Horley Town 1 Dulwich Hamlet 5

Saturday 29th July 2006

Pre-Season Friendly

"Oi'll Give It Foive", seems to the mantra of the Hamlet as Horley Town became the latest side to wilt before a second half Dulwich onslaught that turned a clash made equal as much by the Hamlet’s muddled play as by the hosts’ dogged determination not to let their loftier opponents escape the confines of the New Defence without a few bruises to both pride and body. From the off this was a feisty encounter, an unpleasant undercurrent always bubbling beneath, much more suited to a chilly winter evening’s mid-season tussle for points than a supposed pre-season run out beneath the tree that line the River Mole and mark out the Surrey/Sussex borders. At least the young referee took a pragmatic approach to the biting tackles and snarling challenges around him, cards rare but still brandished, a word of admonishment preferred over the flash of yellow or red, where a more dogmatic official might have sent the offenders to cool their jets on the sidelines.
Cruelly relegated to the Combined Counties Division One through no fault of their own, the chance to show their prowess against opposition from higher echelons was not one to be tossed aside lightly. The Hamlet were soon aware of the challenge that faced them as alert Horley striker, Jason Davy thought he had slipped the leash of Dulwich’s defence, only for a linesman’s flag to halt him in his tracks. However with Dulwich frequently at sixes and sevens as players seemed unsure of their true roles, it was not long before the chance presented itself again and this time there was no offside to spare the Hamlet’s blushes. With the Hamlet rearguard squeezed up almost to the halfway line a precision pass found Daly whizzing away in the acres of space afforded him on the right. Carl Emberson, alert to the attack, tried his utmost to distract the onrushing striker but the wily Daly was hell-bent on completed his mission, nipped pass Emberson as he spread himself at his feet before coolly tapping the ball into the unguarded nets as Dulwich’s defence rushed back in a vain effort to undo the damage of their slack defending.
Daly was again at the centre of attention clattering into the back of Nicolas Plumain as the Dulwich defender waited for a high ball to drop. An unnecessary attempt at revenge from the fallen Plumain as the two tangled on the deck and suddenly players from both sides were at each others throats. When the dust finally settled, the referee singled out Gavin Dayes for the afternoon’s first caution.
As red mist clouded the contest, Dulwich went on became an increasing frustrating search for parity, denied in the most by their own inadequate finishing, though at least the Horley custodian did gain some plaudits, blocking well at the feet of Jean-Serge Musungu and making light work of a well struck drive from the edge of the box by Ohran Stewart. All his heroics could prevent Dulwich at last getting on level terms as half-time drew ever closer. Musungu powered forward from the halfway line with the ball glued to his feet, before slipping the ball wide to Yinka Salaam overlapping down the left wing to hit a good strike on the run but the keeper was down to parry but only across the face of his own goal. With the home defence like statues, Stewart was first to react, slamming the ball home from close range.
To add insult to injury, deserved half-time equality for the hosts became a deficit almost on the whistle as a spot-kick was awarded against them in harsh circumstances, the challenge on Joel Greaves tame, possibly even legitimate, by the standards of those that had been brushed aside before. Not that young Greaves was complaining as he dusted himself down before striking home the penalty to send the Hamlet to the break a goal ahead.
Not that half-time would give them a respite for now they would face a none-too-pleased manager, his words of rebuke mixed in with those of encouragement. Those bon mots had the desired effect as the second half saw Dulwich blow their opponents away in an orgy of attacking football. Substitute Phil Williams set the tinder-dry turf alight once more with a steaming run within seconds of the restart that left claret and blue clad defenders a distant memory as the winger hared into the penalty area, only to overtake the ball as he rounded the keeper and slam the chance into the side netting as his pace threatened to take him into the next county.
As Dulwich dazzled, Horley’s halting raids diminished until they were no more. "All hands to the pump boys", came the rallying call from the Claret and Blue as the New Defence became the All Out Defence. But Hamlet would have to bide their time before the chances were converted into goals. Then, just like grouse on the Yorkshire Moors, a brace was dispatched within a matter of moments. First came from the boot of Carlton Murray-Price, applying the final brush strokes at the end of a well choreographed free-kick routine following a foul on the edge of the box. Laid back the ball was lofted in to the back of the six yard box as the hosts’ rearguard lackadaisically pulled out to where Jamie Coyle was waiting and his expert pull back found the young striker lurking to bury the ball past the exposed goalie. Barely had play restarted than the ball was being picked out of the net once more as David Moore chased after a long punt forward, the most exquisite of chips leaving the keeper rooting to spot as the ball sailed over his head and into the net. At least the keeper could point to one cracking save to prevent Dulwich further extending the lead, reacting instinctively to batter away a fierce attempted clearance from his own player that had own goal screaming from every orifice. Still he would still find himself beaten once again as the game entered its final throes, the relentless Hamlet pressure have long since done for his defence as Murray-Price latched on to the ball to decisively clip the ball home and complete the afternoon’s entertainment.

