Ryman Isthmian League Division One South
Having temporarily relinquished leadership of the division to Fleet Town after a weekend’s inactivity, Dulwich stormed back to the top of the tree with a resounding victory at the home of the Isthmian League’s FA Cup standard bearers. Fog-shrouded Fetcham Grove had the air of a Hammer Horror; the terror lying in wait for the Tanners as, weathering an early storm of pressure from the hosts, Hamlet rallied to inflict a punishing defeat upon their hosts, one that bodes ill for the Surrey side’s trek to the Devon Riviera this coming weekend.
Distracted by Cups of all hues, this was a rare foray into League action for Leatherhead, coming on the back of a disappointing FA Trophy exit at the hands of Team Bath’s sporting scholars. Despite that reverse manager Dave Harlow stood by those men that had built a season to echo the legendary days of the Leatherhead Lip himself. Dulwich’s supremo Wayne Burnett, modestly collecting the Manager of The Month pre-game, made only the one change as new signing Alan Hughes took on the mantle of custodian from teenage tyro Chris Lewington.
Written off by their lowly Devonian foes ahead of their Cup encounter, Leatherhead slipped from the traps as if to give the watching Torquay spies a taste of the potential threat these underdogs might pose. A third minute free kick, conceded for a foul on Marc Charles-Dennis, was delivered pinpoint on the head of Lee Doherty but a misplaced flick went wide of the back post. A later free kick that brought an early caution for Nicolas Plumain as Dave Stevens was bundled over as he threatened on the right also failed to reap dividends.
The early exchanges had belonged to the men in green but Hamlet’s defence stood rock firm against a foraging attack paving the way for a marvellous solo effort from Phil Williams to give Dulwich the lead soon after the quarter hour. Picking up the ball on the halfway line, the flying winger’s intent was clear as he embarked on a storming run through the heart of the home defence. Dancing through the half-hearted attempts of the green-clad rearguard to thwart him, he drove his way to edge of the penalty area, finishing with a low strike into the bottom corner of the net beyond Chris Gibson’s fruitless dive.
Leatherhead might have been gifted an equaliser as Stevens got his head to a pitch perfect cross from wide out on the left wing, the ball bouncing awkwardly off a divot and turning a routine gather for the new boy Hughes into an ungainly scramble round the upright. Having survived that scare Dulwich extended their lead on the half hour with a high octane goal as Chris Dickson ended his mini barren spell. The move began as the ball was shipped to the rampaging Shawn Beveney wide on the right of the penalty area, a thunderous cross shot deceiving Gibson but cannoning off the crossbar. Ever alert Eniola Oluwa was quick to maintain the pressure, collecting the ball and driving it low into the six yard box where the predatory Dickson was on hand to gleefully smash the ball into the corner of the net from close range.
But for a few contentious offsides the Hamlet’s lead might have been built on before the break though Dickson was disappointed as he slipped the clutches of the last line, struggling with the pace of the Dulwich attack, only to drive a low angled shot into the body of Gibson. A great chance wasted by the Tanners as half time drew closer, the ever-dangerous Charles-Dennis capitalising on a defensive slip on the dewy turf and slipping the ball through to Gavin Bolger with the goal looming ahead of him, a rising shot rattling the cross and rebounding to safety.
Half-time refreshments for the hosts might have been laced with Horlicks for they made a sleepy start to the second half allowing Dulwich to further stamp their dominance on the game with goal number three two minutes in. Sliced open on the right wing, the Leatherhead defence found themselves marking shadows as the ball was whipped across to an unmarked Kenny Beaney on the far fringes of the area. A smart strike, Gibson a fine block but only into the path of Beveney who brushed aside the febrile challenge of Doherty to larrup the ball into the gaping net.
Cheeky juggling from Dickson soon after crafted an opening for the striker, a fierce drive wide of the far post but Tanner would not deny the goal machine another notch on his scoring chart as Doherty’s nightmare evening continued. A long ball chased and captured by Dickson had goal inscribed upon it until Doherty hauled him to the floor ten yards from his target. Referee Warren Atkin had no choice but to award the inevitable spot kick, the punishment for the forlorn figure of Doherty merely a yellow, though the erstwhile Hamlet man might have wished for stronger punishment to end his torture at the hands of the Dulwich inquisition. Cooler than Eskimo’s fridge, the unflustered Dickson dusted himself off and rolled the penalty home as he sent Gibson diving the wrong way.
The stage was set for a Dulwich deluge but Leatherhead steeled themselves, locked the door and might even have inched their way back into the game particularly when the ill-starred Doherty was allowed to ghost in unchecked at the back of the back to meet a deep free kick only to nod the ball harmlessly across the face of goal.
Midway through the half came the welcome sight of Jamie Coyle returning to first team action as he took the place of Lewis Tozer alongside Justyn Roberts at the heart of the Hamlet defence. The Tanners too made changes in their vain effort to recover some pride, Doherty and the ineffectual Scott Bennetts making way as Paul Sears and Dean Carpenter took the field to shore up the rickety hosts. A booking for Cedric Meeko, bull of the pampas in the Hamlet midfield where Beaney too terrorised. Free kick delivered, ping pong in the box but no final flourish. Coyle resumed his traditional role to meet a deep free kick at the back of the six yard box, Gibson fumbling the ball at the feet of Dickson but rescued as Coyle found himself penalised. No rest for the weary defence, the muscular power of Beveney, the guile and chutzpah of Dickson replaced by the twin prongs of rebellious youth in the shape of Sol Pinnock and Daniel Jones, the understudies ensuring a restless last ten minutes for Leatherhead, though thwarted sometimes by massed ranks of defensive sentinels, sometimes by the dew-laden terrain. Best chance in those final throes fell to the feet of Oluwa, electric on the left as he resisted a swarming host of green shits to unleash a ferocious angled shot that brought the best out of Gibson as he parried the ball to safety.
Teams:
LFC: Chris Gibson; Jamie Beer; Adam Gray; Lynvall Duncan; Lee Doherty (Dean Carpenter 73); Stewart Holmes; Steve Sargent; Gavin Bolger; Marc Charles-Smith; Scott Bennetts (Paul Sears); Dave Stevens (Capt.)
Substitutes not used: Julien Thompson; Jamie Read; Mark Harper
DHFC: Alan Hughes; Jason Turley (Capt); Nicolas Plumain; Cedric Meeko; Lewis Tozer (Jamie Coyle 68); Justyn Roberts; Eniola Oluwa; Kenny Beaney; Shawn Beveney (Sol Pinnock 80); Chris Dickson (Daniel Jones 80); Phil Williams
Substitutes not used: David Moore; Chris Lewington (GK)
Attendance: 234
Officials:
Referee: Mr Warren Atkin (Crawley, Sussex)
Assistant Referees: Mr Craig Hicks (Sutton, Surrey) & Mr Piotr Blaszczyk (Thornton Heath, Surrey)
Goalscoring:
0-1 DHFC Phil Williams 16th minute
0-2 DHFC Chris Dickson 30th minute
0-3 DHFC Shawn Beveney 47th minute
0-4 DHFC Chris Dickson 51st minute
