Dulwich Hamlet 1 AFC Wimbledon 3

Dulwich Hamlet 1 AFC Wimbledon 3
London Senior Cup – Fourth Round
Tuesday 11th December 2007

But for the heroics of Horsham chasing glory and the Old Tin Pot, the Champion Hill faithful might have found themselves gazing upon the lesser lights of the renascent Dons. Instead, having been in stasis for more than a week, AFC were itching for action and so Dulwich found themselves ranged against a strong, perhaps the strongest, starting XI the Dons could muster boasting the bulk of their Isthmian title-chasing squad. Amongst that number one Richard Jolly, a rare soul for whom play-offs and the Hill bring happier memories, returning to the starting XI after flu had laid him low and with an illustrious striking partner in Marcus Gayle, once of the “other” Wimbledon. Strange then that Dons’ supremo Terry Brown should be absent from the dugout, leaving the managerial reins in the hands of number two Stuart Cash but then neither manager had made progression in this competition a priority, Brown looking to regalvanise his players ahead of a Trophy trip to Maidenhead, his opposite number Craig Edwards, never keen to lose but with more than a weather eye on the weekend. Fortunately any managerial indifference to the famous old cup failed to convey itself to combatants who rushed hither and thither across the frosty turf in search of victory. A crisp, chill winter’s eve, a slippery pitch white with hoar, but the football from visitors AFC Wimbledon white with heat as an early onslaught from the reborn Dons gave them an unassailable two goal lead before the quarter hour was up.
Early alarm bells as Steve Ferguson, darting through the middle of the park, set up Gayle for a shooting opportunity from the edge of the area but the old warhorse failed to connect with enough venom to trouble Tim Roberts in the Hamlet goal, standing in for the rested Sheik Ceesay. However those alarums went unheeded and once more the electric Ferguson pierce the Hamlet rearguard, his penetrating run in from the right wing ended prematurely by a clumsy lunge from Shayne Mangodza. Spot kick duties to Mark de Bolla and for the children watching, a masterclass in the art of penalty taking, de Bolla crashing the ball down the middle as Roberts was sent diving to his left.
Picked at and probed by their quicksilver opponents, Dulwich were struggling to come to terms with the frequent raids of the Dons. 12th minute and the ball was swept wide to Michael Haswell rumbling up the left. His deep cross somehow made its way into the towering Gayle, an awkward pass running to de Bolla but this time Roberts had the upper hand making a fine close range bloke from his opponent’s strike. Hamlet made a quick response with Scott Edgar released behind a stolid defence but ‘keeper Danny Knowles kept patient, waiting and waiting, dragging his man wider and wider before a precise tackle an outfield player would have relished took the ball of the toes of Edgar.
On the quarter hour AFC doubled their lead with a wondrous goal, fit to grace the highest stage. The danger seemed minimal when perfidious Ferguson gathered the ball some 30 yards from goal. One might have expected another trenchant charge but instead he released a full-blooded drive, dipping, swirling, setting the air alight as it whistled past the despairing dive of Roberts, crashing into the net off angle of post and crossbar.
Less motivated teams might have crumbled but with orders barked from Sergeant-Major Edwards on the sidelines, surrender was not an option for the Hamlet. A deep Edgar cross from the right wing dropped to Benson Paka, lurking at the back of the penalty area. A neat turn inside his man but from the edge of the area a shot curled a fraction too high. Soon after a long throw saw Henry Darko win a David and Goliath battle for the ball with Antony Howard, the ball trickling along the edge of the six yard box where Stanley Muguo beat a brace of defenders to it, only to stab a close range shot the wrong side of Knowles’ far upright.
A third Dons’ goal was averted as by the dexterity of Roberts, though fortune to played a part. De Bolla’s powerful run into the area, capped by an angled rising drive, saw Roberts stretch to tip the ball away from goal only for it to drop at the feet of Jolly mere inches from the line. Somehow the chance went begging as the ball was clipped against the outside of the upright and harmlessly behind. The frame of the goal would once more deny the Dons when a stunning strike from distance by de Bolla had Roberts beaten all ends up, but half-uttered celebratory cheers died on the breeze as the ball cannoned back off the base of the post. Dulwich’s response came in the form of a smart angled strike from Sol Patterson-Bohner following Haswell fluffed clearance, the Hamlet man drilling the ball low, hard and sweet towards the near bottom corner of the net but, to his misfortune, Knowles was alert to the danger grabbing the ball at the second attempt as it recoiled from his chest.
Lukewarm from the red hot Schoburgh, perhaps still feeling the effects of the injury that had forced him from the field Saturday last. Maybe that was why Haswell was almost able to keep pace with him as he set off on a fizzling stampede down the right. A low centre needed just the final brushstroke from the marauding Edgar, but the angle was just too tight, the ball nestling in the side netting.
The second half began brightly for the Hamlet as Paka went close with a crisp low drive from the brink of the box that skidded just wide of Knowles’ left hand upright but then lackadaisical defending allowed AFC a third goal that would drive a final nail in the Dulwich challenge. A smart save from Roberts to deny the Dons saw a corner conceded, lofted deep into the penalty area. Arriving late, a juggernaut is the shape of Rob Quinn met the delivery with a mighty thump, the header ripping through the Pink and Blue wall on the line to stretch that lead even further.
Victory all but assured Wimbledon eased the pace, controlled the game, sat back and invited Hamlet upon them. An invitation not to be spurned Dulwich quested for an opening that would let in the light of hope. Schoburgh thrusting run into the box was curtailed by the well-weighted tackle of Howard. A deep throw reached Muguo mere feet from the line but defensive smothering snuffed out the chance. When grit failed, the Dons turned to luck to deny Dulwich, a booming Billy Chattaway cross, mishit by Schoburgh 10 yards out, cannoning goalwards off a defender but into the hands of a grateful Knowles on the line. The Hamlet blitz continued as Mangodza’s close range effort from an acute angle skimmed the face of Knowles and went behind off the post.
As time ebbed away, the burning embers of a late Hamlet rally began to dim. A chance here, a chance there but rugged Wimbledon defence kept the artful dodgers of the Hamlet attack at bay. The pair combined when Schoburgh, released on the right, whipped the ball cunningly into the six yard box but his young cohort was thwarted as Will Salmon dived in to beat Chattaway to the ball. Come the final throes though Chattaway would have a modicum of revenge as he larruped home a fine goal after Lumumba Amena had neatly lobbed back in a half-cleared corner. Mere consolation perhaps but with weightier assignments galloping over the horizon for both Hamlet and Don, the night had been one when performance mattered more than result. Never mind the width, feel the quality!

