Dulwich Kick-start Season With Victory over Leaders
Dulwich Hamlet put their disappointing Christmas behind them as they picked up a welcome three points at home to Carshalton Athletic. The game, rearranged from New Year’s Day after a waterlogged pitch forced a postponement, might have been in doubt due to the freezing conditions but the sterling efforts of the groundstaff ensured that the pitch was playable and the crowd was treated to a cracking encounter as Dulwich outthought and out-fought the title favourites to clinch victory. The only goal of the game was scored after twelve minutes when a pass found Peter Adeniyi out on the left wing. A couple of shimmies and a brace of bemused defenders later he whipped a low cross into the penalty area. There the ball was met by Gavin Rose who beat goalkeeper Stuart Searle with a sweet and simple sidefooted effort from 12 yards. Dulwich might have added a second midway through the second half as substitute Omari Coleman, back from injury, met an Adeniyi cross first time, his effort beating Searle but cannoning back off the upright. Remarkably, with the goal at his mercy and Searle sprawling, Junior Kadi somehow managed to smack the rebound against the opposite post. Still the danger was not cleared with Francis Quarm providing the cross from which a Lee Akers forced a fine save out of Searle as he turned the ball over the crossbar. The reaction of the two opposing managers at the final whistle was pure contrast as Martin Eede was left beaming. By contrast, Robin’s boss Graham Roberts earned himself a red card for a tirade against the referee after the final whistle, aggrieved at the amount of stoppage time played.
All Change at Champion Hill
Competition for the keeper’s jersey at Dulwich Hamlet has intensified with new that manager Martin Eede has resigned Scott Ward. The former Luton number one and brother of Millwall’s Darren left Champion Hill in December to join Premier Division strugglers Grays Athletic but found himself relegated to the bench when Grays brought in former Southend United custodian Melvin Capleton for last Saturday’s victory over Enfield. Ward reclaimed the Dulwich gloves for the visit of Carshalton Athletic on Tuesday night and marked his return with a clean sheet against the division leaders. A smiling Martin Eede was pleased with his dilemma over the two highly rated young keepers and compared himself to Ron Greenwood having to choose between Ray Clemence and Peter Shilton.
Additionally Dulwich have captured striker Jermaine Amanuel from promotion rivals Lewes and he also made his debut in that victory over Carshalton. Hamlet fans may remember him from the defeat at the Dripping Pan back in October when scoring a late second goal to confirm the Rooks’ 2-0 victory.
Leaving the Hamlet are Danny Husbands and Luke Basford. Husbands originally joined the Hamlet in autumn 2001 after a spell out of the game following injury. It was while filming for Sky’s Dream Team, in which he still regularly appears, that Dulwich striker Declan Perkins recommended the Hamlet and industrious midfielder Danny went on to make 51 appearances scoring 3 times. Left back Basford joined from Whyteleafe in the close season but despite some exceptional performances faced increased competition from Kemal Bulent in the left wing back role.
FA Trophy
South Londoners are more used to making the long trip down to Margate for their holidays but this coming Saturday the roles will be reversed as Champion Hill looks forward to their biggest game since 1996 when Southport escaped with a narrow 1-0 victory in the FA First Round, Dulwich’s first appearance at that stage for half a century. Whilst the FA Cup has long been consigned to memory, the Hamlet have reserved some of their best performances for the FA Trophy in recent years. Last season they disposed of Premier Division Billericay Town, before narrowly losing a seven-goal thriller at home to Braintree Town. This term has already seen the Pink and Blues beat Met Police in a replay a result that set up a monster tie against old rivals Tooting and Mitcham at their brand spanking new Imperial Fields stadium. In torrential rain, Dulwich overcame the setback of Gavin Rose’s dismissal and a 2-1 deficit to fight back and claim a stunning 3-2 triumph, thanks to a brace from Declan Perkins. Next up came the long trek to the West Country where a single Eben Allen goal was enough to secure victory.
Dulwich manager Martin Eede is not normally a man to go overboard but he quietly fancies his team’s chances of causing an upset against the Conference strugglers. ‘With injuries worries receding I hope to have my main strike force up and running in time for this match’, he said. ‘Also our defence again showed it is capable of being as mean as my Chairman in the bar!’
Margate currently lie one place above the relegation zone in the Conference but have proved themselves adept in knockout competitions in recent years. Last season they got to the Sixth Round of the Trophy before going down to Morecambe at home. This season their heroics have come in the FA Cup where they famously dispatched Leyton Orient 1-0 in a replay, John Keister converting the penalty that took them through, before going down 3-0 in a home tie against Cardiff City. The main threat will come from leading scorer and England Semi-Pro Leon Braithwaite who has bagged eight goals this term despite an injury-enforced layoff.
