Fleet Town 0 Dulwich Hamlet 0

Fleet Town 0 Dulwich Hamlet 0
Ryman Isthmian League Division One South
Saturday 29th November 2008

Football played by the Queensbury Rules, two teams battling through the mud of Calthorpe Park, each endeavour and straining to land just one knock-out blow upon the other but finding it cracking down upon a rock hard chin that would not buckle, would not yield, would not surrender. Oft when one takes the Sunday journals and reads of goalless draw, egality all, the scribe intones that neither side deserved to win but on an afternoon that began soggy, ended sodden, both sides deserved to don the laurels of victory. ‘Twas a shame the referee could not hold aloft the arm of all combatants in triumph and award full points to all.
Fleet brought back long-serving goal machine Eddie Smith to terrorize the Hamlet once, having risen from the bench to strike a goal that killed off a Hamlet revival on Dulwich last trip beyond the Surrey boundaries and into Hampshire but changed nowt else from the XI that had squeaked past Eastbourne in midweek thanks to an own goal. Dulwich too had triumphed in similar narrow yet comprehensive style, coincidently against Sussex foes, albeit on enemy territory. Like his counterpart Andy Sinton, Craig Edwards chose but a sole change to the starting squad with Billy Chattaway returning on the left, whilst Peter Martin on the right dropped to the bench.
December may be just around the corner but Calthorpe Park still wears it autumn dubs, dying leaves fluttering down from the tree lined surrounds of this quaintly rustic setting, a world away from the local high street where lonely Christmas shoppers flittered from half-full shop to market stall. Their festive reveries might have been shattered by the full-bloodied battle going on beyond the arboreal curtain.
Attacking down the treacherous slope, Fleet burst from the blocks, a blue tide flowing onwards but crashing against the breakwater of Hamlet’s defence, the colossi of Marc Cumberbatch, Cedric Ngakam and Shayne Mangodza a red wall before the freer-scoring Fleet offence. There was little to truly trouble either ‘keeper in the opening exchanges, Fleet’s finishing more troubling to perching wildlife than to Jamie Lunan, opposite number Paul Smith protected well by a defence whose redefinition of gamesmanship would draw harrumphs of disapproval from stuffy boardrooms where the G&Ts flow and the retired colonels roost.
Having fended off the blows of there Fleet attack, Dulwich might well have sneaked ahead on 22 minutes when Mark Paterson’s header back in the direction of Paul Smith proved tempting to the chasing Scott Simpson, the Hamlet man almost poaching the ball from the arms of the home custodian as he came to gather. A quick rejoinder from the Fleet as a misplaced crossfield pass proved beyond the reach of Stanley Muguo, Eddie Smith snaffling up the pass and setting his sights on goal. It looked odds on that the Fleet striker would add another to his long tally of goals but he reckoned without the tenacity of Jamie Lunan, who refused to commit himself until his protagonist did, a fine block keeping out Smith effort.
Fleet fingers tightened around the game’s epiglottis. Three minutes after that save, Lunan once more came to the Hamlet’s rescue with a save that gasps of admiration and frustration in equal measures. A fleet-footed move from the Blues, the ball flicked from boot to boot through the Dulwich defence saw Steve Hemmings with the goal at his mercy. Trying to flick the wide of Lunan into the far corner of the net, Hemmings found himself thwarted as the big Dulwich custodian struck out a leg as he dived the opposite way, the ball ricocheting away to safety. Steepling shots from dominant Fleet failed to give the Hamlet custodian the chance to showcase his shot stopping skills as Dulwich crept back into contention as the half waned away. Five minutes before the break Benson Paka’s free kick caused chaos in the area as Cumberbatch nodded a deep delivery back across the six yard box, a tumbling Ngakam’s stabbed effort loping over a prostrate Paul Smith but nodded away from in front of goal by the alpha defender, Mark Paterson. Fleet broke swiftly a booming clearance aimed for Mark Anderson, in the dropping ball in the custody of Chattaway until a wicked bounce took it away from him and left Anderson bearing in on goal until the young defender recovered his ground to make a stunning saving tackle on the brink of the box. Eddie Smith went hunting for the loose ball but went tumbling in an attempt to purloin a penalty when the chance to tuck the ball away was there.
Though the industrious Junior Kaffo rocketed a long range effort wide, half time talk of a pulsating if barren half paled as Simpson was harshly cautioned in the final minute, drawing to shoot as the whistle blew for a skinny offside.
Half time, a pause to catch the breath, the once more onto the breach, my friends, once more. Fleet maintained the upper hand early on, despite now climbing the mountainous slope to Lunan’s goal. An early free kick found the head of Anderson but his header whilst firmly placed inside the back stick lacked the impetus to fluster Lunan. Soon after a towering clearance saw Laurent Hamici impeded within millimetres of the edge of the leaf strewn penalty area. Inside or outside, Mr Cook went for the latter, some supporters demurred. Dulwich did not, an overworked free kick manoeuvre saw Simpson slip the ball to Hamici, a fierce drive whistling wide of the far upright.
As the rain began to stair rod from the heavens and twilight turned to darkest night, the tempo never wavered. The old hands of Fleet might have been expected to enervate, vigour sapped by the gluepot pitch and the constant harrying of Edwards’ young brood. Not nay, thrice. In offence they still threatened, somehow James Field failed to find the trap snatching upon the ball 12 yards out but smacking a low drive across goal and beyond the back stick.
The medieval tonsure of custodian Paul Smith had had the Hamlet troubadours in full, cacophonic, voice but he proved himself back on time when he made a fine save on 55 minutes, denying Hamici as the striker attempted to finish off a sweeping move across the face of the penalty area. However the ‘keeper had no cunning plan, just a prayer and a thank you to the underside of crossbar, when Kaffo came within a whisker of smacking home a header after Simpson’s head had bulleted back a cleared corner into the heart of the six yard box.
The pendulum had now swung firmly in the favour of the visitors. Simpson’s sizzler went wide of the mark, even the defenders were getting in on the act with Mangodza striking a well struck effort from 15 yards out a fraction the wrong side of the post. Fleet players began dropping like flies, Billy Boylan, Paterson inter alia needing treatment as the Hamlet battering continued, but the Blues refused to throw in the towel. Unbelievably the same 22 that started the in the grey afternoon ended in the gloom of evening, though Hemmings vociferous protests at every injustice, every tackle, every contentious decision might have earned reprobation from less tolerant officialdom. In stark contrast, a discordant word from Muguo after a disputed 90th minute throw-in award saw him gain the contest’s third technical caution. Five interminable minutes of stoppage time ensued but goals did not arrive. Fortunately for that would have been stark reward for the effort of all.

Teams:
FTFC:
Paul Smith; Will Salmon; Tom Bird; Billy Boylan; Mark Paterson; Steve Hemmings; James Field; Jamie McClurg; Mark Anderson; Eddie Smith; Nathan Smart
Substitutes not used: Peter Hibbert; Bernard Asante; Ben White; Darren Campbell; Dave Smalley (GK

DHFC: Jamie Lunan; Shayne Mangodza; Billy Chattaway; Benson Paka; Cedric Ngakam; Marc Cumberbatch; Daryl Plummer; Stanley Muguo; Laurent Hamici; Junior Kaffo; Scott Simpson
Substitutes not used: Peter Martin; Gary Noel; Fasineh Koroma; Mamadou Meite-Sissocko; Sheikh Ceesay (GK)

Officials:
Referee: Mr Daniel Cook (Gosport, Hampshire)
Assistant Referees: Mr Chris Miles (Southampton, Hampshire) & Mr Brian Francis (Southampton, Hampshire)

Attendance: 176