Spireites rally can spur survival bid
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).”
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