Teams:
DHFC: Tim Roberts; Sol Patterson-Bohner; Ricky Dobson; Benson Paka; Shayne Mangodza; Steve May; Henry Darko; Sebastian Schoburgh; Scott Edgar; Stanley Muguo; Lumumba Amena
Subs: Billy Chattaway (for Henry Darko HT); Daniel Jones (for Sebastian Schoburgh 90); Jason Hawes (for Lumumba Amena 90); Justin Fevrier (not used); Sheikh Ceesay (GK) (not used)

AFCW: Danny Knowles; Will Salmon; Michael Haswell; Mark Beard; Antony Howard; Rob Quinn; Steve Ferguson; Sam Hatton; Marcus Gayle; Richard Jolly; Mark de Bolla
Subs: Daniel Webb (for Marcus Gayle 64); Jon Main (for Richard Jolly 64); Tony Finn (for Mark Beard 80)

Attendance: 341

Officials:
Referee: Mr Richard Jaye (Waltham Abbey)
Assistant Referees: Mr Peter Georgiou (Wandsworth) & Mr Jeff Lengthorn (New Eltham)

Goalscoring:
1-0 AFCW Mark de Bolla 5th minute (Penalty)
2-0 AFCW Steve Ferguson 15th minute
3-0 AFCW Rob Quinn 51st minute
3-1 DHFC Billy Chattaway 88th minute