Dial slipped to their first defeat of the season after losing 4-2 away at CB Hounslow & Abbots in the Surrey Premier County Football League on Saturday (31 August).

Two stoppage-time goals from Dean Qevani gave The Dragons all three points at Green Lane Sports Ground after striker Harry Rice had given Dial a 2-1 lead.

It was disappointing result for Steve Brown's 2023/24 double-winning side who suffered their first league defeat since November 2023.

With several key players still unavailable, Brown could only name 14 players for the trip to Hounslow, which culminated in having to name himself along with semi-retired Matt Bunyan to bolster the line-up.

Jordan Carter came close to opening the scoring for The Dial after just seven minutes, but his chip over Lewis Rees was cleared off the line.

Rice then went close with a freekick, which sailed just over the bar from 25 yards midway through the half.

Shortly after, Rees saved Olly Woolgar’s low shot from the edge of the box, with the visitors only notable efforts coming from Darion Forde, who shot straight at Andy Rider before blasting another shot well-wide of the target on the stroke of half-time.

Dan Cenzano was inches away from giving Dial the lead eight minutes after the restart when his 20-yard shot bobbled in front of Rees and struck the outside of the post.

However, it was the hosts who got their noses in front, against the run of play, when Kieron Horrill was gifted a simple tap-in from close range following some good wide play after 55 minutes.

The Dragons’ lead was short-lived when Adam Bicknell equalised 90 seconds later, heading the ball past on the onrushing Rees to score his first league goal since joining from Shottermill & Haslemere in the summer.

Rice then opened his goalscoring account for the season a with a customary mazy run to outwit Rees and Albie Burgess in the six-yard box, before turning on a six-pence to fire the visitors ahead in the 65th-minute.

A late surge from The Dragons saw them hit back through Ade Owolana in the 82nd-minute after Dial were unable to clear a corner.

And just when it looked as though both sides would share the spoils, substitute Qevani took advantage of two moments of indecisions to slot home in the 90th and 94th minutes, much to the jubilations of the home faithful and dismay of Dial boss Brown.

Speaking candidly after the match, Brown said: “Although we were down on numbers, with several key players missing, we simply weren’t good enough against CB Hounslow [& Abbots]. After taking a 2-1 lead, we should have shown leadership and effective game management to see the game out. Instead, we allowed them to equalise late on and, worse still, score two further goals due to lapses in concentration,” he added.

DIAL SQUARE: Rider, Rose-Davies, Vassell, Phillips, Bunyan © (Brown, 58’), Neville, Carter, Bicknell (McDermaid, 76’), Rice, Woolgar (Lawrence, 56’), Cenzano.

Man of the Match – n/a