Dial closed the gap at the top of the Surrey Premier County Football League table to just one-point after beating Tooting & Mitcham United U23s 2-0 at Alwyns Lane this afternoon (22 Nov.).

Goals from Jordan Carter and Tommy Adag were enough to extend Dial's unbeaten run to nine matches in all competitions and close the gap on league leaders Wimbledon Casuals, and with a game in hand.

Steve Brown was able to name an almost full-strength side for the visit of The Terrors, with Zac Hawker and George Frith coming back into the side after a one-match absence, and Dan Cenzano getting the nod to lead the line ahead of Michael Campbell.

Despite the near sub-zero temperature, it took Dial just four minutes to open the scoring when Carter cut inside Raechen Chang-Brown on the edge of the box, before curling the ball beyond the outstretched arm of Tiago Santos David. It was a superb goal from the talisman winger.

To their credit, the south Londoners tried to play their way through the thirds. However, they were overpowered in the middle of the park, with Hawker, Frith and Adag constantly on hand to break up play.

And with Carter at the heart of much of Dial’s attacking play, his resilience on the ball paved the way for Adag to run onto a loose ball and pick his spot past David to make it 2-0 in the 20th-minute.

At the other end, George Mead comfortably palmed away Micah Frazer’s free-kick on the half-hour mark in what was the visitors’ only effort on goal in the first period.

Despite the torrential downpour and reduced visibility, Dial continued to enjoy the lion's share of possession after the restart.

A solitary penalty appeal from George Lawrence was waved away by Stephen Edgell midway through the second half after Chang-Brown appeared to upend the winger.

Carter then dragged a shot just wide of the near post following a series of neat interchanges as Dial continued to press the Terrors’ backline.

With the full quota of substitutes on the pitch, Danny Taylor rose above Wassiem Ahmed eight yards out, but his header was blocked on the line and eventually cleared on the cusp of the final whistle.

Speaking after the match, Brown said: “It was a well-rounded performance in testing conditions.

“I thought we controlled the game and were unlucky to go into the break with just a two-goal lead.

“Not to take anything away from Tooting [& Mitcham United], who really made a go of it in the second half, but they didn’t really trouble us.

“I would like to give a special shoutout to Ross Ewen and George Mead; they were both excellent in shoring up the defence,” he added.

DIAL SQUARE: Mead, Ewen, Vass (Rose-Davies), Hawker, Corner (Norman), Rogers, Carter, Adag (Doran), Cenzano (Campell), Lawrence (Taylor), Frith.

MotM: Ross Ewen