Baffins Milton Rovers 0 Dorking Wanderers 7
Dorking continued pre-season preparations on the road with an emphatic victory over Baffins Milton Rovers down on the south coast.
Close season plans had stepped up over the weekend as Wanderers travelled north to take on fellow Step 2 opposition Chorley FC. Josh Taylor registered his first goal for the club and Alfie Rutherford got off the mark for pre-season as Marc White's men secured a 2-0 win, the manager delighted with the performance in his comments post-match.
Ed Harris, Barry Fuller and James McShane were rested for tonight's fixture, as Kane Wills dropped into the back three with Bobby-Joe Taylor and Sami El-Abd, Luke Moore the deepest lying midfielder.
Tommy Scutt fired the first effort of the game just wide five minutes in after being played through on the right, but Wanderers had the hosts pegged back early on. Showing continuity from the weekend they didn't waste time finding their rhythm and pace, and were clinical in front of goal inside the opening half-hour.
Matt Briggs would play a heavy role in the ensuing run of goals, and won the free kick that got Wanderers going on 8 minutes. Bobby-Joe Taylor stepped up from just outside the area, and drove a pin-point strike into the top left corner of goal, opening his Wanderers account in style.
He couldn't quite repeat the trick three minutes later from similar range, but Briggs remained rampant down the right, first crossing for Prior to head home at the back stick, before concluding a rapid attacking move with a cut-back to find Prior again, the striker coolly tucking home a first-time finish off the inside of the post.
Briggs then got on the end of a cross from the opposite channel, but his attempted diving header drifted over the bar. He made no mistake finding the net on 26 minutes though, as the ball broke loose in the box he drilled the ball straight down the middle of goal to put Wanderers four goals to the good.
Wanderers slowed the pace in the run up to half-time but were still dominating the ball and creating good chances. Josh Taylor's turn on free kick shooting duty clipped the wall, and Konrad Szymankiak got out well from goal to deny Rutherford one-on-one after he got on the end of a superb long distance through ball from Bobby-Joe Taylor.
Half-Time: Baffins 0 Wanderers 4
Dan Gallagher came into the back three in place of Bobby-Joe Taylor at half-time as Marc White made four changes, also introducing Charlie Hester-Cook and Callum Kealy for Josh Taylor and Jason Prior, Slav Huk switching for Lee Worgan in goal.
Briggs completed a hat-trick of assists as Wanderers made it five on 55 minutes. His cross from the right was diverted home via a defender for an own goal, Fogden closing in to apply pressure close by.
Baffins head's did not go down though, and sub Rudi Blankson spearheaded the search for a goal back when the host's did get forward on the counter, first rounding Huk but unable to finish from a tight angle, then winning a free kick for his side just outside the area as we entered the last twenty minutes.
Hester-Cook showed good close control as he surged into the area and was unlucky to see his shot cannon back off the post, fellow sub Jimmy Muitt also slotting Niall McManus precise cut back wide of goal. Rutherford couldn't quite get on the scoresheet for the night after getting off the mark on Saturday, driving another measured cutback over the bar before being denied on the goal line by a good defensive block.
Blankson was again leading the charge for a consolation with a strike from 25 yards bobbling just wide, and in the closing moments was denied by a good stop from Huk getting down to his left.
In the final five minutes Wanderers managed to grab two more goals; Wills strike from 20 yards out parried by the keeper, sub Cameron Black quickest to react to tap home from close range and bag his first senior Dorking goal.
And with the final kick of the game, Dan Gallagher produced a 'collectors item', firing home emphatically from the edge of the box into the right side of goal, leaving the keeper no chance.
Dorking conclude their trio of away pre-season fixtures this Sunday with a trip to Bognor Regis.
Daniel Stobbart
Wanderers: Worgan (Huk 46'); Bobby-Joe Taylor (Gallagher 46'), El-Abd (c), Wills; Briggs (Black 73'), Moore, Josh Taylor (Hester-Cook 46'), Fogden (McManus 60'), Wheeler (Muitt 60'); Rutherford, Prior (Kealy 46')
Goals: Bobby-Joe Taylor 8', Prior 19', 24', Briggs 26', Own Goal 55', Black 86', Gallagher 90'
Assists: Briggs 19', 24', 55'
Baffins Milton Rovers: Szymankiak, Williamson, Dean, Sargeant, Sanders, White, Connor, Cowan, Przespolewski, Scutt, Dart
Subs: Neil (GK) (69'), Mason (46'), Burgess, Smith (46'), Gee (46'), Osbourne (60'), Blankson (60'), Trialist (46'), Trialist (73')
Referee: James Robinson
Attendance: 128