Whyteleafe FC 2 Dulwich Hamlet 1

Whyteleafe FC 2 Dulwich Hamlet 1
Challenge Match – Saturday 15th July

In sweltering conditions, deep in the heart of the Surrey stockbroker belt, Dulwich’s pre-season preparations took a knock as they succumbed to lower division opposition in the shape of Division 1 side, Whyteleafe. Looking sharper, Dave Garland’s former employers took advantage of a lacklustre display from their loftier opponents to chalk up a narrow victory although the final score was a little flattering, with all three goals coming from home players.
No new names to report in the starting line-up, with Paul Scott and Matt Fowler again leading the attack. Liam Kane continued on the left, balancing at the other end of the age scale by the reappearance of Michael Azzopardi on the right. Michael Ebanks who impressed so many with his determined display against Reading continued at left back.
Games against Whyteleafe always seem to the air of a catastrophe waiting to happen – who can forget that disastrous performance in the FA Trophy in 1998 – and taking advantage of the slope, the home team put Les Cleevely’s goal under intense pressure from the kick-off.
After a number of scares, it came as no surprise when the opening goal arrived after just five minutes had elapsed. A Whyteleafe corner on the right was poorly cleared to the waiting boot of Paul McKay who thumped in a powerful volley from the edge of the box through a crowd of players giving Cleevely no chance.
Worse was to follow for the Hamlet a couple of minutes later when Kane was forced to leave the field. Chasing an overhit through ball, he suddenly pulled up as if shot, feeling the effects of a pulled leg muscle. Still Dave Garland had an ace up his sleeve, as the replacement turned out to be Phil Barber, once of Crystal Palace. 35 he may be but the veteran of the Eagles run to the FA Cup Final proved to be one of the more influential Hamlet players on the pitch.
As Dulwich started to come back into the game, a horrendous blunder by Cleevely allowed Whyteleafe to double their lead. Collecting a back pass from Ebanks, rather than hoof the ball into the wild blue yonder the keeper inexplicably attempted to dribble the ball round the fast reacting Leion Dillon. The ‘Leafe striker must have thought Christmas had arrived early for he had the simplest of tasks of dispossessing Cleevely and then made light work of slotting the ball into the unguarded net. 20 minutes gone and 2-0 down. Still rather have the major cock-ups in friendlies.
Dulwich had their chances to get back into the game but apart from a reasonable curler from Fowler and Peter Garland’s long-range effort that when a foot wide, Danny Rose in the home goal barely had to break sweat. It was not until the 27th minute that he was truly tested and from the unlikeliest of sources. From a corner Mark Garland met the clearance was a crashing volley that saw Rose pull off a magnificent reaction save to deny Garland his first goal in Hamlet colours.
On the half-hour, the home defences were finally breached, although the goal came from a home player. Following a corner the ball pinged around the home box, before a weak clearance reached the foot of Barber. He sent over a tempting cross and as mass of bodies tired to make contact with it, it skimmed delicately off the head of Gary Fisher beyond the reach of Rose and just inside his right-hand post. After five fruitless appearances in Pink’n’Blue, Fisher had finally managed a positive contribution for the Hamlet!
Eight minutes from half-time Scott should have levelled things against his former team-mates, but after being sent clean through on goal, he placed his effort too close to the keeper, allowing Rose to save with his feet.
The half ended as it had begun with the home side in the ascendancy. McKay might have added a third after a first time shot just wide of the post had Cleevely vainly stretching. Then a miscommunication between Cleevely and Ebanks almost exposed the Hamlet goal, only for the diminutive defender to clear the danger at the last second.
The second half brought a flurry of changes as the thermometer rose and the tempo slowed. It became a game of ‘Spot The Newcomer’, as shirt numbers became more confused. A brace of 16’s and 14’s in Hamlet colours added to the confusion. In addition a number of players left the field at half-time, only to return later, so apologies if any misunderstanding or misidentification occurs. The final 45 minutes saw the appearance of Dominic Barclay, once of Sutton, Dave Richards, Dave Argent, Shaun Daley and Noel Frankum along with Dulwich’s own Jimmy Krankie, Jamie Martin.
Still the stifling heat took its toll on the players and the helter-skelter pace of the first half could not be maintained. Whyteleafe maintained the upper hand and it took a fine save from Cleevely, atoning for his blunder, to keep the Hamlet in touch. Indeed it might have been level just past the quarter-hour when Mark Garland was denied once again as his goalbound effort was kicked off the line. After good work from Barber, Brother Peter was similarly denied when his header was intercepted by a timely intervention from a defender.
As fans dozed in the sun, the game wended its way to its conclusion, but not before the returning Fowler had forced replacement custodian, Matt Martin, into a full length save. In the dying seconds, a draw might have been clinched but this would have been unfair on the hosts. A mass breakout instigated by Martin found Ebanks free on the left. His finely judged cross picked out Fowler but he fluffed his shot allowing Martin to unknowingly block the attempt. The ball ran loose and Barclay was quickest to react only to stab his chance into the keeper’s midriff.
In the end, the hosts deserved their victory, but with half-a-dozen games yet before the season opener against Grays, it is too early to make assumptions about who will be on the teamsheet come 19th August.

