Tooting and Mitcham United 0 Dulwich Hamlet 1

Tooting and Mitcham United 0 Dulwich Hamlet 1
Ryman Isthmian League Division One South
Saturday 20th October 2007

Derby day on Merseyside, in the Gorbals but set aside those minor tiffs in the provinces for beside the banks of the Wandle a derby laced with passion, fizzling with excitement was in progress but them your special correspondent was roused from his reveries and set his sights upon the latest instalment of the Tooting Dulwich rivalry. From their lofty perch atop the table the Terrors look down upon ‘umble ‘amlet, languishing in the nether regions of the Division as the new management attempts to gel his disparate parts in a working model that will assault the upper echelons of the division come that time of the season when the laurels are handed down. Much to the frustration of all and sundry, peak has too often been followed by trough and vice versa, the challenge of Premier Division Hornchurch not shirked but gallantry in that defeat was quickly replaced by surrender to the gentleman of Whyteleafe for whom the joy of competing almost matches the exhilaration of victory. Hastily arranged in the wake of Tooting’s own Tuesday night capitulation to Chipstead in the FA Trophy, perhaps the hosts hoped that entertaining a misfiring Hamlet might boost their own confidence as the struggling guests were put to the sword. If that was the stratagem adopted by the Terrors then it badly backfired on them as Dulwich’s defence, missing Gbenga Sonuga, remained rock steady even against the threat of the division’s most venomous striker, Paul Vines, a dreadnought backed up in attack by the pocket battleship Jamie Byatt, a constant aerial menace despite his diminutive stature.
A shining star for the Hamlet was ‘keeper Sheikh Ceesay, who made the move from host to guest during the summer and, his tender years notwithstanding, produced save after save of exquisite quality to keep the Tooting assaults at bay. As early as the fourth minute the young custodian had to stretch himself full length to claw away a precise drive from Paul Vines who escaped into the left pocket as Dulwich waited in vain for a flag, though Ceesay was perhaps fortunate no Tooting attacker had ventured forwards in hope of profiting from the loose ball.
Returning to the starting line-up and reclaiming the captain’s armband in the absence of Sonuga, midfielder Shawn Beveney provided the first Hamlet threat as he powered through the middle of the park almost unopposed but from the edge of the penalty a drive struck fiercely failed to trouble Dave King between the sticks, a yawning chasm ‘twixt post and ball as the shot sped well wide of its target. Soon after a lobbed ball sprung the Hamlet defence but Paul Vines failed to take advantage as he prodded an ineffectual effort wide of the far upright. A long lumped ball forwards almost let Ben Abbey in on goal but in the chase for the ball he came off second best to Shayne Mangodza, whose timely header took the ball off the head of Abbey and behind for a corner. Still the peril persisted as the delivery saw the ball nodded out only as far as Joe Vines, an wild drive heading nowhere until Abbey flung himself full-length to divert the ball towards goal but lacking the venom to trouble Ceesay. A pass in from the right wing bisected the Hamlet defence, Paul Vines on it in a flash, muscling away his marker but a good strike was always curling away from goal as Ceesay dived to cover at the base of his left-hand upright. The siege engines remained at the Hamlet’s gates, a nodded ball forwards seemed destined for Paul Vines but Steve May had other ideas, battling the striker for the ball before providing relief with a telling clearance. A spectacular bicycle kick from Allan McLeod wide out on the left proved incisive as Abbey caressed the ball down, hared across the face of the penalty area but when he let fly the ball was always rising over the crossbar of Ceesay.
The inmates of the Hill, out on day release in the suburbs, had little to cheer with all the action laid before the Tooting host but then a free kick, flicked on by Beveney, almost had Scott Edgar in scoring position until Joe Vines dived in to provide a decisive tackle and send the ball out for a corner. For a moment the pressure persisted. Half cleared the corner was returned quickly with Stanley Muguo a trifle surprised to be waved onside, a momentary realisation that gave ‘keeper King an edge in the chase for the ball, beating Muguo in the race for the ball. However he might have been blushing had Edgar connected with the loose, a minute Tooting touch taking the ball away from him at the vital moment. Beveney latched on to the loose ball, veering inside and letting rip with an exocet of a drive but a foot too wide.
Tooting wasted an excellent position as a free kick 10 yards outside the area was weakly curled into the waiting hands of Ceesay whilst Dulwich too failed to capitalise after Phil Williams was cynically curtailed in full flow by Joe Vines trip, Beveney blasting the free kick against a solid wall of Black and White.
