Friday, November 11, 2005

Oh what a lovely war (for the prisoners)

With a casino, a football league featuring Steve Bloomer, the captain of England, an internal postal service and its own glossy news magazine, Ruhleben may just have been the most sophisticated prisoner-of-war camp in history.
Documents fully catalogued for the first time at the National Archives in Kew and released for Remembrance Day today show in astonishing detail the lives of the 200,000 or more British men and women held captive during the First World War.
They include a teamsheet from what must have been the most star-studded game of football played behind prison walls, on May 2, 1915 between "England v The Rest".
England were led by Bloomer, of Derby County and Middlesbrough, who played 23 times for his country and scored 28 times, enough for him to be still the ninth highest scorer of all time.
Joining Bloomer were two other England players, Fred Pentland (Middlesbrough and Norwich), and Sam Wolstenholme (Blackburn Rovers and Everton).
The opposing captain was John Cameron, a Scottish international who had scored for Spurs when they won the FA Cup in 1901.
Ruhleben, a camp outside Berlin built on a racecourse, housed 4,500 British prisoners, many of whom, like Bloomer, had been in Germany when war broke out and were interned.
They ran their own football league with headed notepaper, printed their own stamps and stationery and attended lectures on music and the arts given by well-known performers of the time such as the opera singer FC Adler and the Canadian musician Edward [later Sir Edward] Macmillan.
Compared with the drab, barbed-wire lifestyles of the 1939-45 camps, the prisoners of the First World War seem to have had an exciting time.
"At camps like Münster, they had a full-time entertainment troupe, headed by a music hall comedian named Jack Harris, a corporal in the Rifle Brigade," said Paul Stembridge, the leader of the Archives' experts who have spent 12 months producing detailed catalogues of the 547 files.
"Ruhleben's prison magazine, called Prisoner's Pie, which has articles, portraits, poems and drawings, was printed on very high quality glossy paper and it's hard to imagine it could have been much better done outside a prison.
"All in all, you get the strong impression that they had an easier time than the Second World War prisoners did."
In the first months of the war, conditions were very basic, but when American-led inspection teams began to visit the camps, things quickly improved.
Some camps were better than others, but many had wide choices for entertainment, sport and other cultural activities, the records show.
There are records also of the tens of thousands of German prisoners kept in British camps, including one of the inside of a camp in Islington which resembles a very cramped English boarding school dormitory.
But German officers, mostly held at Donnington Hall in Leicestershire, were allowed to keep servants, who lived in the stables.
The files show some fascinating details of the war.
In one debriefing of a Royal Flying Corps lieutenant named Geoffrey Harding, he gives an account of his brush with the Flying Circus of Baron Manfred von Richthofen over the Western Front near Vimy in spring 1917.
"We became detached from the others and then we were brought down by Richthofen himself with an explosive bullet in the petrol tank which set us on fire. We made quite a decent landing."
Unfortunately, it was behind German lines.

Friday, October 28, 2005

'If I am to die, I am not afraid to do so'