Dulwich Hamlet put their disappointing Christmas behind them as they picked up a welcome three points at home to Carshalton Athletic. The game, rearranged from New Year’s Day after a waterlogged pitch forced a postponement, might have been in doubt due to the freezing conditions but the sterling efforts of the groundstaff ensured that the pitch was playable and the crowd was treated to a cracking encounter as Dulwich outthought and out-fought the title favourites to clinch victory. The only goal of the game was scored after twelve minutes when a pass found Peter Adeniyi out on the left wing. A couple of shimmies and a brace of bemused defenders later he whipped a low cross into the penalty area. There the ball was met by Gavin Rose who beat goalkeeper Stuart Searle with a sweet and simple sidefooted effort from 12 yards. Dulwich might have added a second midway through the second half as substitute Omari Coleman, back from injury, met an Adeniyi cross first time, his effort beating Searle but cannoning back off the upright. Remarkably, with the goal at his mercy and Searle sprawling, Junior Kadi somehow managed to smack the rebound against the opposite post. Still the danger was not cleared with Francis Quarm providing the cross from which a Lee Akers forced a fine save out of Searle as he turned the ball over the crossbar. The reaction of the two opposing managers at the final whistle was pure contrast as Martin Eede was left beaming. By contrast, Robin’s boss Graham Roberts earned himself a red card for a tirade against the referee after the final whistle, aggrieved at the amount of stoppage time played.
All Change at Champion Hill
Competition for the keeper’s jersey at Dulwich Hamlet has intensified with new that manager Martin Eede has resigned Scott Ward. The former Luton number one and brother of Millwall’s Darren left Champion Hill in December to join Premier Division strugglers Grays Athletic but found himself relegated to the bench when Grays brought in former Southend United custodian Melvin Capleton for last Saturday’s victory over Enfield. Ward reclaimed the Dulwich gloves for the visit of Carshalton Athletic on Tuesday night and marked his return with a clean sheet against the division leaders. A smiling Martin Eede was pleased with his dilemma over the two highly rated young keepers and compared himself to Ron Greenwood having to choose between Ray Clemence and Peter Shilton.
Additionally Dulwich have captured striker Jermaine Amanuel from promotion rivals Lewes and he also made his debut in that victory over Carshalton. Hamlet fans may remember him from the defeat at the Dripping Pan back in October when scoring a late second goal to confirm the Rooks’ 2-0 victory.
Leaving the Hamlet are Danny Husbands and Luke Basford. Husbands originally joined the Hamlet in autumn 2001 after a spell out of the game following injury. It was while filming for Sky’s Dream Team, in which he still regularly appears, that Dulwich striker Declan Perkins recommended the Hamlet and industrious midfielder Danny went on to make 51 appearances scoring 3 times. Left back Basford joined from Whyteleafe in the close season but despite some exceptional performances faced increased competition from Kemal Bulent in the left wing back role.
FA Trophy
South Londoners are more used to making the long trip down to Margate for their holidays but this coming Saturday the roles will be reversed as Champion Hill looks forward to their biggest game since 1996 when Southport escaped with a narrow 1-0 victory in the FA First Round, Dulwich’s first appearance at that stage for half a century. Whilst the FA Cup has long been consigned to memory, the Hamlet have reserved some of their best performances for the FA Trophy in recent years. Last season they disposed of Premier Division Billericay Town, before narrowly losing a seven-goal thriller at home to Braintree Town. This term has already seen the Pink and Blues beat Met Police in a replay a result that set up a monster tie against old rivals Tooting and Mitcham at their brand spanking new Imperial Fields stadium. In torrential rain, Dulwich overcame the setback of Gavin Rose’s dismissal and a 2-1 deficit to fight back and claim a stunning 3-2 triumph, thanks to a brace from Declan Perkins. Next up came the long trek to the West Country where a single Eben Allen goal was enough to secure victory.
Dulwich manager Martin Eede is not normally a man to go overboard but he quietly fancies his team’s chances of causing an upset against the Conference strugglers. ‘With injuries worries receding I hope to have my main strike force up and running in time for this match’, he said. ‘Also our defence again showed it is capable of being as mean as my Chairman in the bar!’
Margate currently lie one place above the relegation zone in the Conference but have proved themselves adept in knockout competitions in recent years. Last season they got to the Sixth Round of the Trophy before going down to Morecambe at home. This season their heroics have come in the FA Cup where they famously dispatched Leyton Orient 1-0 in a replay, John Keister converting the penalty that took them through, before going down 3-0 in a home tie against Cardiff City. The main threat will come from leading scorer and England Semi-Pro Leon Braithwaite who has bagged eight goals this term despite an injury-enforced layoff.