With copious openings for the Terrors, bare scraps for the Hamlet attack, Dulwich’s travelling faithful awaited the second half as a nervous patient might a trip to the dentist. Early Tooting attacks did little to dispel that fear. Two minutes in and a free kick on the edge of the area, threatened much, delivered little though Ceesay might have been hoodwinked had Paul Vines deflected effort not had the power dissipated in flight. Two minutes later a deep, deep corner was met by a bullet header from pint-sized Byatt, outjumping all without a stepladder in sight, but denied as a flying Ceesay plucked the goalbound ball from the air. Overworked Ceesay was soon back in the fray as he flung himself bravely at the feet of a charging Paul Vines to block the ball at his feet two yards from goal. Frustrated Tooting rained in attack upon attack but to little avail. McLeod lashed the ball across the face of goal having been released down the left but without a monochrome shirt to profit.
At last Hamlet lifted the siege. Twice in as many minutes they threatened King’s goal, first when Benson Paka hacked a path though the tangleweed of Tooting tackles, clipping a lofted pass in towards Beveney, only for the header to fly wide of the mark. Wit Tooting’s defence in absentia, Williams found himself onside but dallied on the ball allowing a defender’s tackle to whip the ball from his toes six yards from goal. The corner reached Jermaine Hinds lurking at the back of the box; a neat cut back inside left his marker flatfooted but the final shot was that of defender rolling harmlessly wide of King’s near post.
Allowed free rein to run across the park, Ronnie Green played the provider for Byatt, a curling, dropping shot coming within a whisker of ending the stalemate as the ball spun over Ceesay’s crossbar. Billy Chattaway came off the bench, replacing Williams as Dulwich attempted to add impetus to their attack but the tyro winger’s first major contribution was to deny Tooting the opener as Joe Vines’ thumping header was cleared off the line. Dulwich quickly countered with the youngster at the heart of an attack whose final move had King rushing from his line to hack the ball to the sidelines from the feet of an overlapping May.
Joe Vines had fortune smiling benignly upon when he seemed favourite to win the race with Edgar for a long ball forwards, only to stumble into an ungainly heap as he stooped low in a vain attempt to nod the ball back to his ‘keeper, a suspicion of handball as he hit the floor. Edgar could not profit for the mortified Vines’ blunder, losing the ball in a tangle of his own feet and allowing King to claim the ball.
With a quarter of an hour left, the dormant volcano erupted as the almost de rigueur red cards starting flying. More the pity as Dulwich were in the throes of one of their more profitable attacks, a sweeping move ending with a low ball across the face of goal sliced mere millimetres over the crossbar by a lunging defender’s boot. All the while though, behind play, fires that had not even smouldered had burst into full conflagration amid a flurry of fists. The bellicose McLeod had clashed with Muguo, a coup de tête from the fiery defender on the Hamlet man provoking an angry reaction from victim upon perpetrator. Five long minutes elapsed whilst the referee took witness statements from his assistants, all the while Muguo prowled like a caged lion whilst a stockade of black and white hid McLeod. Finally the inevitable, red card to McLeod, red to Muguo. In the wake of the dismissals both sides made changes in attack. For Hamlet Henry Darko came on for Edgar whilst Jason Pinnock took the field in the stead of Abbey.
The match still simmered, a yellow card for Des Boateng as Chattaway was felled in full flight, but destiny seemed to have chosen this encounter to be goalless. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Second time was in the second minute when Hinds released a precise pass out of defence that had Beveney galloping off in pursuit of. Muscling aside any vestiges of defence, Beveney had sights only for goal, haring into the area and neatly drilling the ball in the bottom far corner as King tried fruitlessly to narrow the angle. Eight long minutes remained, Tooting still dangerous but with the talismanic Paul Vines seriously out of sorts before goal and Dulwich defence an Everest to scale that lone Beveney goal would end Tooting’s long, long unbeaten record at Imperial Fields whilst prolonging the Hamlet’s enviable record of never having lost upon this turf. Methinks Craig Edwards might consider ripping up this sod and transplanting it to Champion Hill?

Teams:
T&MUFC: Dave King; Dean Hamlin; Colin Hartburn; Ronnie Green; Joe Vines; Des Boateng; Allan McLeod; Matt York; Paul Vines; Ben Abbey (Jason Pinnock 80); Jamie Byatt
Substitutes not used: Matt Kidson; Ryan Gray; John Henry-Hayden; Oliver Hunt

DHFC: Sheikh Ceesay; Steve May; Ricky Dobson; Benson Paka; Shayne Mangodza; Jermaine Hinds; Shawn Beveney; Stanley Muguo; Scott Edgar (Henry Darko 80 (Meshach Nugent 90+2); Sol Patterson-Bonner; Phil Williams (Billy Chattaway 62)
Substitutes not used: Sebastian Schoburgh; Nej Hussain (GK)

Goalscoring:
1-0 DHFC Shawn Beveney 90th minute (+2)

Officials: Not known
Attendance: 275