Press Releases

Dolley guides Sanderstead to eighth consecutive win

It took Sanderstead 1s until the dying moments of the game to get a result against Surbiton 4a on Saturday 21 November in South League Surrey Division 2.  Three times they came from a goal down to equalise, before eventually pulling ahead 5-4 in the closing stages and shutting out their hosts.

Denzil Dolley led the scoring for the Old Saw Mill team, netting four times, and Martyn Avery claimed the other goal.

The game was fraught with controversy, particularly over disputed umpiring decisions, and twice the Millers found themselves a man down due to yellow cards.

The Millers drafted in some new faces for this fixture.  Gavin Bradley gave a strong performance at left midfield, regularly breaking down Surbiton attacks and winning possession for his teammates.  Meanwhile, the experienced Dolley ran the show going forwards, dominating his marker and creating chances both for himself and his forwards.

After Surbiton took the lead, a drilled pass from Mark Bryan was deflected in by Dolley at a short corner for Sanderstead's opener.  Avery added his effort just before half time, to bring the score to 2-2, shooting low with a reverse-stick strike and cancelling out the home team's controversial second goal.

Following the break, Dolley continued to cause havoc in the Surbiton defence, forcing home two other shots and putting the Millers 4-3 up.  When Surbiton drew level, it seemed Sanderstead would be left to pay the price for countless near misses.  But they found the winner through the Bryan-Dolley pairing, the former feeding an incisive pass which allowed Dolley to cut in from the right flank and shoot, unchallenged, into the bottom corner.

"The slow pitch and the contentious decisions made this a hard game to win, so it is all the more rewarding that we have kept our 100 per cent record.  Denzil's goals made up for several missed opportunities, and we need to ensure we are more clinical in the circle.

"Surbiton deserve credit for making a real game of this, and we are already looking forward to the return match in the second half of the season," he concluded.

The 4s also managed a win over Surbiton, triumphing 3-1 against the 8ths, while the 2nd XI cruised past high-flying Cheam, outscoring them 5-2.  Only the 3rd team failed to register a victory, falling 8-1 to a strong Horley 1st XI.