WEYMOUTH boss Mark Molesley felt the Terras’ composure was key in a heated contest as a 95th-minute winner from Abdulai Baggie finally eroded nine-man Dorking’s spiky resistance.
In the battle of fifth versus sixth, Brett Williams headed Weymouth in front before Dorking’s Elliott Buchanan equalised after a spell of high pressure from the visitors.
Dorking then saw two red cards given to Sam Beard and Isaac Philpot, while managers Marc White and Molesley were cautioned for dissent.
Swiping the drama to one side, creating his own plot, was Baggie as the Sierra Leone winger pounced on a ricochet to break Wanderers’ resolve and spark wild home celebrations.
Speaking to Echosport, Molesley paid tribute to both sides in the dramatic Vanarama National League South battle.
He said: “It was an exciting game, full of drama. The game had a bit of everything, it was a well-contested affair with plenty of action and talking points.
“Ultimately, I felt our boys remained disciplined, kept their cool and we got the job done, which is the most important thing in a very tough game.
“You’ve got to take your hat off to them. Not many teams come and have good spells of possession at our place – they certainly did.
“We had to be disciplined and do a lot of good work out of possession. Usually we take the lead in that, but we had to wrestle the possession back from them.
“They kept the ball really well, had good movement and have really good players – they’re well put together.
“We had a sloppy moment when we switched off for the goal, which is disappointing. I felt we were limiting their chances and when we got it back looked dangerous.”
Commenting on the brilliance of Baggie, who was hauled down by Beard and Philpot, Molesley said the winger had been a constant menace.
He said: “He proved a big thorn in their side, got away from them a couple of times and was held back. That was their way to stop him – take him down.
“Ultimately the two players have got (sent off) because he’s got away from them. They can have no complaints because we were in good attacking positions.
“I’d like to think out of those occasions something good would have come of one of them.
“When they went down to nine men, time was running out quickly. We had to be patient and ultimately we got the goal at the right time.
“That capped Baggie’s performance off well with the goal and I’m really pleased with Brett and his contribution the last two games.
“That was a proper number nine’s finish for his goal, getting across his man with the header – and a good cross from Ollie (Harfield) as well.
“We’ve had some really good moments in the game and I felt that our discipline got us the three points – out of possession and with our mentality.”
Asked what went through his mind when Dorking were reduced to nine men, Molesley said: “There was a lot of emotion around the game.
“It had the feel of a blood and thunder cup tie, end-to-end and two good teams going at it. When that happens the crowd lift and it was important we remained focused on our jobs.
“I felt we did that, we made the opportunity, got a good one and made it count.”
