Worthing’s late raid does the damage
WORTHING Raiders emerged victorious over Dorking in an entertaining backand-forth contest thanks to a two-try sucker punch in the last ten minutes.
Dorking took the lead three times over the course of the match, but despite playing large parts of the first halfhour on the back foot, a dogged Worthing only fell more than one score behind once in the game.
And the Raiders were rewarded after 79 minutes when Caleb Ashworth crashed over for their fifth try to seal the win and deny the visitors even a losing bonus point, moving Worthing up to second in the table and ahead of Dorking by points difference.
Dorking were faster out of the blocks and thought they’d scored within three minutes when they were held up over the Worthing line.
But they kept the pressure up and soon made their dominance count on the scoreboard, as lock Jasper King grabbed an interception for an easy run to the line.
Worthing hit back
to level up the scores when winger Curtis Barnes found a gap in the line and scored, before visiting captain Fred Dalton restored Dorking’s lead on the 20-minute mark.
His team followed that example and continued to look the sharper team.
Finn Osborne had the ball over the line again but failed to touch down before scrum-half George Jackson followed up to score.
However, Kilian Wilson missed his only conversion of the game to keep the home side in it, and they responded with a well-taken converted try by Connor Slevin.
And Worthing took the lead for the first time on the stroke of half-time, when Mathew McLean converted Elliott Luke’s score following a powerful line-out drive – the hooker celebrating his 150th appearance for Worthing.
That lead only lasted for four minutes after half-time as Dorking started the second period as they had the first, driving at their hosts before replacement Stephen Howorth found the line to restore his side’s supremacy at 21-26.
That was the last time Dorking troubled the scoreboard, with both sides having chances before it was Worthing’s Jack Forrest who struck the decisive blow after repeated phases of quick ball.
And they made sure of the win when the Dorking side couldn’t hold onto the ball playing from deep and man-of-thematch Ashworth claimed the final try.
Victorious Worthing number eight Frank Taggart said: “We knew it was going to be tough.
“When we went to their place at the start of the season they did us.
“But we knew it was a bit more personal today and for 80 minutes we just dug deep. One to 15 and the finishers that came on at the end, it was class all round.”