At the height of the war in the Atlantic, Lt-Cdr Keith Morrison wrote a last letter to his wife and went to face a heroic death. Sixty-five years later, the newly discovered document sheds fresh light on a remarkable man caught up in extraordinary circumstances. Nigel Blundell pieces his story together, while we reprint the long-lost letter
The 37 freighters and tankers of Convoy HX84 were seven days out of Halifax, Nova Scotia - halfway home but still in mid-Atlantic - when the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer was sighted on the horizon. The convoy's sole escort, an ancient converted cargo ship armed with obsolete guns, turned to meet her.
What followed was one of the most heroic actions of the Second World War, as the crew of HMS Jervis Bay prepared for a battle that could have only one outcome. Outgunned, and with no hope of survival, they sailed head-on for the German ship, feebly returning the broadsides of her 11-inch guns.
Crippled and sinking, the Jervis Bay held the Admiral Scheer at bay, allowing the convoy to disperse into a winter storm. All but nine ships escaped. More than 190 of the 256 Jervis Bay crew died.
A footnote to the story has since come to light, during the writing of a book about the battle, that tells a little more about the sort of men who gave their lives in that cold, cruel, unequal struggle.
It is a letter written by the officer who commanded the Jervis Bay in her dying moments. Lieutenant- Commander Keith Morrison wrote it on September 20, 1940, and marked it: "To be placed with my will and in the event of my death to be given to my wife."
Cdr Morrison was last seen, wounded but standing perfectly straight, on the foredeck of his ship as, having launched her last lifeboat, the Jervis Bay sank into the icy Atlantic on the evening of November 5, 1940. And, from the letter he left, we know of whom he was thinking during the final moments of his life... "It will be very hard if I have to die without holding you in my arms again and telling you of that great love I have for you."
Keith Morrison and Margaret Chisholm had married in Sydney in 1935, he a 32-year-old merchant navy First Officer with the Orient Line and she a 24-year-old Australian from a New South Wales farming family. They settled in Dorking and had two sons. Michael, born in 1937, has only a brief memory of being held aloft by his father on one of his shore leaves. Tony, born in July 1940, never saw his father. After the war, Margaret took the children to back Australia. She died in 1957.
"It was only after her death that we saw all her letters," says her son, Mike, now 68, a retired lieutenant-colonel with the Australian Army. "It was humbling to realise how enormously devoted they were to each other and to us boys."
One of the letters, written by Margaret to her family in New South Wales on November 19, reads: "I just can't believe that I will never see Keith again, but I have nothing but happiness and his two lovely children to remember him by, and no two people ever had a greater love and understanding between them as he and I did.
"I know too how much he longed for action and that he had his dearest wish fulfilled by taking part in such a glorious battle. Nothing has been more gallant in the history of the Navy and his two sons have a wonderful example to follow and I pray they may always be worthy of it."
Margaret learnt from survivors of the Jervis Bay that her husband had taken over command of the ship after the captain (Captain Fogarty Fegen, awarded a posthumous VC) and two other senior officers had been killed. Despite being twice wounded, Cdr Morrison organised the defence of his ship as, ablaze from bow to stern, she was raked with gunfire from the Admiral Scheer. Finally, with all but one of her lifeboats burnt, he ordered "abandon ship".
Margaret later wrote: "They say he was as cheerful as a cricket and cheering them all up. There was only one boat left, and there wasn't room for everyone; and it was his duty to see it safely away, so he stayed behind.
"He was standing on the foredeck still perfectly erect with the surgeon and another officer when she went down. The surgeon was badly wounded, but he could stand up and was Keith's greatest friend on board. And so, if it had to be, it's rather wonderful knowing he went like that, in command of his gallant ship and with his greatest friend."
After receiving the letter that her husband had left with his will, Margaret again wrote to her family in Australia: "Keith was so gallant - as indeed were all those men - and his last thoughts, I know, would have been for me, Michael and Anthony and for his mother." Margaret's sons read all of her letters - and the final letter from Keith - only after her death.
Her son Michael says: "She handled my father's death with great resolve, courage and love. Perhaps hers was a loyalty bordering on obsession; but for sure it was love in the extreme. It must have been a sublime relationship and, for my mother, one that never did - nor did she ever want it to - come again."
His brother Tony, 65, who farms near Goulburn, New South Wales, has never taken Australian citizenship.
"That's out of a respect for my father," he says. "I have always been enormously proud that my Dad died for his country, and, although I grew up a real Aussie kid, I have always been patriotically English. I keep my British passport because that part of me is precious, sacred almost. It's how I can keep part of my father. I have always loved him, though I never saw him. But his letter to my mother tells me everything I would wish to know about him. He is an unsung hero."
• 'If the Gods are Good: The Sacrifice of HMS Jervis Bay' by Gerald Duskin and Ralph Segman (Crecy Publishing), £10.95 (0161 499 0024 or www.crecy.com)
Last words from a doomed officer
To be placed with my will and in the event of my death to be given to my wife
At sea
My Beloved Wife, I hope that this letter may never have to be given to you, for it is about a subject which we never speak of or even allow ourselves to think of.... that is, of my not coming home safely to you and to our children. Nevertheless, I cannot blink at the fact that there is more danger to be faced now than there was last year, or if we meet the enemy in any strength our chances of survival in these coming winter months are not very good.... & so because of that darling I am writing this letter to you to ask you to do certain things, & to tell you a few things.
I cannot thank you enough, my darling for all you have been to me ever since we met... no man ever had a better wife... our separations and our anxieties have been hard, but your courage & cheerfulness & great love have brought nothing but happiness to me.
You can look back over these last 7 years & find happiness at every turn - & I have lived solely & simply for you, & you have done the same for me. You will remember saying Goodnight on the steps of the Macquarie Club; driving to Mittagong, Old Sambo & the cottage: Fountains Abbey, Brittany, how we asked Old Foxey to dinner, our lovely house which has always been a Home, the day that Michael was born - all those things have been ours, and all our happy memories coupled with scores of others which have done so much to make life beautiful & wonderful to us.
I want you to find happiness in all those things, dear heart & if I have to die I don't want it to break your life up or change you. There are two little lives who are going to need you more than ever because I am gone, & you must do your best for them & bring them up to be a credit to you & a mirror of the love in which they were born.
If you ever want to marry again for any reason at all I shall quite understand: you are too young to contemplate living your life alone to its end, & if you do marry I pray that it may be to a good man who can give you that constant companionship & care, which I have never been able to give you. By marrying again you would be in no way unfaithful to my memory, all I want is your happiness.
You have had a hard life as a sailor's wife, but it has brought out all that is gold in you, & not a single flaw shown... As regards our sons darling - two boys will be a hard task for you but always use a firm hand & keep the upper hand too.
It is my earnest wish that neither of them go to sea or join any of the Services as a profession - rather would I that they grew up to the suburban Home life in which you & I would have been so ideally happy: they won't be able to understand that when they are young, but they will as they grow older.
Do not make the mistake of stinting yourself to try and educate them above your means - & maybe no influence at the end of it to help them into a good job. I had to strive for my living & was just beginning to get somewhere... so it can be done if one works hard.
It is a great joy to me when you tell me how generous Michael is with his sweets & toys, & I feel sure that Anthony will be the same. Try to bring them up to appreciate the beauty of nature & things generally - think how much happiness we have gained from a beautiful sunset or a lovely view or an old, old castle. It is a sense not given to everyone. I expect you'll take them to Australia & become good Australians, & you will be very wise if you do. It is a wonderful country & I hold it very dear in my affections - & there will be opportunities there for them than in England.
If I have to die I am not afraid to do so & I know I will have died in supporting a righteous cause. Don't let my death affect the attitude towards the war: and we must win for the sake of civilisation... & if we were to lose, my death & those of many others would have been in vain - & it is hard enough to leave you without that.
There is nothing spectacular in my War Effort to leave behind for my sons, but I die conscious that I have always done my job to the best of my ability & always had the faith and reliance of those above me. Someone has to do the dull work, & until one has actually had to do it one doesn't realise how hard it is, with this prolonged separation from one's loved ones & thoughts of them being bombed or invaded ever present...
Try to bring the children up with a love of the Church such as we have - not religion thrust upon them, but feeling they can turn to God as friend for help.
Not much more, Precious: it will be very hard if I have to die without holding you in my arms again & telling you of that great love I have for you... but pray God that I shan't have to.
God bless you and our darling sons always - you are my Light & my Love & my Life & I have lived just for you. My great sorrow if I have to "pass on", is the sorrow I will cause you - but fight it Beloved... but fight it as we have always fought all our sorrows.
Ever your devoted and loving Xxxxxxxxxxxx Husband.

