Hampton and Richmond Borough Youth 5 Dulwich Hamlet Youth 0

Hampton and Richmond Borough Youth 5 Dulwich Hamlet Youth 0
The FA Youth Cup – Sponsored by Eon – Preliminary Round
Wednesday 10th September 2008

Having rattled home seven goals in their opening Kent Youth League game at the weekend, Tom Pratt leading the way with a hat trick in that demolition of Dartford (North), the boot was firmly switched to the other foot as the young Beavers blitzed the Hamlet with a fistful of goals of their own. Truth be told this scoreline did not reflect the Dulwich’s performance, battling and feisty but punctuated with too many errors in key areas, but did not give the lie to a Hampton side that created the bulk of the chances and punished even the tiniest mistake with unerring efficiency. Me thought I was in Suburbia not Germany!
As early autumn leaffall fluttered around them The Beavers had the accelerator on early, right winger Tom Kanek a constant threat and had Jack Whitbey larruped the ball wide and high, his early penetration on the flank might have been rewarded with a goal. Dulwich hit back with Louis Sprusen’s ball flicked on by Dean Grant into the path of the overlapping Metin Ramadan, a sweet low drive just wide of ‘keeper Joe Talbot’s near upright. Not long after Sprusen fed Ruen DeSilva overlapping down the left, a neat chipped cross into the near post flicked cunningly across the face of goal by Pratt’s head.
Free in the box Spencer Wakeman wasted a golden opportunity as he nodded Kanek’s cross into the arms of the waiting Danny Baldwinson before Josh Guichard was picked out of three red shirts unguarded on the edge of the area only dwell on the opportunity too long and drive his effort into the body of Baldwinson. The Red Tide swept on, Wakeman’s daring 25 yard chip floated just over. Baldwinson made a breathtaking close range block to batter out Liam Camis venomous volley from 8 yards. Another Kanek cross seemed destined for a red head until big Olly Bell at centre half hooked the ball safety, his Hampton harassers as much annoyance as a pair of gadflies.
That storm weathered Dulwich re-gathered themselves for a brief respite as a corner was one but Bell could only hook the ball over the bar as Sprusen’s header fell to him. Back came the Hampton boys, again marauding down Kanek’s flank. Dithering almost cost Hamlet a goal as a weak attempt to clear the ball only reached Guichard lurking on the corner of the penalty area, but surprise at the gift got the better of him and an attempt to chip the ball into the net bothered none but the starlings roosting amidst the arbour.
The hard work seemed done as half time approached but them Dulwich shot themselves in the foot not once but twice in the space of two short minutes. On 43 minutes the ball was lost in the middle of the park, a pass sent forward to Camis scampering in pursuit with Bell blocking his route, but a misplaced attempt to clear the ball from the Hamlet centre half gave him extra impetus and Camis was hotfooting it towards goal with Bell in his wake. A drilled finish low into the bottom corner gave Baldwinson no chance. If that was gutting, a second goal almost on half time would rip the heart from the Hamlet. Kanek’s cross seemed too deep, an easy gather for Baldwinson but for an instant his concentration went, the ball vanished in the floodlights and it slipped from his grasp to fall at the feet of a startled James Wheeler, who kept his composure to guide the ball into the net gaping before him.
Wheeler would once more be the recipient of Baldwinson largesse two minutes into the second half, a killer blow from which Hamlet could not recover. The young Hamlet custodian inexplicably allowed a speculative shot, maybe even a mis-hit cross, from the young Beaver, wide out on the left wing, to squirm through his arms and into the net behind him. Another nail in the coffin came on 55 minutes when Jordan Waller added a fourth from a free kick to leave Dulwich with naught but pride to chase. Of course this opened up more chances for Hampton but off-key shooting keep the scoreline below the bounds of embarrassment as long-range efforts from Abu Rayhan and Liam Camis went wide of the target. Even went the number favoured the hosts with players in the majority, a crunching Bell tackle left Wakeman’s ears ringing with a peal to match the finest campanile. However the defence was AWOL with a quarter hour left as Camis claimed his second, Baldwinson bravely blocking at the striker’s feet but powerless as the rebound was curled beyond him.
Lesser teams might have curled up to wait the final whistle but hearts still pumped pink and blue, and for ten minutes, Dulwich held an ascendancy that had been strange to them for too long. A drop ball swept out to Daniel Craig haring down the left, his cross into the six yard box met by Grant, winning the ball against taller, more numerous, opposition but nodding the ball over the crossbar. A Dulwich corner dropped to Micky Mullane but from 8 yards out he larruped the ball over the bar and as if to heap the pain on, Pratt galloped away of the last defender in a carbon copy of Hampton’s opener, only to drag his effort wide of the near post.

Teams:
H&RBFC: Joe Talbot, Jack Whitby, Abu Rayhan, Josh Guichard (Charlie Matthuis 80), Dean Inman (Capt), Robert Curtis (Jack Grinstead 66), Tom Kanek, Jordan Waller, Liam Camis (Soheil Tehrani 82), Spencer Wakeman, James Wheeler
Substitute not used: Alex Williams (GK)

DHFC: Danny Baldwinson, Micky Mullane, Dan Moosavi, Adam Griffin (Lewis Cashin 60), Olly Bell, Ike Nwanokwu, Metin Ramadan (Arnel Maga 60), Louis Sprusen, Dean Grant, Tom Pratt, Ruen DeSilva (Daniel Craig 77)
Substitutes not used: Tommy Roberts, Tom Gothard (GK)

Goalscoring:
1-0 H&RBFC Liam Camis 43rd minute
2-0 H&RBFC James Wheeler 45th minute
3-0 H&RBFC James Wheeler 47th minute
4-0 H&RBFC Jordan Waller 55th minute
5-0 H&RBFC Liam Camis 77th minute

Officials:
Referee: Mr T Pusey (Hanwell)
Assistant referee: Mr D Hookway (Shepperton) & Mr R Ellerker (Harrow)

Attendance: 65