MATCH PREVIEW: Chippenham Town vs Dorking Wanderers | National League South | Saturday 14th December 2024

After a long two weeks without football, Chippenham return to Vanarama National League South action when they face Dorking Wanderers. The game will be played at The Thornbury Surfacing Stadium on Saturday 14th of December 2024, with a 3pm kick-off.

Dorking Wanderers, nicknamed the Wanderers, was formed in 1999 by a businessman and current first-team manager Marc White and his friends. Starting as an amateur recreational league team, the club won 12 promotions in 23 seasons, gaining them National League stature until they, unfortunately, got relegated last season.

With the rise of Marc White’s Wanderers, it has attracted social media presence, with Bunch of Amateurs creating multiple documentary seasons on the club. This has gained both the club and channel extra coverage, with videos hitting, on average, around 70,000 views. The Wanderers play their football at Meadowbank, which has a capacity of 3,000 and is the home of the Surrey FA.

Chippenham come into the game currently in 16th position on 25 points from 20 games. Whereas, the visitors Dorking come into the game just outside the playoffs in 8th position, with 34 points gained from 21 games. Both teams will show competitiveness and eagerness to win and push themselves up the National League South towards the top half of the table and playoffs.

14 days ago, Chippenham travelled to Hampshire and unfortunately came away with nothing after an action-packed second half saw the Bluebirds fall to a 3-1 defeat to Farnborough.

The first major chance fell to the Bluebirds when Matt McClure tackled Aaron Kuhl and ran down the wing, winning the second battle and crossing the ball into the dangerous area, but no one was there to attack it. The next major chance again came through captain Matt McClure when Caine Bradbury passed him the ball, making it one-on-one with the Farnborough goalkeeper, but he could not get it past. Chippenham looked lively.

Next came a corner for Chippenham, and a great ball in by Luke Spokes met the head of towering Aaron Amadi-Holloway. Jack Turner tipped it over the bar, making a good save.

The first major Farnborough chance was a free kick by Ricky Holmes, who struck a close-range free kick well. It came off the right post and was cleared by Leone Gravata and Nat Williams. A half where both teams could have scored but still 0-0.

In the second half, Chippenham opened the scoring in the 47th minute when Leone Gravata had space to run and passed to Caine Bradbury, who took his time, showed composure, and took the extra touch before finishing into the top left-hand corner of the goal.

Six minutes later, Farnborough equalised through a quick free kick, and a cross by the Farnborough number 30 was headed in by Joe Haigh. Farnborough looked to take the lead through a penalty given away by a challenge from Leone Gravata, but Ricky Holmes’ penalty was saved by Will Henry, who dived down to the left and got both hands on it.

Farnborough then unfortunately took the lead through a pass that split the Chippenham defence. Matt McArthur rounded Will Henry and scored. Boro then doubled their lead through a second penalty, which was converted by Aaron Kuhl.

Chippenham will go into the game wanting to change the head-to-head records. The two clubs have faced each other five times, with Chippenham picking up only one win out of the five. This win came at The Thornbury Surfacing Stadium in the 2021/22 season, when a Harry Parsons hat-trick and a Ricky Aguiar goal secured the three points.

A fun fact about that game is that it also marked Chippenham’s 50th victory at the National League South level. The last time these two teams met was during the first away trip of the season for Chippenham. A 12th-minute goal by Jason Prior secured all three points for Dorking that day.

The key player the Bluebirds will have to watch out for this week is Alfie Rutherford. The 26-year-old striker has scored nine goals and is Dorking Wanderers’ top scorer this season.

Dorking’s number 10 joined the Wanderers in the 2020/21 season from Havant and Waterlooville, where he was a fan favourite. Rutherford had his best season when Dorking earned promotion from the National League South. He scored 30 goals and finished the campaign as the league’s top scorer.

Unfortunately, Rutherford had to undergo knee and heart surgery, which limited his game time. However, this season, he has shown his quality up top, playing a key role in a Dorking attack that is currently the most prolific in the division.

In this massive game for the Bluebirds, the players, management, and staff will be looking to right the wrongs of their defeat two weeks ago with a home victory. If you can, please come support the team and be the 12th player in what could be a very important home win.

The pride and passion of the fanbase are always wanted and needed, so come down to #TheTSStadium and cheer on the lads.

UP THE BLUEBIRDS!