KIDDY FAIL TO BREAK WANDS
THIS damp squib of a game served up a distinct lack of goalmouth action as these two improved sides battling to a point apiece at Aggborough.
With both sides struggling at the wrong end of the table, the visitors will be the happier of the two teams as they nullified Harriers and claimed a draw that keeps them three points clear of the relegation zone.
Phil Brown’s Harriers, who failed to win for the first time in the league since the former Hull City boss took charge, remain two points from safety.
Brown said: “I’ve got to find a way of winning games like that when they are tight. It’s another point gained in the plight for survival. A lot of supporters will be thinking that we should be beating Dorking at home, but nobody has a divine right to win a game of football.
“We huffed and puffed today. Our best players didn’t perform to the best of their ability. We didn’t do enough to win the game, but we certainly did enough not to lose the game.
“The resilience was there. I thought we showed a lot of commitment towards keeping a clean sheet, but we didn’t do enough in the final third.”
In front of their third successive crowd of over 3,000 at home, Harriers carved out their best chance of the game after only a quarter of an hour. Ashley Hemmings delivered a pinpoint cross for on-loan forward Sam Bellis, who glanced his header wide of the Dorking goal.
The first half continued in a scrappy manner and the first shot on target came seven minutes before the break when Hemmings drew a good save from Harrison Male with a powerful effort.
Dorking, making their first ever visit to Aggborough, started the brighter of the two sides after the break, but it took until the 69th minute for them to work Christian Dibble in the Harriers goal, who saved from Joshua Taylor’s piledriver.
Harriers had a late sight of a possible winner in injury time when Shane Byrne latched on to a long ball, but the game seemed destined to end goalless from a long time beforehand.
The Wands are now three points clear of the relegation zone and boss Marc White said: “I thought it was a really well-earned point.
“Coming up against a team with Phil Brown in charge on the back of four straight wins, it’s a difficult place to come.
“We’ve kept a clean sheet and got a point, and I think it was textbook in what we set out to do. Neither side could claim they should have won the game. It was a nervous goalless draw.
“We lacked a bit of a cutting edge in the final third, but the point was deserved and that is the way of summing it up.”