Saturday, September 03, 2005

Why blog?


Hey everyone else I know has one! Must be trendy, better jump on the bandwagon before it trundles off down the road without me. Suppose at least if everyone else jumps off at the same time, next time the trend comes around as retro perhaps I can claim some kudos, a brief injection of fame into the dull life of a wage slave burdened by sanity and the onset of a mid life crisis. "Shit you're forty you haven't got a mortgage or shackled yourself to a spouse and screaming, mewling, brats"
Norm

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Don't mention the Walk...

War has broken out in Cornwall - and it's all Hitler's fault (again). Hostilities began when officials at Restormel Borough Council decided that a stretch of pathway running through parkland in Megavissey, 16 miles from Newquay, should be signposted according to the name it has held among locals since the 1930s - Hitlers Walk. Consequently, signs to that effect were erected. Some residents panicked, fearing that this attempt to retain this historic soubriquet might deter holidaymakers from taking summer homes in the area, and councillors were harangued for not choosing a "more positive" name.
The signs were promptly whisked away, and the path was to revert to its official title, Cliff Park - only for hardier locals to insist that they be reinstated, declaring that the objections were "ridiculous".
The path was apparently named after one Wright Harris, a despotic councillor who donated the land to the greater good in the 1930s. Traditionalists have argued that a name - unfortunate or not - is still a name, and should not be altered for the sake of political correctness. More delicate souls, however, are anxious that visitors will hesitate to flock to an area named after history's most brutal fascist.
In the latest peace move, the council is to hold a ballot on what Hitlers Walk will be called in future. Meanwhile, Megavissey clearly remains a dangerous place to live. Other, less controversial signs warn: "Please do not feed the seagulls! They can be vicious."

