Dial suffered a surprise county cup defeat against Bagshot on Saturday (30 Nov 2024), losing 4-2 on penalties.
It’s the second-time in three seasons that Dial have been eliminated from the Surrey FA Saturday Intermediate (County) Cup in the second round, and brings an end to an 11-match unbeaten run in league and cup competitions.
With several key players unavailable , the going was always going to be tough for The Dial against The Baggies, especially on an uneven pitch at Krooner Park which made attractive football nigh on impossible.
Harry Rice passed up a good opportunity to give Dial an early lead when he shot straight at Adrian Giles after a great through-ball from Charlie Marshall.
The 40-year-old shot-stopper again stood his ground well to deny Marshall’s rasping shot from outside the box with just 15 minutes on the clock.
Despite Dial’s pressure, it was the hosts who took the lead when Ethan Cassie was gifted the opportunity to score from the penalty spot in the 33rd-minute.
In response, a surging run and 20-yard shot from George Lawrence went just over the bar, before Dial captain Will Neville thought he had equalised four minutes before the break, only for the goal to be ruled out for a much-disputed offside in the build-up.
Dial continued to have the lion’s share of possession in the second half, attacking down the slope, with Rice, Marshall and Dan Cenzano unable to find the target within 15 minutes after the restart.
However, Marshall’s endeavour eventually paid-off midway through the second half when he curled the ball through a crowd of players to beat Giles to level the scores.
At the other end, Andy Rider produced a stunning save to deny Cassie from point-blank range to keep the hosts at bay.
Giles then rushed out to thwart Rice on the edge of the box, before diving to brilliantly tip away Finley Rose-Davies' shot from just inside the box in the 87th-minute.
With the hosts struggling to clear their lines, a magnificent 20-yard half-volley from Aidan Doran crashed off the crossbar in stoppage time. And Giles again came to the Baggies’ rescue when he tipped over Marshall’s free-kick as the final whistle sounded for penalties.
With Dial missing two of their four spot-kicks, Bagshot went onto win the penalty shoot-out 4-2. They will now travel to Shottermill & Haslemere in the third round.
DIAL SQUARE: Rider, Averiss (Rose-Davies), Rogers, Phillips, Vass, Neville, Doran, Cenzano (Vassell), Rice, Lawrence (Band), Marshall. Unused subs: Bunyan, Brown.
MOTM: Aidan Phillips