Team:
Les Cleevely, Gary Hewitt, Michael Ebanks, Veli Hakki, Mark Garland, Tony Chin, Michael Azzopardi, Peter Garland, Matt Fowler, Paul Scott, Liam Kane

Subs used: Phil Barber, Dominic Barclay, Dave Richards, Dave Argent, Shaun Daley, Jamie Martin, Noel Frankum

NEWS FROM AROUND THE RYMAN LEAGUE

Howse takes charge at Leatherhead
Leatherhead have appointed Clive Howse as their new boss and he will be assisted by his long-time friend Alan "Chick" Botley. Howse is the former number two to non-league football’s most successful manager of all time Kingstonian's Geoff Chapple. Howse also brings Ryman League experience with experience at Chertsey Town and Bracknell Town. Together with Botley, the pair will be a formidable team to reckon with in non-league football. Botley recently took Hampton to three promotions in five years in recent seasons.

Farnborough plans rejected
Plans for a seven-a-side floodlit pitch, club extension and other improvements at Cherrywood Road have been turned down by the local council. Directors of Farnborough Town had outlined the proposals to the council – and had secured sponsorship and a lottery grant to cover much of the cost. They were also hoping for assistance from the council with the cost of re-surfacing the car park. Full details of the decision to refuse permission are awaited, but the club says the plans are not dead.

CLARK QUITS SAINTS FOR CANVEY
Veteran striker Steve Clark has left St Albans City to join the Saints' Premier Division rivals Canvey Island.
The 36-year old decided to move on after failing to agree terms with the Hertfordshire side. Said Clark: "I will be disappointed to leave St Albans because I have a lot of connections with the club, but I feel I am worth more than the package they put before me." Clark played a total of 488 games for the Saints scoring an incredible 322 goals, just 18 of which were from the penalty spot. He was only 35 goals away from beating the goalscoring record at the club, which is held by Billy Minter.

Hampton & Richmond’s pitch work faces cash drought
Hampton & Richmond Borough commenced work on their Beveree pitch to install a drainage system in May and contractors E & S Sportsground Contractors were well into the work when news came through that the club’s grant application had been refused. Hampton & Richmond had approached a local charity, the Hampton Fuel Allotments for £30,000 to install a complete drainage and irrigation system at the ground. The Fuel Allotments Charity have assets of £40m and are allowed to issue up to £1.5m per year in grants to worthy causes in the Hampton community. Having believed they could expect a favourable decision, the club went ahead and ordered the works to be done mindful the pitch needed to be fit for use at the end of July. The news that the grant had been refused meant a quick re-appraisal of the works in hand had to be carried out as the club was now faced with covering the total cost out of its own resources. The additional irrigation system has been cancelled but the club have at least been able to install drains, a soakaway and sand slits which should improve pitch conditions at the Beveree. However the club will now be unable to extend its successful Saturday Mini-Soccer Coaching School and in fact will have to reduce the age grouping from 5-11 years of age to 5 to 10 years.

Windsor team boss steps down
After five and a half years Alan Davies has indicated that he wishes to take a break from the pressure of football management and has tendered his resignation as Manager of Windsor & Eton Football Club. Having gained promotion from the Third Division scoring more goals than any other Club in the Ryman League in that season, the Club has since advanced to the final of the Vandanel Trophy, the quarter finals of the Berks & Bucks Cup and has finished a creditable fifth in the Second Division in the last two seasons of the competition. Assistant Manager Byron Walton has taken the step up to Caretaker Manager for the time being.

