Taylor goal gives Dorking impressive victory against Barnet at the Hive

By Aaron Jaffe and James Leeland

A goal from Bobby-Joe Taylor sealed all three points for Dorking Wanderers as they saw off Barnet and picked up a 1-0 win at the Hive. 

The 27-year-old's cross for Harry Ottaway flew past Laurie Walker between the Bees' sticks with 32 minutes on the clock.

Barnet were odds on favourites to get back to winning ways, after falling short to Chesterfield and Aldershot in the past few weeks. However, Marc White and his Dorking side have had a tough start to the Vanarama National League campaign, conceding nine goals total against Borehamwood and Wrexham.

The Bees started on the front foot when Ryan De Havilland's cross was almost turned in to make the dream start for Dean Brennan's side. Sean Shields then found himself through on goal but his effort was blocked crucially by veteran defender and Dorking skipper Barry Fuller.

Dan Lincoln denied Nicke Kabamba from point-blank range after some great work by Daniel Powell to retain possession. Dale Gorman's half-volley was perfectly-timed but just wide of the net.

But it was the Wanderers that piled on the pressure, and their reward came in the most unlikely circumstances when Bobby-Joe Taylor's cross crept past Walker to give the visitors the lead.

It remained an end-to-end game towards the end of the first half, and the interval provided a great opportunity for both sides to gather and rethink their strategies.

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Barnet looked to start further up the pitch, but Dorking's press provided a few nervy moments. Bobby Joe-Taylor came near to adding to his goal tally but Walker was in the right position again to parry it out of danger.

Sean Shields came closest for Barnet after Powell played him through on the counter-attack. The former Weymouth man twisted and turned before placing his effort in the top left corner, only to be denied by Lincoln's fingertip at full stretch.

With five minutes left on the clock, debutant Alfie Egan was found in plenty of space on the right wing. He played a delicate ball into Ottaway with a neat finish, only to be flagged for offside.

The hosts had the ball in the net moments later with Moussa Diarra prodding the ball in off Rob Hall's corner, but before he had the chance to celebrate, the referee disallowed the goal for a foul on the Dorking defender.

With six minutes added time, Barnet had two controversial penalty shouts ruled off. New signing Idris Kanu looked to be fouled in the area after momentum was with the Bees. But then with only a minute to go, a last-ditch cross by Barnet seemed to strike the hand of the Wanderers full-back, directly in front of the Bees' fans.

The referee Aji Ajibola was adamant that there was nothing in it, and to the disgrace of both the fans and the management team, the scoreline remained 1-0.

It means Barnet dropped even further from their amazing form at the very start of the season to 8th, while Dorking move up the ranks into 13th. Dean Brennan faces a difficult trip on Saturday to National League playoff finalists Solihull Moors, while Marc White will hope that his side will cause an upset in Nottingham as they face a ruthless Notts County side.