Dial moved another step closer to promotion after a comfortable 4-0 win against basement club Hersham in the Surrey Premier County Football League on Saturday (15 March).

It was Dial’s 16th league win of the season, which means that Steve Brown's side need 14 points from their remaining eight matches to guarantee promotion.

Despite the 37-point gulf separating Dial from the Robins at the start of play, the fixture had the making of being a potential banana skin for the league leaders.

And that almost came to bear when Andy Rider was called into action to deny Adam Waktins from point-blank range inside the opening 10 minutes.

However, it was Dial who got their noses in front when Mike Bawn parried Harry Rice’s shot into the path of Louie Rogers, who scored in the 14th-minute.

A miskick from Bawn almost paved the way for Dial’s second, but Jordan Carter scuffed his shot across goal on the half-hour mark.

But the Robins’ shot-stopper more than earned his stripes after thwarting talisman Adam Aziz twice in quick succession before the break.

There was an element of good fortunate regarding Dial’s second goal when Carter’s cross sailed into the top corner just 90 seconds after the restart.

A powerful header from Will Neville came close to making it 3-0 a few minutes later, but was blocked by a suspicious handball from Alex Ranger.

A spectacular bicycle kick from Dan Cenzano went just over the bar in what would have been a goal-of-the-season contender.

It was only a matter of time though before the hosts’ luck ran out, courtesy of Aidan Phillips, who opened his account for the season in the 62nd-minute.

Four minutes later, Neville rose unmarked in the six-yard box to head home his first of the season and Dial’s fourth as the Robins were at sixes and sevens.

Cenzano and Carter both came close to adding to the tally in the closing stages, but the hosts managed to hold out to keep the scoreline respectable, as Dial ran out worthy 4-0 winners.

Speaking after the match, Brown said: “I thought the players gave a really good account of themselves. It was a tough pitch to get the ball down and play attractive football. The wind also didn’t help, albeit played to our advantage in the second half.

“We probably could have won by a much higher score; nonetheless, it was a professional performance. I don’t recall Hersham having a shot on target for 80 minutes of the match, with speaks volumes about how well we defended too.

“The players were tasked to go out and get three points, and they did everything that was asked of him,” he added.

DIAL SQUARE: Rider, Rogers. Vassell (Abraham-Barlow), Averiss, Vass, Neville (Dembele), Carter, Phillips (Rose-Davies), Rice (Lawrence), Aziz, Cenzano. Unused sub: Bunyan

MoTM: Adam Aziz