Beckenham Town 2 Dulwich Hamlet 3

Beckenham Town 2 Dulwich Hamlet 3
London Senior Cup – Second Round (at Champion Hill)
Tuesday 18th November 2008

Noël, Noël, born is the King of Champion Hill. Gary Noel was the hero of the hour as he bagged a fine second half hat trick to see off Champion Hill FP, AKA Beckenham Town of the Kent League, the Hamlet fighting back from a first half deficit inflicted by one of their own, Danny Ward.
For a game switched from Beckenham’s Eden Park Avenue, currently undergoing modernisation works, Dulwich’s boss Craig Edwards made a number of changes from the side that had triumphed so emphatically at the weekend, with only skipper Marc Cumberbatch, his fellow centre-half colossus Cedric Ngakam and midfielders Fas Koroma and Stanley Muguo remaining. But tonight was a night for the squad men to show their metal, those that have anxiously twitched on the sidelines, champing at the bit for the opportunity to impress the management. In addition to the understudies, there was promotion albeit to a non-playing role on the bench, for a couple of the youth team’s bright stars, Tom Pratt and Louis Sprosen.
Ranged across from the Hamlet, a plethora of familiar faces in the Cambridge blue of Beckenham, from Michael Holder between the sticks to the combative Ward in the centre of the park. With others once of the Fish, now of this parish, Millwall inter alia there is a strange aura around the Becks, an inkling that these players should be plying their trade in the flurry of promotions battles in loftier reaches not down among the dead men in the depths of county football.
Transmogrified Hamlet stuttered to start as players were alien to one another in the heat of battle, the blood of young hearts pumped fast but the brains and boots of those wilier in the ways of the game thwarted the early attempts of the Hamlet to make a breakthrough. That was until the eighth minute when Famoud Sonko set off on a determined run in from the flanks, letting loose with a mighty wallop on the run, the long-range effort battered away by Holder. Junior Kaffo snaffled up the rebound but in a trice Nick Curran had pinch the ball off his toes.
A pedantic official meant frustrated fans and players alike, his decisions comprehensible to some not all, least of all Kaffo who seemed seriously nonplussed by his caution on the quarter-hour.
On 17 minutes a free kick found the head of Ngakam, a flicked header for the back stick hacked away to safety from the fast-closing Cumberbatch. However, having had the better of the opening exchanges, matters took a turn for the worse on 20 minutes. Ngakam conceded a free kick, booked to add to his woes, then, as if to heap further pain upon the Hamlet, Ward, hardly one for the aerial dogfights, was allowed to sneak in and deflect the ball past Sheik Ceesay. If the young scamp was to be believed the shoulder was provide the final impetus. Typically ebullient Ward’s post goal celebrations earned him a caution but of greater concern to the Hamlet was the disappearance of Ngakam down the tunnel. Had he received a second caution for an injudicious word or a not so bon mot? Seven minutes later an answer came swirling through the fog of confusion as Benson Paka cam on to replace Ngakam who it transpired had sustained an abrasion to his mouth in the lead up to the goal.
Dulwich struggled to get back on terms as the half wore on, unable to break down a resilient Beckenham defence but that all changed soon into the second half. Noel was unfortunate not to bring matters level six minutes in when some tricky skills took him into a great shooting position, Holder getting barely a hand to the Hamlet striker’s effort but rescued as Curran hacked the ball off the goal line behind him. However there was to be no such relief two minutes later when Noel galloped away from the last line of defence to hammer home the equaliser. On fire, the teenage hitman came close to adding his and Dulwich’s second soon after, his intricate footwork bamboozling the Becks defence but Holder paddling his strike. Once more though a chance proved precursor to a goal and again it was the pace of the young pup that proved too much for the old boys of Beckenham. Noel turned on the gas as the rearguard hesitated, cantering in on goal and firing the ball into the net low off the upright.
Just when it seemed as if Dulwich had the game by the scuff of the neck, frenzied defending at a free kick, a loose leg and a tumbling attacker gave Beckenham a lifeline to level as Mr Rowbury pointed to the spot. Ceesay guessed right but Joe Healy showed the touch of an old pro, low, hard and true into the bottom corner and parity reigned once more. Cometh the hour, or cometh the 59th minute, cometh the man, Noel claiming his maiden Hamlet hat trick with the sweetest of finishes, collecting a pinpoint free kick, turning on a sixpence and drilling the ball in low and hard across the goalkeeper and in via the far post.
No way back for the “hosts”, Dulwich rampant might have claimed more but for valiant keeping from Holder, reduced to one hand after a wrist sprain but playing through the agony with some telling blocks. Goalscorer Ward too suffered injury, carted from the field to warm applause after crocking himself as he flung himself in the way of a goalbound effort.
Next up in the competition will be Erith and Belvedere and Dulwich will once more be at Champion Hill, albeit this time in the more familiar role as hosts.

Teams:
BTFC: Michael Holder; Danny Gorman (Darren Wise 52); Nick Curran; John Maloney (Capt.); Luke Milner; Durrand Jemmott; Charley Hearn (Alex Tiesse 20); Danny Ward (Danny Lawson 76); Joe Healy; Danny Hunwick; Chris Hubbard
Substitute not used: Michael Ebanks

DHFC: Sheikh Ceesay; Femi Omegbehin; Kyle Graham; Junior Kaffo; Marc Cumberbatch (Capt.); Cedric Ngakam (Benson Paka 29); Fasineh Koroma; Stanley Muguo; Gary Noel; Famoud Sonko; Nick Ogbanufe
Substitutes not used: Tom Pratt; Laurent Hamici; Louis Sprosen; Jamie Lunan

Goalscoring
1-0 BTFC Danny Ward 22nd minute
1-1 DHFC Gary Noel 53rd minute
2-1 DHFC Gary Noel 58th minute
2-2 BTFC Joe Healy (penalty) 66th minute
3-2 DHFC Gary Noel 69th minute

Officials:
Referee: Mr John Rowbury (Orpington, Kent)
Assistant Referees: Mr Baresh Kebar & Mr Andreas Anastasiou

Attendance: 121