In The End It's All White

Dorking Wanderers 3-2 Hampton & Richmond Borough (National League South)

I’ve long been a huge fan of Dorking Wanderers Manager Marc White who is the longest serving boss in English football’s top six tiers, having been at the helm as founder, owner, chairman, gaffer, since establishing the club he loves in 1999.

I have seen Marc on occasion scouting at several southern sides on my travels, he’s always been a football man, a friendly fella who knows and loves the game, like only a manager of 27 long years could. I have never watched Dorking play though, and I have never been to their Meadowbank Stadium, so tonight, it’s a bit of a bucket list ‘to do’ something to chalk off, something to say I have been there and done.

Marc’s ‘Bunch of Amateurs’ YouTube channel has 226,000 subscribers and each week they post brilliant fly on the wall clips of him ‘effing’ and ‘blinding’. It’s brilliant to watch (for all ages) and has been a great insight into non-league football over the years.

Dorking have been going ok in the National League South this season, a side that initially risen up from the Sussex County Leagues to the Isthmian and sixth tiers under Marc, who enjoyed two years peaking in the National League between 2022 and 2024, before relegation, they finished sixth and fourth since, and are so far seventh in the table, but just five points off leaders Maidstone United.

Ironically Maidstone were the last team to beat Dorking in the league, unbeaten in ten matches since a 3-2 defeat in August, they have drew six of fourteen games however which has been an issue, but last time out they beat ten men Weston-Super-Mare 2-0 thanks to goals from Brennan Camp and Dawid Rogalski.

Hampton & Richmond Borough I have once watched before (in a 2-1 defeat at Chesham two years ago) but I haven’t been keeping too many tabs on them recently. They sit 22nd of the 24 teams in the division, already six points below the safety line, they lost 1-0 at Braintree Town on Saturday and are without a win in seven in the league.

They are currently being looked after by interim managers, Max Kretzschmar and Craig Saunders taking on the responsibility last month after Alan Dowson left by mutual consent.

It’s a good three-hour drive is Dorking in Surrey from my house in the Midlands, but one I’m prepared for as I leave little after 2pm with a flask of coffee and Chilly's bottle of water for the journey.

It’s M1, M25 junction 9 at Leatherhead and onto the London Road which takes you into Dorking town centre, a quaint High Street of eateries shops and pubs all within walking distance to the home ground of Dorking Wanderers Football Club.

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The Venue

I’ve pulled up at St Martin’s Walk Shopping Centre where there’s an adequate car park over the other side of the Pipp Brook from the ground. I’ve stuck 4 hours on my Ringo App before realising it’s free parking after 6pm, no chance of getting that money back now.

I take the walk down around twenty to seven, you can cut through the car park and walk to the back of the Meadowbank Stadium where I can here music played over the tannoy, modern backed it’s also the home to Surrey FA and has some impressive modern units attached to the ground. I walk towards the neat looking new turnstiles to ask about accreditation, and they point me towards the players entrance and main reception.

It’s inside where I give my particulars, quickly found on the list I’m told to walk straight through, and into the venue concourse, pitch side, in the open air I’m met by a camera crew and bright lights hooked up on the edge of the eighteen yard box as Marc White does an interview for his socials.

It’s impressive, a new looking facility with modern stands and a 3g pitch but apparently it’s been here since the 1950’s and it feels classical, homely, enclosed, a really nice place to watch non-league football.

There’s two roofed stands behind the goal to my right, either side of the goal, one for standing (where all the noise is) one for sitting, all red plastic seats with sparse bums in attendance. Then opposite side is enclosed fencing but open ended, the same behind the goal to my left which is practically empty tonight, whilst where I am at, a nice modern seated stand looks appealing hogging half way, but as I find out when walking towards it, is for ‘members only’ I’m told.

A nice lady tells me I can’t sit there, so I’m back into reception who tell me I can sit there, I buy a cup of tea and a pre-made bag of sweets (£2.50) before telling the nice lady she’s wrong, heading up on past her to the top row where there’s press seating and around five or six flip down benches partially obscured by perspex panelling that you have to look through to see the left hand goal.

In fairness to the lady, Dorking Wanderers have a neat new press area for the home analysts on half way over the opposite side and she wasn’t sure if I should have been in there instead, it’s impressive lit up looking down on to the pitch, but I like to be in the open, and the view is good, if a little huddled in with the members here, a friendly, cosy, toasty atmosphere in this section.

The Game

I’m met by an analyst who’s recently been let go by Southampton. “It wasn’t you was it” I ask if he’d fallen victim through Spygate. “Nah” he tells me, quickly brushing it aside.

He’s a nice lad though and tells me about a Northern Irish centre half Calum Anderson who’s one to look out for from the Saints, and apparently Prince Ehibhatiomhan has been smashing them in for the under 21’s. He also helps me with the Dorking line-up as he’s been to one or two games here already this season, although we are unsure whether the Wanderers are four or three at the back, as they start the game it looks like a 4-2-3-1 but is a bit offset and all over the place as the likes of Camp and Ilesanmi get forward from their defensive positions.

Within a few minutes Brennan Camp should open the scoring, unmarked from a corner he heads wide when it looks more difficult to miss the target, often a threat, I’m told he’s usually good for a goal, or a booking at least.

Dorking have a lot of the play but Hampton & Richmond look decent on the break, they have young teen forward Bright Siaw on loan from Barnet and he’s handful, fast and powerful his direct running is causing Wandering issues.

You feel the away side who are down in the drop zone on defensive errors do have the capacity to score, and when Luiz Fernandez comes up for a set play, the ball falls to the big centre half who kicks down into the ground one that loops over the goalkeeper, typically against the run of play the Beavers (as they are known) take the lead.

