Dorking Whites vs Farnham Bs – 16 March
Dorking Whites travelled to Farnham on Sunday morning for a semi-final showdown against a strong Farnham second team. Sadly, with a number of late withdrawals, the Dorking squad was reduced to 15 players, meaning a tough challenge lay ahead.
Playing on the Farnham main pitch on a dry and unforgiving surface, Dorking began really brightly. With some determined defence from the likes of Curtis Thornton, Joe Foskett, Louis Shabrokh and Cam Murray, Dorking looked comfortable repelling multiple Farnham attacks, launching a few of their own with fly-half Zac Moore looking particularly dangerous.
After around 20 minutes, Farnham eventually opened the scoring. Dorking were guilty of over-playing in their own 22 and with the ball stripped in a tackle, Farnham eventually moved it wide to score in the left corner. 5-0
Another Dorking error led to a second Farnham score. With a couple of players injured, Dorking opted to kick quickly from a goal line drop out. With depleted numbers, Dorking’s kick-chase wasn’t good enough and Farnham had the numbers to score again. 12-0
Farnham were to score again just before half-time, with a Dorking missed tackle in midfield allowing the Farnham centre to stroll through unopposed. 19-0 at the break
Dorking lost prop Thomas da Iocovo at the half-time, meaning both sides were reduced to 14 players.
Heads could have gone down at this point, but that was far from the case. Dorking came out firing after the break, tearing into Farnham. Dorking were moving the ball really effectively, with Joe Simpson carrying strongly and forwards and backs combining. After a string of Farnham penalties and a yellow card for the home side, Dorking moved the ball to the right and player of the match Adrian Webster bounced a couple of tackles and reached out one-handed to score. With Zac Moore landing the conversion, an improbable Dorking comeback looked on the cards. 19-7
But Dorking were dealt a cruel blow shortly afterwards. Great work in defence saw them hold up a driving Farnham maul, which appeared to have stopped several times. With everyone expecting a Dorking scrum, the referee had spotted a penalty infringement. Farnham moved the ball quickly while Dorking players were still querying the decision. A simple run in and the conversion to boot put an end to the Dorking comeback. 26-7
Another sucker punch was to follow, as Dorking tapped and ran a quick penalty in the Farnham 22. The ball was spilt in the tackle and Farnham were able to run most of the length of the field before hacking the ball through the defensive line to score. 31-7
There was just time for one final try for Farnham, the centre breaking through to score under the posts. 38-7
Despite all of the adversity they had faced, this was a really spirited Dorking performance. This turned out to be a game of fine margins, with Farnham taking their opportunities from Dorking mistakes, and the score line definitely flattered the home side. With no substitutes and a few players playing out of position, Dorking had pushed a strong Farnham side all the way, with heads never dropping.
Dorking will be hoping for a few returning players ahead of finals weekend at Old Reigatians next week.
