A superb first time half-volley from Elijah Taylor just before half time rescued a point for Hambledon as the Dons opened their account at Holloway Hill Recreation Ground with a battling draw against fellow promotion hopefuls Surrey Athletic. The Dons had got off to the perfect start after Sam Coombe was quickest to react; bundling in after the away keeper had tipped Lewis Gunner’s free kick onto the underside of the crossbar. The game was then flipped on its head as firstly a scrappy deflection got Athletic back on level terms before a spectacular strike from the corner of the penalty area gave the away side a deserved lead. However, the Dons were not to be denied at least a point with Elijah Taylor hammering home George Shiangoli’s through ball against the run of play.

A draw did neither side any favours in the race for the final promotion place. Hambledon still require a slip up from Surrey Dynamos with their game in hand, and Surrey Athletic are now all but out of the running, sitting seven points behind the Dons and Dynamos with three games left to play. Both teams came into the game with seasons that had followed a similar pattern. After drawing 1-1 in the season opening encounter both went on strong runs challenging Hindhead at the top of the league. However, since Christmas, both respective campaigns have somewhat fizzled out and a resurgent Dynamos have left the sides in a real scrap to gain promotion.

Despite the obvious disappointment at the final whistle, Hambledon would be the happier of the two teams. The Dons were by no means at their fluent best, but had their battling qualities on hand to take something from a game in which they barely threatened. Surrey Athletic would feel that they deserved more, especially in a first half that they dominated once Sam Coombe had given the home side the lead.
Matt Mullins did exceptionally well to tip a cross-come-shot over the corner of post and bar, and stood up strong to deny the Athletic attacker with his feet when one-on-one. However, there was nothing that could be done with both of Surrey’s goals. The first was a little fortuitous, the ball ping-ponging into the back of the net after the Dons made a mess of a corner and the second a peach of a shot into the roof of the net after the attacker was given too much time on the edge of the box.

Lewis Gunner and Matt Batchelor were constantly required to make last ditch tackles in an attempt to keep the score down, while Ben Taggart and Jono Hill were left brutally exposed as Surrey Athletic targeted to overload the wings. The away side were playing a fluent, expansive game and that did give the Dons plenty of space in the middle when they retrieved possession. However, the quality of the final ball was always slightly astray and rushed, giving Darren Martin and Dean Knight little to feed off. But it did offer encouragement that there was space to exploit for Hambledon if they found the right pass.

With only a single goal lead for Surrey Athletic to take towards half time, the Dons finally made them pay for their profligacy, with Elijah Taylor dragging the home side back onto level terms. Sam Coombe then placed a shot just wide from the edge of the box as Hambledon finally established some kind of foothold in the game just before half time.

With the first half being so open and entertaining from a neutrals perspective, the second half was the complete opposite. Devon MacMillan came on at half time and showed some quality touches in the number 10 role as the Dons resumed on the front foot. However, with both Andy Parkin and George Shiangoli now sitting deep to protect the back four, the remainder of the game threw up little in terms of goal-scoring opportunities. Matt Mullins wasn’t tested nearly as much in the second half with Surrey Athletic resorting to wayward shots from outside of the box, while at the other end a couple of breaks from the home team failed to produce anything like the cutting edge that was seen in the first half. Dean Knight did well to navigate round keeper but was well marshalled by the defence while Darren Martin couldn’t quite get on the end of Andy Parkin’s cut back. Andy Parkin and Lewis Gunner both had headed efforts but neither worried the keeper.

Lawrence Bourke was introduced to add some extra creativity but the team looked fatigued for the final twenty minutes. And after Lewis Gunner was sent off for chatting too much to the ref, the Dons shut-up shop and saw out the remaining 5-10 minutes with relative ease.