Dorking Wanderers have signed a 54-year-old fan to play in goal during Saturday’s National League South fixture against AFC Totton, in a remarkable turn of events.
Terry Dunn will don the gloves for Dorking’s fixtures following an injury to usual goalkeeper Harrison Foulkes and an inability to sign a more viable alternative before this weekend.
Dorking intend to recruit a new goalkeeper on a four-week loan on Monday, to cover the period Foulkes will be out of action. “For one game, we’re just going to have to get on with it,” chairman and manager Marc White explained. “In an era where passion comes in low quantities, what Terry lacks in mobility, he’ll make up for in heart.”
Dunn isn’t just a random supporter plucked from complete obscurity, at least. He was indeed a goalkeeper once upon a time, enjoying “multiple promotions” with “several local clubs” during a non-league career that finished 28 years ago.
“I still regularly play walking football. As a Wanderers fan, no one will be trying harder than me to keep a clean sheet on Saturday.”
Dorking, a small town in Surrey, are a mid-table side in the sixth tier of English football—only one step below the level Wrexham were at when Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac took over the Welsh club in 2021. They finished sixth in last season’s standings, only three points off automatic promotion to the National League, and unsuccessfully contested the play-offs.
This season, it’s been three wins, three defeats and a draw from their first seven league fixtures. Saturday’s visitors, Totton, are three points and seven places better off.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Like Riding a Bike’—English Sixth-Tier Side Bring 54-Year-Old Out of Retirement.
