Gray blazing over the bar from outside the box, before McNerney had a closer-range effort blocked as the half petered out.

Half-time: Dorchester 0 Woking 0

Woking began the second half looking more purposeful than their hosts, Cowan-Hall cutting inside his marker and shooting from the corner of the Dorchester box, only to see the ball ricochet back off a defender. Jay Davies was next to suffer the same fate, with the rebound fired wide by Jack King.

The Magpies looked increasingly short on ideas, although a long clearance forward had Howe rushing out of his box to clear, as the Cards began to take control of the game. Moses Ademola forced Walker-Harris into a low save after beating his marker just before the hour mark, before Cowan-Hall’s cross-shot was caught comfortably by the Dorchester number one.

Just as predictions in the stand began to turn towards a 0-0 bore draw, Woking made the breakthrough as Duncan found Ademola on the edge of the box and the in-form number nine found time to turn and plant a powerful shot past Walker-Harris for his 7th goal of the season.

In truth, the Cards never looked like losing this lead, although the home side did create a rare scare when Moss escaped Derek Duncan and shot from a narrow angle, only to see his effort saved by Howe and scrambled clear.

Gray and Sole made way for Hammond and Binns after 69 minutes as the game continued to be played largely in the Dorchester half. The Cards had a chance to increase the lead six minutes later from a counter-attack following a Magpies corner, Cowan-Hall striking a long-range effort that Walker-Harris tipped over the bar to safety, before Ademola almost doubled his tally for the day, turning in the box and beating Walker-Harris only for the ball to strike the far post and bobble away towards the corner flag.

At the other end a slip from Mark Ricketts nearly let in Chris Flood, but Howe was out quickly to clear, before Devlin hit an optimistic long-range effort well wide.

In the final ten minutes Woking continued to create a few half-chances, Hammond unable to connect properly with a chipped cross from Cowan-Hall, before Ademola wasn’t quite able to reach a ball in from Binns. Ademola had Woking’s last effort of the day, volleying a mishit Dorchester clearance into the trees behind the goal shortly before the final whistle.

So, a fine example of winning ugly, but nonetheless four wins in a row. The Cards stay top of the table, albeit only on goal difference, following Dartford’s 3-1 victory over Tonbridge Angels.

Woking: Aaron Howe, Adam Newton, Derek Duncan, Mark Ricketts, Joe McNerney, Jay Davies, Paris Cowan-Hall (Charlie Turnbull 89), Jack King, Moses Ademola, Wayne Gray (Elvis Hammond 68), Guiseppe Sole (Dale Binns 68).

Unused subs: Adam Doyle, Jordan Kennedy

Cautions: None

Dorchester: Alan Walker-Harris, Lewis Tallack (Jamie Symes 66), Neil Martin, Ashley Nicholls, Nathan Walker, Gary Bowles, Steve Devlin, Jamie Gleeson, Ryan Moss, Chris Flood (Ryan Dovell 85), Ben Dickinson (Rico Wilson 52)

Unused subs: Harrison Bell, Ashley Vickers

Cautions: None


MOTM: Moses Ademola

Attendance: 628