Sunday, March 27, 2005

Whyteleafe P Dulwich Hamlet P

Whyteleafe P Dulwich Hamlet P
Ryman Isthmian League
Saturday 26th March 2005

The Hamlet were left kicking their heels at the weekend when their scheduled League match at Whyteleafe’s Church Road ground fell victim to the weather, as a fresh dump of snow in the area put paid to any hopes 'Leafe had of getting the game going ahead, despite an army of willing volunteers, armed with forks and seduced by promises of free beer, standing at the ready in an attempt to make the pitch playable. The match has now been provisionally rescheduled for Tuesday 15th March, kick-off 7:45 p.m. The early morning postponement must have come as a particular disappointment to Dulwich’s latest recruit, striker Paul Scott, who signed from the Hamlet’s Surrey rivals earlier in the week and would have been looking forward to facing his old team-mates. Possessing the skills to excite the crowds and the ability to score spectacular match-turning goals, the much-travelled goalscorer has played in two previous spells for Dulwich, the most recent at the start of the 2002/2003 season after signing from Maidenhead United, but returned to Whyteleafe in September of that year. After flirting with AFC Wimbledon, he switched to Croydon Athletic at the start of the current season before returning to Whyteleafe in November of last year.

Forthcoming fixtures:
Saturday 5th March: Dulwich Hamlet vs. Fleet Town (@ Champion Hill, KO 3:00 p.m.)
Monday 7th March: Ryman Isthmian League Centenary Match: Ryman League vs. FA XI (KO 7:30 p.m.)
Tuesday 8th March: Leyton FC vs. Dulwich Hamlet (KO 7:45 p.m.)

Sunday, March 13, 2005

Les Supporters du Red Star Paris (Gang Green) 2 Dulwich Hamlet Supporters 3

Les Supporters du Red Star Paris (Gang Green) 2 Dulwich Hamlet Supporters 3
International Challenge Match
Sunday 13th March 2005

Paris versus London. No not the scrap for the right to host Olympic Games but a far, far better thing and probably cleaner too! Far from the Elysian Fields of the Paris that tourists come to gaze in awe at, Dulwich supporters carried the olive branch of Anglo-French friendship to the Stade Joliot-Curie for a ‘Rendez-vous de l’Amitié’. Battle engaged and Dulwich were soon in front when Lawrence Marsh skipped through to tuck away the opening goal as early as the 9th minute, drilling the ball low past a diving keeper’s right hand. However Red Star were not without their stars and one of them, a Zidane-like giant in midfield named Karim, capitalised on a weak pass in defence to unleash a ferocious shot from the edge of the box that had keeper Phil Baker clawing at thin air as the ball fizzed past him. Level at the break and deep into the second half, it looked as if a diplomatic draw was on the cards, that was until a low shot driven in beat a diving Baker and despite the best efforts of defender Mick O’Shaughnessy, he could only provide the finishing touch as the ball crossed the line. Undaunted Dulwich hit back almost immediately as from the kick-off the ball was played back to Steve Rickerby whose launched ball was flicked on by the head of Lee Shailer for Marsh to gallop through and lob the keeper to bring the scores level. Soon after Marsh was through again and rounding the keeper to complete a hat trick. His man of the match performance was almost capped with a fourth as through on goal; he beat the keeper with a chip only for the ball to strike the crossbar. There were still nervous moments before a first victory on continental soil was confined, particularly when Karim launched a booming long-range effort a la Nayim from the halfway line, Baker standing firm as the ball fell from the sky, stoppage time seemingly interminable but victory it was.
Team:
Phil Baker; Alex Bushell; Steve Rickerby; Ian Wright; Mick O'Shaughnessey; Mark Hutton; Dave Berry; Lee Shailer; Phil Doyle; Mishi Morath; Lawrence Marsh
Sub: Paul Griffin
Physio: Adele Beckford
Interpreter: Myles Quinn

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Leyton FC 0 Dulwich Hamlet 1