That lead on nineteen doesn’t last long though, I’m telling the fella next to me ‘these aren’t good enough to keep a clean sheet’ and no sooner does he say “I hope you’re right” does Harry Pinchard dance through the flaky defence to score a brilliant solo goal.

Pinchard is a player I have liked previously at Hereford and Gloucester, technical, talented, perhaps lacking the pace and power to play too many steps higher, but I certainly think Dorking have got a good one here.

The left footer jinking into the box to drive hard and low, apparently he’s been man of the match a few times already this season, after joining the club this summer.

The Score

There’s a chance for Bright Siaw to instantly return the away sides lead but he runs through on goal and has a tame effort saved, before Dorking have their big chance ahead of half time, Nikaj through on goal elects to play in Josh Barrett who can’t round the keeper.

Dorking make a couple of changes at the break, defensively they have players on cards and Marc White is concerned by the pace of Siaw who has been brilliant, but he’s well marshalled in a second half which swaps from being an open game of football into a bit of a scrap, Dorking lacking ideas as the Beavers retreat, Hampton & Richmond making themselves harder to score against, Borough suddenly look the better of the two teams, and the more likely to score.

Barrington has already crashed an effort against the crossbar as the away side win a corner, from there the ball bounces kindly to on loan substitute Hayden Barrett, he smashes back towards goal a stunner which probably the keeper should have saved, suddenly the visitors media team are going crazy sat next to me, whilst everyone else around stays silent.

It’s not quite smash and grab as it seems deserved on this second half showing, Dorking have played with fire and are getting their fingers burnt, but late on the young managerial duo of Kretzschmar and Saunders start to slowly take off their best attacking assets, one by one Hampton & Richmond get weaker with each substitution, and as a corner is being prepared Luca Barrington is substituted for a defender Ben Jackson “a strange time to make a change” says the analyst next to me, as the ball is then swung in and smashed home by Alfie Rutherford, perhaps the perfect reason why you never make changes when defending a corner.

By now and with just six minutes to go, rain lashing down, Dorking have the chomp between their gums, fans are up and at it, players are suddenly playing front foot football, Theo Widdrington has just came on, he’s playing like Rodri as he passes with freedom against two banks of five, the ball ending up out wide from Pinchard to Camp who crosses low and Rutherford is on hand again, the striker hasn’t done much all night but his two goals have earned him a match winning man of the match performance.

The Stars

There’s a lot to like from Dorking who at least play the right way but like Hampton & Richmond, both teams look vulnerable defensively, a lot of the Wanderers best play is in advanced positions, Harry Pinchard is my standout, a little magician in the centre of the park, waving his wandering left footed wand for the Wanderers.

James McShane and Jack Wood grew into the game and worked hard without frills, as did Brennan Camp down the right-hand side who looks to be a crowd favourite swashbuckling style defender, whilst ahead of him I thought George Nikaj looked a real attacking threat, lively and direct he was taken off and replaced by Theo Widdrington who’s a player who has often flattered to deceive for me, tonight he dictated in the short time he was on and that change, if any was the key to Dorking (twice) unlocking their opponents door.

Not helped by a goalkeeper who flaps and a defence that is too shaky, too vulnerable, too nervous of what's behind them perhaps? Hampton & Richmond like Dorking have brilliant players in the attacking third. I last watched nineteen year old forward Bright Siaw in pre-season at Barnet and he looks to be a player, more powerful, very direct, super speedy, who can play at this level with ease.

There were moments from Wilson Waweru on loan from Wealdstone who battled hard up front, whilst Luca Barrington was quiet, he’s a player whose ability I love, although I question if the output is often enough? He was released by Boston United in the summer after showing glimpses for them too. A couple working hard in his place though included Polish youth international Ashley Akpan in midfield, he got around the pitch and shown a bit of quality on the ball, as did Irish left back John Ryan who’s on loan from Reading, whilst another loanee Hayden Barrett did well, a small energetic 19-year-old midfielder who included a superbly taken goal from range. He's on the books at Championship side Watford.

The Verdict

What a great place to watch football, a short walk from the idyllic Dorking High Street this is exactly the place where a non-league football ground should be, at the heart of the community, in the centre of town with easy access to the people of the very place it bears on its logo.

I get why the locals have taken the club to their hearts and I certainly see why despite being in the sixth tier of English football, gates are often near 2,000, the football is good, front foot, attacking, the Manager a character, certainly, but he has the team, the town, the people of the community, certainly at the forefront of what he does, and when you have that sort of harmony at a football club, you have a real good chance of good things happening for all involved.

Dorking will certainly be knocking around in a competitive division come spring time, I suspect they’ll be well within the playoff race at season end, whilst I fear a little for Hampton & Richmond, these defeats are the sort of losses which keep happening when teams get relegated, whilst that is very likely to happen, they do have the hope of enough goals in their makeup, should they address the issue of conceding too many, they may still have the time to turn things around.

The Teams

Dorking Wanderers: Glenn Morris, Femi Ilesanmi (Frank Vincent 46), Brennan Camp, Isaac Philpot, Harry Pinchard, George Nikaj (Theo Widdrington 75), Alfie Rutherford (Dylan Stitt 90), James McShane, Jack Wood, Josh Barrett (David Rogalski 64), Louie Annesley (Charlie Sayers 46).

Hampton & Richmond Borough: Jamie Searle, Harrison Sodje (Max Mullins 49), Will De Havilland, Luis Fernandez, Michael Atkinson, Bright Siaw (Jasper Mather 65), Luca Barrington (Ben Jackson 84), Ashley Akpan, Wilson Waweru (Tobi Sho-Silva 73), Rohan Ince (Hayden Barrett 61), John Ryan.

7:45pm Kick Off. Tuesday 3rd November 2026, Meadowbank Stadium, Dorking (att 1,153).