Dulwich Hamlet 1 Ashford Town 0
Ryman Isthmian League Division One South
Saturday 8th December 2007
Ryman Isthmian League Division One South
Saturday 8th December 2007
"Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air". Hustle, bustle, tussle, scuffle as in conditions more akin to the Eton Wall game Dulwich squelched and squirmed their way across more suited for galoshes to a third straight triumph; one that leaves them knocking at the door of the promotion party, invite in hand. Autumn had finally seceded to dank winter as foul tempest laid siege to Champion Hill but amid the mud and muck, under the mantle of wind and rain, Dulwich played the lead, though bumptious Ashford were keen to steal the limelight in the twilight. That the conditions would play a key role in the afternoon’s only goal would perhaps be inevitable.
But to rewind. An hour and a quarter before kick-off, the skies foul contagion had eased briefly as the afternoon’s officials marched across the Champion Hill sward to determine its suitability. Consistent bounce, the odd splash of water from puddles notwithstanding, a true run of the ball and the men in black departed from the field happy. Battle could be joined, unless the metrological gods had mischief in mind.
A single change for the Hamlet as Billy Chattaway and Henry Darko swapped positions on field and bench respectively whilst a new name, if not to the Nuts’n’Bolts nor those who knew his father when he trod the turf here, one Marc Cumberbatch became the latest additions to the Edwards Army. The guests had been even busier on the acquisition front as a season that promised much as rapidly turned sour. Not since late August had they prevented the opposition scoring bar a clean sheet against the Montserrat National XI, world ranked 201st in Browne-speak or last in English. To that end they had have brought on board Hastings United’s talismanic defender Sean Ray, a centre-half carved from the rock upon which this island is built. Should an attacker be foolhardy or determined enough to shake off his shackles then Ashford had maverick custodian Jamie Riley whose safe hands would prevent Hamlet turning narrow victory into comfortable triumph. As early as the first minute the hands of Riley were getting dirty as Chattaway swept a low ball into the penalty area, the big number one sliding though the spray to nick the ball off the toes of Meshach Nugent, then getting a second grab as Sebastian Schoburgh went hunting for the loose ball. Cloying mud failed to manacle the feet of the flying Schoburgh and soon after a powerful run into the area saw a shot blocked, the ball looping into the path of Shawn Beveney but a strike pouched itself in Riley’s midriff.
The shot-shy Nuts’n’Bolts, goals rationed in recent weeks, found a threat of their own with an excellent move on the quarter hour. Surfing the tide down the right wing Ryan Briggs, another of the November infusion of fresh talent, skated his way to the corner flag before hammering a low ball back behind the retreating Hamlet rearguard finding Mitchell Sherwood arriving late on the fringes of the area. Sherwood, another new bug, met the ball first time with force, a drilled drive smartly blocked on the line by the boot of Sheikh Ceesay.
A quick fire Schoburgh scamper down the flank was matched stride for stride by Danny Lye, the Hamlet winger holding off his shadow into the box but dragging his shot wide of the mark as he stretched to stab the ball past Riley.
The conditions almost embarrassed Ceesay as a hopeful cross field ball meant from Walid Matata skidded out of the box as the Hamlet custodian came for it allowing Matata the chance to pull the ball back across the unguarded goal. Sol Patterson-Bohner had other ideas though, a crunching tackle on his opponent, forfeiting a free kick at the minor expense of a talking-to from whistler Mr Power, a noble sacrifice, the lowly foot soldier who would throw himself upon a grenade to spare his battalion. The free kick came to naught and Patterson-Bohner could afford a sardonic smile.
Mad, scampering runs from the mudlarks of Dulwich. Chance, not once but twice, fell the way of Ricky Dobson, the tenacious full-back up in attack as Dulwich piled on the pressure with corner upon corner. First opportunity slammed shut the door as Benson dithered a fraction too long, weighting up the options as flicked a ball from foot to foot in the D, his eventual strike battered down up by an Ashford footslogger. Later chance would come again but though he met Schoburgh’s deep, deep corner with a ferocious wallop of a volley, the angle was too tight, the shot too imprecise to worry the net.
As the heavens drizzled the chances flowed. Beveney slipped a precise pass into the path of Meshach Nugent, the reborn striker hitting a venous effort on the move but with Riley on guard at the near post there few crannies for the ball to squeeze past the Ashford custodian.
Biffo tackles on a pitch so sopping. Yet not one that might warrant much beyond a reprimand. A stern word. To the surprise of none, the pugnacious Ray would claim the honour of the afternoon’s first caution, though he cut it fine as half time drew closely. Schoburgh his prey, an apparently unwary gazelle bounding down the flank, a sliding tackle his weapon but Schoburgh had a weather eye on the juggernaut lumbering in search of quarry, skipping over Ray’s lunging challenge only to run into a one of his cohorts. Mr Power though called back play and Ray carded, he appeared wronged, perhaps not as much as Hamlet fans would wanted stronger punishment.