Leyton FC 0 Dulwich Hamlet 1
London Senior Cup 5th Round
Tuesday 8th March 2005
Burning bright like the fabled Holy Grail, the London Cup still holds Dulwich in its thrall as the men in Pink and Blue upset the applecart with victory away to Premier Division promotion chasers Leyton FC courtesy of a ferocious strike from Kemal Bulent midway through the second half. Nor was this a fluke as Dulwich refused to be intimidated by the strong-arm tactics of their loftier hosts who had keeper James Hasell to thank that the margin of victory was not greater.
Things might have been very different had Leyton taken advantage of the generous award of a penalty after just 6 minutes. Gavin Dayes’ tackle on Manny Williams looked to be at least a yard outside the Dulwich penalty area but referee Mr Bushell pointed straight to the spot, unswerved by vehement protests from the Dulwich players. Justice though was served as Leli Bajada’s ineffectual spot kick was easily saved by Paul Seuke.
The hosts again threatened when the diminutive Vas Soteriou skipped past a trio of tackles but his angled drive bounced wide of Seuke’s left-hand post. Two minutes later Marlon Patterson came close with a similar effort as Meshach Nugent’s lobbed pass released him down the left wing. Fed by Francis Quarm, Patterson, having switched to the ring, delivered a magnificent cross into the box, Meshach Nugent flicking a header backwards but straight into the hands of the waiting Hasell.
Unfazed by the opponents, Dulwich bumped up the workrate and when Charley Side latched on to a long pass, defender Ben Wood made a vain attempt to haul him down as he burst into the box. Manfully Side shrugged off these illicit attentions but Hasell made a stunning block to keep out the Dulwich striker’s fierce drive. Sent haring off down the left by Bulent’s pass, Nugent displayed some neat skills before delivering a low cross to the edge of the penalty area but Alex O’Brien’s first time strike was well wide of the mark.
Having suffered at the hands and feet of the hosts, it was galling that the game’s first booking, albeit correct, came a minute later as Nugent used a hand to turn a freekick into the goal. Five minutes later and another inspiring Dulwich move came within an ace of breaking the deadlock. Patterson’s neat pass found Side in space in the area, the striker delivering a low cross that Nugent flicked through his legs to the unmarked Kenny Beaney at the back of the box. His shot beat Hasell but not covering defender Des Thomas who hacked the ball to safety off the goalline.
With five minutes to the break Dulwich again had the ball in the net as Dayes arrived at the back post to head in a corner but once again the referee’s whistle was to see the goal chalked off as Side was penalised for hampering the keeper. The Hamlet were almost punished for this as poor marking at a freekick saw Williams arrive at the back of the box to head the ball back across the area to Soteriou but his header landed harmlessly on the roof of the net.
The Hamlet were to finish the half in the ascendancy but goalless thanks to the heroics of Hasell, as a sweeping Hamlet move ended with a stunning shot from O’Brien that was matched by Hasell’s flying leap to tip the ball over the bar. Again, the custodian came to his side’s rescue as the corner was delivered, twice provided killer punches to deny the Hamlet.
The second half brought no respite from the excitement as a full-blooded cup-tie continued to enthral. Seven minutes in a Leyton corner found skipper Scott Honeyball, an inelegant header blocked on the line by Bulent. Soon after, Dulwich fans were howling for a penalty of their own as Roy Parkyn cleared handled the ball on the floor as he and Beaney challenged for the ball. Confidence in the officials was further undermined when Side became the second Dulwich man to see yellow for what was his first foul of note, though Mr Bushell did start to even things up, first when Scott Curley was rather unfortunately booked after challenging for the ball with Quarm. Not doubts though about the next caution as Parkyn got his just desserts following a nauseating challenge as Beaney as the young winger tried to give him the slip. One could tell the hosts were getting rattling as yet another foul saw a freekick dropped into the area, Dayes stabbed the ball wide from close range.
Then with 67 minutes on the clock came the breakthrough and what a goal to savour as Bulent won the ball on the left and with the defence anticipating a cross, the tricky wingback unleashed a screamer of a drive that finally beat the seemingly impervious Hasell.
Their opponents now rocking Dulwich pressed home their advantage. Beaney curled a freekick from the edge of the area fractionally wide, before Quarm lashed a shot wide from ten yards after dancing into the box, shortly before selling an outrageous dummy but blazing his opportunity over the bar. This was to be his last contribution to the night’s entertainment as, bizarrely, he disappeared down the tunnel moments later, apparently struck down by illness. Confusion reigned as with Quarm’s reappearance unlikely, Dulwich attempted to bring on Ellis Conroy in his stead, the assistant referee seemingly unaware of Quarm’s departure. Eventually Conroy made it on to the pitch to add his steel to Dulwich’s cause, a nervous final ten minutes endured, but at last brought to an end by a blast of Mr Bushell’s whistle. Another trip north of the Thames lies in wait in the semi-finals with a trip to either Wingate & Finchley or Redbridge FC on the cards. Playing like this, the Hamlet should fear neither.

