There was high drama at the Elmbridge Xcel Sports Hub on Saturday and Dawid Rogalski was at the heart of it all.
We selected Walton & Hersham’s home clash with AFC Totton as our Game of the Day in the Pitching In Southern League Premier South and it certainly lived up to its billing.
The visitors got their noses in front early in the second half through Tony Lee, but his strike was cancelled out by new arrival, Ralph Vigrass just past the hour-mark and with the scores finely balanced going into the closing stages, that’s when the drama really started.
Rogalski put the hosts ahead for the first time with barely five minutes to go but the visitors, with just one defeat from their previous 20 games, found a way back into the game two minutes into stoppage time at the end courtesy of the evergreen Scott Rendell.
You would be forgiven for thinking that would have knocked the stuffing out of the Swans, who themselves sit on the fringes of the play-off places, but not so as Rogalski popped up with the winner in the 96th minute.
It means that between them, the top two, Merthyr Town and AFC Totton, have lost only four League games all season and Walton & Hersham have been responsible for half of their defeats having beaten the Welsh outfit 5-2 at home back in August.
“To get that winning goal in front of our fans was such a special feeling for me,” Rogalski told us. “AFC Totton are second in the table for a reason; they are a physical and defensively-solid side who concede very few goals, so to come back and beat them in the way we did was crucial for us.
“It was a good game between two committed teams and the atmosphere was absolutely fantastic. We played really well as a team and deserved the victory in the end.
“We’re starting to turn things around with our recent form. We’ve won three of our last four games now and the defeat at Merthyr Town was unlucky as a key red card decision went against us very early on.
“As a team it’s fair to say that we’ve had our ups and downs this season. We started well then hit a bit of a challenging spell, but with the quality that we have and the way we play, I am confident that we can make a big push in the second half of the season and keep building on the momentum.
“From a personal point of view, I would have liked to have had more goals to my name by this stage, but at the same time I am pleased with the number of assists that I have contributed.
“The League is so competitive and consistency is absolutely key if you are to achieve anything. It’s a physical and direct competition. Merthyr, who have a similar style to us, are deserving of their place at the top but there is plenty of quality amongst those teams battling it out just below them.
“We are aiming for a place in the play-off places and if we can get in there, then there’s no reason why we can’t go all of the way. Personally the dream would be to get at least 30 goals and help us win the play-offs.”
A trip to Sholing awaits at the weekend.
IMAGE: Walton & Hersham FC
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