Dulwich Hamlet 2 Molesey 1

Dulwich Hamlet 2 Molesey 1
Ryman Isthmian League Division One South
Monday 24th March 2008

Dead men walking, the Moles of Hampton Court are all but condemned to relegation from the Isthmian League, the noose around their neck, the trapdoor creeping beneath their feet. Tasty morsels then for a Hamlet side, keen to exorcise the demons of their Good Friday defeat on the South Coast and resurrect their fading hopes of scrambling abroad the promotion lifeboat that is the play-offs, neophyte Christians dragged into the arena as baying hordes goaded the Dulwich lions. For an hour or more, pink and blue claws ripped at light blue, teeth bared but rarely able to inflict more than a flesh wound. Goals from Charlie Taylor, a fifth in his last six outings, and Meshach Nugent put Hamlet in the driving seat before the referee’s infuriating decision to dismiss Marc Cumberbatch and award the Moles the lifeline of a penalty. Though Jamie Lunan’s excellent save kept out the spot kick, Dulwich found themselves all at sea when Paul Cross nodded in a goal with still quarter of a hour left on the clock. Less timorous teams might have capitalised, the Moles did not.
Ricky Dobson and skipper Shayne Mangodza took a breather from the starting line as Darryl Plummer and Billy Chattaway returned with the captain’s armband passing to the vociferous Ryan Bernard, a brick outhouse with an air raid siren installed. His booming bellicose commands echoed across the field of combat as Dulwich began in earnest with raid after raid upon the Molesey goal. The bludgeoned Moles held off the Hamlet stampede for eight whole minutes, but could resist no longer. A stealthy move flummoxed a statuesque defence as Cumberbatch lit the touch paper with a slide rule pass out to the coltish Sebastian Schoburgh cantering away down the right wing, squaring the ball across to Taylor, strangely neglected, by the Moles’ defence who had gone AWOL. As Matt Nash, cruelly exposed between the sticks, rushed from his line, a nonchalant Taylor had time to check his deodorant before neatly slipping the ball back Nash as the custodian prostrated himself at his feet.
The Hamlet were denied a spot kick two minutes later when the quicksilver Taylor nicked the ball past Nash on the penalty spot, but as he sidestepped the ‘keeper his legs were taken from beneath him. It seemed cut and dried, penalty and dismissal for the miscreant but much to the frustration of all of Pink and Blue persuasion, the man in black waved away all protestations. It would not be the time, he would exasperate the Hamlet. Still as starved of penalties as the Hamlet are, waiting for another as has taken the place of the arrival of Santa Claus at Champion Hill.
Dulwich nevertheless encamped in the Moles’ half. Taylor was unfortunate not to add to his earlier goal as he left flatfooted defence in his wake, neatly lifting the ball over the onrushing Nash, an exquisite chip drawing gasps of admiration, only to be replaced by groans of disappointment as the ball struck the crossbar. Released right Nugent’s pullback was helped on by Schoburgh to Plummer, a coiled chip from the edge of the area just failing to find the top corner. In the thick of it once more Taylor almost had Nash turned inside out as his defence capitulated once more, the ‘keeper dragged out of his area to thwart Taylor on the wing with a textbook tackle as the ball was dragged past him. Those feet were static though when Taylor curled in a twenty yard free kick three later but once more the frame of the goal proved his saviour as the ball rattled it once more.
The crowd bayed for blood as the break drew nearer. A low hard drive from Benson Paka, standing on the edge of the area, quivered in flight, almost catching Nash unawares and it two goes before he smothered the effort. The Molesey defensive horror show continued apace with Phil Caughter almost gifting a goal to Taylor in the final minute but the shot was tepid and Nash spared the blushes of his slapdash skipper.
Molesey posted early intent of a revival with Paul Cross' angled volley clawed out of the air at the second attempt by Jamie Lunan, then Anthony Gale watching as a low strike dribbled wide of the post.
However Dulwich began to see daylight as they added a second on 53 minutes with a training ground corner executed to perfection, short from Schoburgh to Darryl Plummer and met with a bullet header from close range by the leaping Meshach Nugent.
The woes intensified for the Moles not long after as Schoburgh, from an offside position, slid a pass into the six yard area, Nugent unable to stop himself careering into Nash on the sodden turf. Molesey skipper Phil Caughter seemed eager to get the game restarted but it was clear Nash was in no condition to continue and after extensive treatment he was groggily helped from the field. With no substitute custodian on the bench, the onus fell upon defender Aaron Barnett to don the gloves. Remarkably Dulwich seemed to switch off at this point, meekly unwilling to test the stand-in. Chattaway’s mazy charge in from the left paved the way for Schoburgh to worm his way into the box after Paka’s tricky had seen the ball reach him, but the wily winger tried to toy with the defence and soon found himself mugged by a trio of Moles.
The condemned men seemed to draw new inspiration from their troubles and, pressing forward, thought they had found an avenue back into the contest when gangling striker Paul Cross, tangling with Cumberbatch in the area, went to ground. Red card for the Hamlet’s Cumberbatch, much to the chagrin of his teammates and a spot kick for the Moles. Gale took on the responsibility, drilling the ball low for the bottom corner of the net, only for Lunan to pull off a first-rate save at the base of his upright.
But like Frankenstein’s beast, animated by the elemental forces, the Moles found new inspiration albeit for too brief and too late a moment. Four minutes after the spot kick laissez-faire defending made that penalty save of Lunan’s count for naught as Gale swung a free kick into the area, one allowed to bounce to Cross waiting at the back of the box and his tame header easily found the net. All hands to the pump for the Hamlet, strikers and midfielders sacrificed for defenders and the Moles revival was stillborn. Indeed Dulwich might have added to the lead, Schoburgh plopping a cross on the head of Taylor only for the effort to be directed at the ersatz custodian. The ubiquitous Taylor was again in the fray as he was sent spinning to earth on the very brink of the area by last man Joel Korocz, but to the infuriation of the Dulwich bench, no penalty and only a yellow card for the transgressor. As if to rub salt in the wound the free kick too proved frustrating as it swung harmlessly wide of the goal. But by then Molesey had shot their bolt, the ten men of Dulwich retained their composure and an oh-too-valuable three points had been secured. Tantalising and teasing, the play-offs glint in the distance as elusive as the rainbow’s end.

Teams:
DHFC: Jamie Lunan; Steve May; Billy Chattaway; Benson Paka (Osman Sesay 83); Ryan Bernard; Marc Cumberbatch; Sebastian Schoburgh; Daryl Plummer (Shayne Mangodza 73); Meshach Nugent; Charlie Taylor (Ricky Dobson 90); Stanley Muguo
Substitutes not used: Henry Darko; Sheikh Ceesay (GK)

MFC: Matt Nash (Fabio Rodriguez 62); Joel Korocz; Phil Caughter (Capt) (Marlon Rodney 90); Steve Brown; Aaron Barnett ; Andy Davidson (Nick Newitt 83); Steve Omonua; Rob Wilkinson; Paul Cross; Jamie Findlay; Anthony Gale

Attendance: 208

Match Officials:
Referee: Mr Nigel Lugg (Chipstead)
Assistant Referees: Mr Peter Georgiou (Wandsworth) & Mr Phil Stevens (Streatham)

Goalscoring:
1-0 DHFC Charlie Taylor 8th minute
2-0 DHFC Meshach Nugent 53rd minute
2-1 MFC Paul Cross 75th minute