Teams:
LFC: James Hasell; Des Thomas; Roy Parkyn; Scott Honeyball (Capt.); Ben Wood; Scott Curley; Dean Bradshaw (Neil Thompson 84); James Hawes (Malcolm Dannie 58 (Trevor Paul 76)); Manny Williams; Vas Soteriou; Leli Bajada
Subs not used: Simon Peddie; Dave Morgan

DHFC: Paul Seuke; Jason Turley; Kemal Bulent; Alex O’Brien; Tom Ababio; Gavin Dayes (Danny Twin 73); Francis Quarm (Ellis Conroy 84); Charley Side; Meshach Nugent; Kevin Beaney; Marlon Patterson
Subs not used: Lee Akers; Jermaine Adan; Nicolas Plumain

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

BEANEY MAKES ISTHMIAN LEAGUE CENTENARY SQUAD

Dulwich midfield prodigy Kenny Beaney will be in exalted company including David Clarke, captain of Yeading FC against Newcastle United in the FA Cup, when Champion Hill hosts a match between the FA and the Ryman Isthmian League to celebrate the centenary of the competition’s institution on March 8th 1905. Of the current members of the league, only Clapton have been members longer than Dulwich who joined three years later. The game takes place at Champion Hill on Monday 7th March, kicking off at 7:30 p.m. The squad of 17 named by Ryman League representative manager Jack Pearce includes primarily Premier Division players although alongside Beaney in the squad there is the name of AFC Wimbledon’s ace striker Robert Ursell. The full squad is Paul Nicholls (Chelmsford City), Dean Marney (Harrow Borough), Ollie Adedeji (Braintree Town), Pat Sappleton (Billericay Town), Alex Haddow (Eastleigh), Liam Collins (Worthing), David Clarke (Yeading), Fiston Manuella (Staines Town), Robert Ursell (AFC Wimbledon), Alex Revell, (Braintree Town), Andy Forbes (Eastleigh), James Hasell (Leyton) Richard Jolly (Wealdstone), Leon Hunter (Billericay Town), Michael Shinn (Heybridge Swifts), Alex Stanley (Yeading) and Kenny Beaney (Dulwich Hamlet).

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

BURGESS HILL TOWN 1 DULWICH HAMLET 0

Paul Griffin Reports From Leylands Park, South London Press

A GUSTY swirling wind combined with a gluey, rain sodden pitch did its best to ruin this match as a spectacle with few clear-cut chances and little in the way of quality football.
It looked as if a draw was on the cards with both keepers making vital saves to keep the scoresheet blank, Paul Seuke pulling off a stunning save to keep out a close-range header from Lloyd Cotton and Hillians' custodian Pat Gannon sticking out a foot to divert a Charley Side strike over the bar.
However, with eight minutes to go, up popped Burgess Hill's leading scorer Steve Harper to bag his 26th goal of the campaign, flicking a low left wing cross past Seuke.
Dulwich applied late pressure in a bid to salvage a point and had a good shout for a penalty when Side's cross struck a defender's hand but it was not to be.
Dulwich: Seuke, Akers, Turley, Ababio, Twin, Conroy (Patterson 86), Burton, Side, Nugent, Beaney, Schoburgh (Quarm 68). Not used: Plumain, O'Brien, Ward.
Dulwich host Cray Wanderers tonight (Tuesday) in the London Senior Cup (7.45pm).

