MET POLICE CAUGHT SHORT BY REFEREE

The Met Police might have lowered their height restrictions for new recruits but someone at Imber Court forgot to tell the groundsman that that ruling does not apply to the goalposts as well! On Tuesday night Dulwich Hamlet became the latest victims of the shrinking goal phenomenon that is sweeping non-league football as their Ryman Division One South Match at Met Police was called off by referee Bruce McLaren at 7-00 p.m., 45 minutes before the scheduled kick-off time. This too late to prevent the Dulwich players, officials and supporters from travelling with several bemused fans arriving at the Coppers’ Imber Court ground to find both sides’ players and management clustered around the man in black, who armed with a tape measure was sizing up the goal. Although both sides were happy to play the match, Mr McClaren’s discovery that one crossbar was two inches too low resulted in a wasted journey for all. Manager Martin Eede was particularly disgruntled for not only was this a chance to erase the memory of Saturday’s mind-numbing scoreless draw with Banstead and get the promotion train back on track, but it was also a dress-rehearsal for the FA Trophy tie on Saturday week. The game will be replayed at a later date but the embarrassed police may find themselves recipients of a hefty fine for their failure to fulfil the fixture.