A second wave of precipitation swept in from the Greendale wastes as the second half got under way, sending all but the bravest or most indelible supporters scuttling for cover. No such respite for the participants performing upon their sodden stage. Yet even with the mud clinging to ankles, weighing down boots, rain lashing into every pore, neither side let up. Chances though were rare as the two combatants wrestled through the slough. With the downpour relenting, fans poked out from under the lee of stand and shelter. As if to greet them Nugent responded with a cracking run down the right, slipping away from his marker, before pulling the ball back to a charging Beveney whose powerful strike on the angle was on target, but on target too for Riley alert on his line. Consistent, well-placed Riley was again on duty when a practiced header from Nugent, standing on the edge of the area, bulleted towards goal, the Ashford ’keeper unfazed as Stanley Muguo ducked in front of him.
With a quarter hour remaining Ashford’s head honcho, Steve Lovell, had run the full gamut of substitutes. Last to go was Matata, a tormentor of the Hamlet in contests past but a pale shadow of that goal machine amidst Ashford current malaise. Dulwich had lost the mercurial Schoburgh to injury but in his stead the Duracell Bunny of Champion Hill, Henry Darko, David to Ray’s Goliath. The Dulwich replacement was in like Flynn when Muguo swept a ball into the box, only to be frustrated when Lee Hockey leapt in with a vital tackle at the last moment. Huffing and puffing, Ashford had blown hard but as the seconds flicked by, they were close to expiring. A dangerous free kick was hacked to safety but then as a mere six minutes separated victory from stalemate came the only goal. “Will no rid us of these turbulent ‘keepers”, Hamlet must have raged as once more Riley thwarted a Pink and Blue attack, blocking Darko’s crisp strike at the near post after the Hamlet man had thrust aside his marker to latch on to the ball and scurry down the wing. The loose ball ran kindly though, Nugent seizing upon it and driving the ball under the diving Riley. For a moment the Ashford custodian felt he had the ball but in the slimy conditions the ball wheedled its way under him and squirted out behind him. Beveney dived in to provide a final touch but the ball had already crossed the line.
But for some contentious flagging from the assistant referee Dulwich might have doubled the lead with mere moments having elapsed, Beveney about to tuck the ball into the net courtesy of Nugent only for Darko to called offside earlier in the move. Had Ashford found a late route to goal, one shudders to imagine the greeting that would be reserved for the official at the final whistle. The Nuts’n’Bolts did not and genteel ears were spared.
But to rewind. An hour and a quarter before kick-off, the skies foul contagion had eased briefly as the afternoon’s officials marched across the Champion Hill sward to determine its suitability. Consistent bounce, the odd splash of water from puddles notwithstanding, a true run of the ball and the men in black departed from the field happy. Battle could be joined, unless the metrological gods had mischief in mind.
A single change for the Hamlet as Billy Chattaway and Henry Darko swapped positions on field and bench respectively whilst a new name, if not to the Nuts’n’Bolts nor those who knew his father when he trod the turf here, one Marc Cumberbatch became the latest additions to the Edwards Army. The guests had been even busier on the acquisition front as a season that promised much as rapidly turned sour. Not since late August had they prevented the opposition scoring bar a clean sheet against the Montserrat National XI, world ranked 201st in Browne-speak or last in English. To that end they had have brought on board Hastings United’s talismanic defender Sean Ray, a centre-half carved from the rock upon which this island is built. Should an attacker be foolhardy or determined enough to shake off his shackles then Ashford had maverick custodian Jamie Riley whose safe hands would prevent Hamlet turning narrow victory into comfortable triumph. As early as the first minute the hands of Riley were getting dirty as Chattaway swept a low ball into the penalty area, the big number one sliding though the spray to nick the ball off the toes of Meshach Nugent, then getting a second grab as Sebastian Schoburgh went hunting for the loose ball. Cloying mud failed to manacle the feet of the flying Schoburgh and soon after a powerful run into the area saw a shot blocked, the ball looping into the path of Shawn Beveney but a strike pouched itself in Riley’s midriff.
The shot-shy Nuts’n’Bolts, goals rationed in recent weeks, found a threat of their own with an excellent move on the quarter hour. Surfing the tide down the right wing Ryan Briggs, another of the November infusion of fresh talent, skated his way to the corner flag before hammering a low ball back behind the retreating Hamlet rearguard finding Mitchell Sherwood arriving late on the fringes of the area. Sherwood, another new bug, met the ball first time with force, a drilled drive smartly blocked on the line by the boot of Sheikh Ceesay.
A quick fire Schoburgh scamper down the flank was matched stride for stride by Danny Lye, the Hamlet winger holding off his shadow into the box but dragging his shot wide of the mark as he stretched to stab the ball past Riley.
The conditions almost embarrassed Ceesay as a hopeful cross field ball meant from Walid Matata skidded out of the box as the Hamlet custodian came for it allowing Matata the chance to pull the ball back across the unguarded goal. Sol Patterson-Bohner had other ideas though, a crunching tackle on his opponent, forfeiting a free kick at the minor expense of a talking-to from whistler Mr Power, a noble sacrifice, the lowly foot soldier who would throw himself upon a grenade to spare his battalion. The free kick came to naught and Patterson-Bohner could afford a sardonic smile.