Saturday, February 12, 2005

Burgess Hill Town 1 Dulwich Hamlet 0

Burgess Hill Town 1 Dulwich Hamlet 0
Ryman Isthmian Division One
Saturday 12th February 2005

Strolling through a rather unlovely housing estate, one happens upon the arboreal splendour that is Leylands Park, home of Burgess Hill Town FC, small in stature but big in ambition as they challenge for a place in the end of season play-offs. Unfortunately, the surroundings provided little respite from the elements as the game matched its rustic surroundings, though more in part to a biting wind that swirled in from Siberia, snatches of the Internationale whispered in its howling gusts. Add to this a cloying flypaper of a pitch that constantly frustrated the participants’ attempts to play all but the most basic of football and it was little wonder that there was scant fare for spectators to feast upon. At least, given the conditions, the goal that won the game was a moment of pure quality but Dulwich will look back upon missing opportunities to have taken the points from their hosts.
Injuries still plagued the Dulwich management as they made their selections, Tom Ababio a ever capable replacement for the injured Gavin Dayes in the heart of defence, whilst the battling presence of Wade Falana was again missing in attack where Meshach Nugent partnered the prolific Charley Side in the vanguard.
Dulwich came to terms best with conditions early on with Nugent capitalising on a mistake in defence but electing to try to find Side rather than utilise the better option of a shot. A minute later and a Lee Akers freekick proved the catalyst for Side to chip in a cross for the head of Warren Burton, keeper Pat Gannon making a swift change of direction to gather the header.
Constant interruptions from referee Andy Legg’s whistle and the prevailing elements made for a fragmented game although Matt Geard did bring a smart save out of Paul Seuke as he struck a fierce low shot on the run only for the Dulwich custodian to dive full length to turn the ball past the foot of his right post. Moments later Burton fed Sebastion Schoburgh on the edge of the penalty area but his angle chip rode on the wind, clearing Gannon’s bar.
From here the game evaporated into stalemate and it was not until the closing stages of the half that Dulwich stepped up the pressure but after laying siege to the home goal, Hamlet could not force the ball home, Nugent meeting a curling cross from Jason Turley on the left only for a brace of defenders to block his shot from 8 yards out.
The second half followed a similar pattern as Hillians’ defensive steel stifled Dulwich’s attacking zeal though Side did strike a fierce effort just wide after capitalising on a defender’s slip and Ellis Conroy tried his luck only to see his effort sail over the crossbar.
A stunning save from Seuke to keep out a close range header from Lloyd Cotton drew admiring gasps for all round before Burgess Hill wasted a great opportunity as a freekick on the edge of the box was blasted wide.
Dulwich replaced the enigma that is Schoburgh with Francis Quarm as they again turned the tide back in their favour as they pushed keeper Gannon to the limit with a brace of vital saves inside five minutes. First Kenny Beaney released Side with a perfect pass but Gannon raced from his line to spread himself and divert Side’s goalbound shot over the bar courtesy of an outstretched boot. Side then put Nugent through, but the striker hesitated momentarily allowing Gannon to make a vital interception.
After such a battling performance, Dulwich’s failure to put away their chances as Hillians' Steve Harper, despite a niggling groin problem, showed why he leads the club’s goalscoring charts with a quality piece of poaching arriving first to divert substitute Neil Watts’ left wing cross low to the near post past Seuke. Soon after Harper threatened to double the lead but this time the Hamlet keeper made a telling save, diving full length to turn the effort behind.
Dulwich came back strongly in search of an equaliser but despite late pressure could find a route through to goal. Gannon again denied Side and the Hamlet had a good shout for a penalty as Side’s cross struck a defender’s outstretched hand but it was not to be.

Teams:
BHTFC: Pat Gannon; Lloyd Cotton; Ben Fillery; Matt Piper; Tom Edmonds; Kevin Townsend; Steve Harper (Owen Callaghan 90); Matt Geard (Neil Watts 56); Darragh Ryan; Leo Day (Capt.); Dave Soutar
Subs not used: Richard Greenfield; Darin Kilpatrick

DHFC: Paul Seuke; Lee Akers (Capt.); Jason Turley; Tom Ababio; Danny Twin; Ellis Conroy (Marlon Patterson 87); Warren Burton; Charley Side; Meshach Nugent; Kenny Beaney; Sebastion Schoburgh (Francis Quarm 69)
Subs not used: Danny Ward; Nicolas Plumain; Alex O’Brien
Officials:
Referee: Andy Legg
Assistant Referees: Mark Wood & Graham Kendall

Scoring:
BHTFC: 1-0 Steve Harper 82 minutes
Attendance: 249