KEEPERS CLAIM THE HONOURS
Frustration for contenders
Play-off contenders Dorking Wanderers and Bath City cancelled each other out at Meadowbank as both failed to find the winner each needed to boost their promotion credentials.
Neither side were able to generate much activity in the final third before the break thanks to a lack of quality on the ball. In fact, the industry shown by both sides kept the game largely contested in midfield.
Dorking did have the ball in the net just past the half hour mark through Jason Prior after quick link-up play between Luke Moore and James McShane set him away on goal. Sadly for the home faithful, the lineman’s flag chalked it off.
In the last few minutes of the half, Alex Hartridge stretched to redirect a ball at goal and force Dorking stopper Slav Huk to claw the ball away. Frankie Artus nodded the rebound narrowly wide of target.
Wanderers started to up the ante just before the hour mark, Prior forcing Ryan Clarke to tip away his first-time strike from just inside the area.
Prior then looked to set up Jack Barham a moment later but contact would go begging as the ball flashed across the face of goal.
The visiting stopper then allowed the ball to slither through his hands after a set-piece delivery. The ball fell nicely for Prior at the back stick but his half-volley sailed over the bar.
Bath would retaliate with a succession of shots from distance as the half wore on, Noah Chilvers and Tom Smith both dragging efforts wide.
City’s lively Sam Pearson having a deflected effort bring out a low diving save from Huk. Very late on
Prior would head wide and McShane would be unfortunate not to profit from good work by Barham to keep the ball alive in the area, but it was not to be, as the home side still await a first league win of 2020.
Romans boss Jerry Gill was the happier of the two managers afterwards.
“I’m very pleased with the point. we’ve restored the performance levels after last week against a really good side,” he said. “It was a tight game and they had lots of possession.
You’re not going to dominate the ball every week so we adapted our system well to manage that. Both sides had a couple of good chances each and in the end I felt the draw was the right result.”
Dorking manager Marc White said: “It was a game of two halves really, they set up to slow us down, and in the second half we reacted better to that and had the better chances.”