Mad, scampering runs from the mudlarks of Dulwich. Chance, not once but twice, fell the way of Ricky Dobson, the tenacious full-back up in attack as Dulwich piled on the pressure with corner upon corner. First opportunity slammed shut the door as Benson dithered a fraction too long, weighting up the options as flicked a ball from foot to foot in the D, his eventual strike battered down up by an Ashford footslogger. Later chance would come again but though he met Schoburgh’s deep, deep corner with a ferocious wallop of a volley, the angle was too tight, the shot too imprecise to worry the net.
As the heavens drizzled the chances flowed. Beveney slipped a precise pass into the path of Meshach Nugent, the reborn striker hitting a venous effort on the move but with Riley on guard at the near post there few crannies for the ball to squeeze past the Ashford custodian.
Biffo tackles on a pitch so sopping. Yet not one that might warrant much beyond a reprimand. A stern word. To the surprise of none, the pugnacious Ray would claim the honour of the afternoon’s first caution, though he cut it fine as half time drew closely. Schoburgh his prey, an apparently unwary gazelle bounding down the flank, a sliding tackle his weapon but Schoburgh had a weather eye on the juggernaut lumbering in search of quarry, skipping over Ray’s lunging challenge only to run into a one of his cohorts. Mr Power though called back play and Ray carded, he appeared wronged, perhaps not as much as Hamlet fans would wanted stronger punishment.
A second wave of precipitation swept in from the Greendale wastes as the second half got under way, sending all but the bravest or most indelible supporters scuttling for cover. No such respite for the participants performing upon their sodden stage. Yet even with the mud clinging to ankles, weighing down boots, rain lashing into every pore, neither side let up. Chances though were rare as the two combatants wrestled through the slough. With the downpour relenting, fans poked out from under the lee of stand and shelter. As if to greet them Nugent responded with a cracking run down the right, slipping away from his marker, before pulling the ball back to a charging Beveney whose powerful strike on the angle was on target, but on target too for Riley alert on his line. Consistent, well-placed Riley was again on duty when a practiced header from Nugent, standing on the edge of the area, bulleted towards goal, the Ashford ’keeper unfazed as Stanley Muguo ducked in front of him.
With a quarter hour remaining Ashford’s head honcho, Steve Lovell, had run the full gamut of substitutes. Last to go was Matata, a tormentor of the Hamlet in contests past but a pale shadow of that goal machine amidst Ashford current malaise. Dulwich had lost the mercurial Schoburgh to injury but in his stead the Duracell Bunny of Champion Hill, Henry Darko, David to Ray’s Goliath. The Dulwich replacement was in like Flynn when Muguo swept a ball into the box, only to be frustrated when Lee Hockey leapt in with a vital tackle at the last moment. Huffing and puffing, Ashford had blown hard but as the seconds flicked by, they were close to expiring. A dangerous free kick was hacked to safety but then as a mere six minutes separated victory from stalemate came the only goal. “Will no rid us of these turbulent ‘keepers”, Hamlet must have raged as once more Riley thwarted a Pink and Blue attack, blocking Darko’s crisp strike at the near post after the Hamlet man had thrust aside his marker to latch on to the ball and scurry down the wing. The loose ball ran kindly though, Nugent seizing upon it and driving the ball under the diving Riley. For a moment the Ashford custodian felt he had the ball but in the slimy conditions the ball wheedled its way under him and squirted out behind him. Beveney dived in to provide a final touch but the ball had already crossed the line.
But for some contentious flagging from the assistant referee Dulwich might have doubled the lead with mere moments having elapsed, Beveney about to tuck the ball into the net courtesy of Nugent only for Darko to called offside earlier in the move. Had Ashford found a late route to goal, one shudders to imagine the greeting that would be reserved for the official at the final whistle. The Nuts’n’Bolts did not and genteel ears were spared.
Teams:
DHFC: Sheikh Ceesay; Sol Patterson-Bohner; Ricky Dobson; Benson Paka; Shayne Mangodza; Steve May; Shawn Beveney (Capt.); Sebastian Schoburgh (Henry Darko 67); Meshach Nugent (Scott Edgar 90+1); Stanley Muguo; Billy Chattaway (Lumumba Amena 77)
Substitutes not used: Marc Cumberbatch; Tim Roberts (GK)
ATFC: Jamie Riley; Nicky Humphrey; Danny Lye (Tony Browne 55); Lee Hockey; Sean Ray (Capt.); Ryan Briggs; Mitchell Sherwood; Nick Barnes; Mark Lovell; Walid Matata (Paul Jones 75); Jimmy Bottle (Lee Spiller 65)
Substitutes not used: Kevin Lott; Sam Moore (GK)
Officials:
Referee: Mr Tony Power (Stanmore)
Assistant Referee: Mr Mark Sarah (Bermondsey) & Mr Barrie Gale (North Cheam)
Goalscoring:
1-0 DHFC Meshach Nugent 84th minute
Attendance: 241
1-0 DHFC Meshach Nugent 84th minute
Attendance: 241
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