It was a beautiful Saturday morning at Great Common as Loxwood hosted last season’s champions Dorking Wanderers at home for their third game of the season.
Loxwood started the game with a lack of focus leading to a lack of communication at the back and within a minute Dorking were 1-0 up. But the Magpies’ performance, under the captaincy of Tom, improved from then on to be competitive against a very classy, composed Dorking side. Dorking kept the pressure on to increase their lead but a great defensive display, marshalled by Harry, ably assisted by Zac and Fraser and with Ethan in goal kept chances at a minimum with the first quarter ending 1-0 to Dorking.
The second quarter started with Loxwood looking more focussed and brighter, and with the some good attacking play from Will and Hamish, the resulting corner resulted in a chance fell to Charlie but his goal bound effort was cleared with a header off the line. Close!!
Moving into the third quarter and although Dorking had some nice approach play, the magpies aggression and pressing play kept chances to a minimum. Any chances they did have were dealt with well by Liam in goal. Loxwood sat back, soaking up the pressure and trying to hit Dorking on the break with Coalan and Will trying to beat the offside trap. However, Dorking’s pressure told and following a corner, with the ball ricocheting around the box, the ball fell to their blond striker to head home to make it 2-0.
And so, for the final quarter Loxwood went for broke to try and rescue the game with Ethan holding the ball up for co-striker Nathan, and feeding runners Hamish and Charlie, with Harry holding the midfield. But this left Loxwood short at the back and Dorking capitalised with 2 quick goals to make it 4-0. With Jack and Liam then coming on upfront for the final few minutes. With full-time approaching, from a throw-in a half chance fell to Jack who fired home with an exquisite volley. Great goal!! This proved to be the last kick of the game to make the final score 4-1.
It was a great way to finish the day on a positive note. Although it was a defeat, remember this was against very strong opposition. What really impressed was the aggression, pressing play and resilience from the magpies under Tom Bonney’s captaincy. Well done everyone!!
