WE’RE READY TO MAKE HAY
DORKING Wanderers sent shockwaves through the National League with their destruction of Chesterfield – but their former Spireites defender Haydn Hollis insists it was no fluke.
Hollis returned to haunt the club where he spent four years over two spells with a man-of-the-match display as Marc White’s meny dismantled the champions-elect 4-1 at Meadowbank last Saturday.
Two goals from Alfie Rutherford
and one each from Dan Pybus and Tom Blair saw off the below-par league leaders, who held a 23-point advantage at the top before kick-off, and ensured Wanderers moved out of the bottom four.
Hollis impressed at the back as he marshalled the prolific Will Grigg – the second-highest goalscorer at Step 1 – but revealed the home side were not fazed by the visit of the division’s best team.
“They’re deservedly champions but I don’t think there’s anyone in this league who is absolutely outstanding – everybody is beatable,” the 31-year-old said. “I was there (at Chesterfield) for a long time, four years, and I knew the players inside-out so I knew exactly what to expect (last weekend).
“We don’t worry who we play, we have quite a tough run-in against teams from the top half but if we look after ourselves and do what we do, we’ll be okay.”
Hollis felt although the strugglers had caused a shock in the eyes of many, no one at the Surrey outfit had been surprised at the outcome.
Dorking had slipped into the relegation places after a run of one win in five matches prior to the visit of Paul Cook’s men and needed three points to aid their survival bid.
“Yeah, we did,” Hollis said when asked if it had shocked many in the game. “I think no one expected it apart from us. (But) we’d worked on them all week when we could and we might have surprised a lot of people but it didn’t surprise us too much and I think we deserved it. I think we could have had even more (than 4-1).”
Scrap
Hollis aims to lend his considerable experience to his team as they battle to stay up in a frantic scrap which currently as if it could engulf as many as 14 sides.
While the Spireites are closing in on the title and promotion to the EFL, it is at the bottom of the National League where the attention will fall during the run-in.
“I’ve been in this position, in relegation fights in leagues above, and I know what it takes and you have to roll your sleeves up and dedicate yourselves to the scrap and do what we did (against Chesterfield),” added the ex-Notts County, Forest Green Rovers and Ebbsfleet United man.
“If you do that, results will take care of themselves and we won’t have to worry about anybody else.”
The centre-back attributes his side’s poor form this season to misfortune, despite their superb 90-minute display which had spectators wondering if they can perform like that more consistently.
Wanderers go to mid-table Southend on Tuesday aiming to take another step towards safety and keep White’s men, in their second season at this level, in the division.
“Some of the defeats we’ve had have been very unfortunate – we’ve been very unlucky,” Hollis adds.
“I believe you make your own luck and we saw against Chesterfield that if you do the right things, you get what you deserve.”