Ringrose leaves Ware
Ware have announced they have parted company with Steve Ringrose, team manager for the last three and a half years. Steve's departure was by mutual consent and the club wishes to pay tribute to the work that he did, not only with the first team, but in helping to promote a strong club ethos through the successful reserve and youth sides. Steve's commitment and support will be missed. The management committee have moved quickly to fill the gap and have appointed Dave Edwards as Steve's replacement. Dave has had managerial experience at Saffron Walden, Harlow, Stansted, Bishop’s Stortford and Bromley.

QPR stalwart arrives at Wingate
Wingate & Finchley have announced the signing of Clive Wilson, ex-QPR & Spurs as player/coach for 2000/2001. The club believes Wilson will bring class in the midfield and having played under such as Terry Venables, George Graham and Ray Wilkins will bring a wealth of experience to the Blues

Hemel keeper moves north
Luljan Gjeloshi, a keeper at Hemel Hempstead Town last season, has been given a tryout at Scottish side Partick Thistle. The 25-year old arrived in the UK last September. His application for political asylum was granted and he has also been given a work permit, allowing him to play professional football. Gjeloshi played 15 games with Hemel on their way to winning Division Two. He can also claim 10 caps at under-21 level, three call-ups to the Albanian international squad and has also played for the under-16s and under-18s.

Canaries tie up with Brazilians
Hitchin Town may one day include Brazilians in their line-up if an innovative scheme in Latin America bears fruit for the Canaries. The club has been approached by its Brazilian-based agent, Willy Tigre, to consider a proposal to invest in a youth training facility in Foz do Iguacu in the state of Parana, Southern Brazil. The facility coaches players ranging from nine years old to under-21 level. Earlier this year, Hitchin Town was instrumental in bringing a team of Brazilians to England to play a series of games against non-league and full-time opposition. The club hopes to send, in conjunction with the PASE scheme, a team of youngsters to Brazil on a reciprocal basis. "We are looking for sponsorship for this project," says Club Captain and Brazilian project manager Mark Burke. "But this is a massive goodwill operation, which we feel will add to relations between football in this country and Brazil, one of the great footballing nations."

Heybridge to face Premiership newboys
The highlight of Heybridge Swifts pre-season programme is a match with the full Ipswich Town Premiership squad on Saturday July 29th. Kick is 3.00 p.m. and the match is all ticket, priced at £8 for adults and £4 for juniors and OAP’s. Tickets are selling well but are still available both from the Clubhouse and from ‘Yours in Sport’, Bentalls Shopping Centre, Heybridge; 01621 857087. This highly prestigious friendly is yet another feather in the cap for Swifts as the club continues to build its profile on and off the park. Also visiting Scraley Road in the pre-season build up are the first teams of Colchester United on July 25th and Leyton Orient August 1st. These will be smashing games and an opportunity to see our local league sides in the flesh at a fraction of the normal price.

Hutchings leaves Recreation Ground
Aldershot Town manager George Borg has confirmed that midfielder Otis Hutchings has left the club after it was agreed that the 29 year old would struggle to keep a regular first team place next season. The London based player re-joined the shots in December 1999 from Boreham Wood and in total he made 23 appearances last season. He originally joined the Shots as one of George Borg's early signings and was an integral part of the 1997/98 Ryman Division One championship squad and he was honoured by receiving the Supporters Club Player of the Season Trophy. Manager Borg said " I felt that with the midfield players I have brought in Otis would be just a squad player and would not be first choice for next season. It was best that he moves on and Otis was realistic enough to accept this. He has had other offers and I am sure that he will find another club soon".

Carshalton hit by fire
Fire has destroyed the clubhouse at Carshalton Athletic's Colston Avenue ground. The fire was contained to the offices and boardroom, but the dressing rooms and function room were spared. The fire brigade are investigating the cause, but have not ruled out arson. Chairman Andrew Hay described it as a disastrous day for the club, but was thankful no-one was hurt in the blaze. He also paid tribute to the fans who had given their help in the clear up operation and neighbouring clubs who have also offered assistance. The club had spent around £20,000 in recent years on improving the parts of the ground which have now been destroyed. Also lost in the fire were a number of irreplaceable items from the club's past. With the stands and dressing rooms still intact the club are hopeful they will be able to stage league games at home when the season starts in August.