Starting XI: Carl Emberson; Ohran Stewart; Nicolas Plumain; Yinka Salaam; Jamie Coyle; Gavin Dayes; Chris Hurst; Kenny Beaney; Lee Hynes; Jean-Serge Musungu; Joel Greaves

Subs used: David Moore; Phil Williams; Carlton Murray-Price; Cedric Meeko; Wayne Burnett; Lewis Tozer; Chris Lewington (GK)

Carlton Murray-Price

Phil Williams holds up the ball as Nicolas Plumain provides the overlap

Jean-Serge Musungu

Kenny Beaney

Dulwich players get a brisk talking to as the referee prepares to dish out a booking

dulwich hamlet

Dorking 1 Dulwich Hamlet 5

Saturday 22nd July 2006

Pre-Season Friendly

Against a canopy of the rolling Surrey hills and on a canvas burnt ochre by the fierce summer sun, Dulwich painted pictures of footballing artistry on a bone hard and bumpy pitch, denied refreshment by a drought enforcement order. So parched a sward was the Meadowbank Stadium that when the heavens mercifully opened provide much-longed for moisture each blade of brown grass seemed to stretch skyward to grasp at each raindrop as if it would be the last.
Having held Dulwich’s divisional compatriots Whyteleafe to a deserved 1-1 draw a week early, the Chicks of the Combined Counties League must have been confident of putting a dent in the Hamlet’s pre-season preparations. The early exchanges certainly seemed to bear out this argument. Though Dulwich came close in the opening minutes when Ohran Stewart’s strike from the edge of the penalty area took a wicked deflection, forcing keeper Stuart Baverstock to stretch all of his considerable frame into tipping the looping effort over the bar, the hosts must have been cursing their own failure to grasp the opportunities that came their way, most telling of all when a forward found himself onside with only Emberson to beat. Much to the relief of the Hamlet the Dorking striker’s radar was off as a well-struck low drive was drilled well of Emberson’s right hand post.
Just before the half-hour an intricately worked goal gave Dulwich the lead as David Moore exchanged passes with Yinka Salaam overlapping down the right wing. A neat pull back from Moore found Carlton Murray-Price lurking at the edge of the six yard box to sweep the ball goalwards, a deflection off a defender’s leg providing enough of a diversion to ensure the diving Baverstock could not reach the goalbound effort.
A reshuffle for the Hamlet after half-an-hour as defender Adam Wadmore was rested, Wayne Burnett bringing on Gavin Dayes to line up alongside Jamie Coyle at the heart of defence. This meant a switch for Salaam over to left-back whilst Jason Turley reverted to his traditional position of right back from centre-half.
With ten minutes to go until the break Dulwich put together a sweeping move up field that came within a whisker of giving Murray-Price a second goal. From the middle of the park Moore fed the striker but from ten yards out Murray-Price’s struck a bender that curled excruciatingly wide of the diving Baverstock’s near upright.
As half-time drew ever closer it seemed as if that single goal would be enough to send Dulwich in at the break with their noses in front but then a clumsy challenge by Salaam on the penalty spot gifted the Chicks a chance to grab what would have been a deserved equaliser. Whilst the hosts looked for a hero in green, Hamlet found one of their own as Emberson belied the years, flinging himself full length to batter Craig Duffell's spot kick away at the foot of his left hand post. If this was not bad enough the Chicks then blew another great chance of drawing level as Dulwich’s defence was caught square, only for the chance to go begging as the ball was run over the goal line after the exposed Emberson had been rounded.
To add insult to injury, the first few minutes of the second half put a fatal nail in the coffin of Dorking aspirations as Hamlet sub Phil Williams, with a full tank of petrol in his turbocharged legs; proceed to rip holes in a slow starting home defence. Barely had the first whistle gone and Williams received the ball out wide on the left and to dance through the despairing tackles of a myriad of green-clad defenders before finding himself face to face with Baverstock, the big keeper powerless to prevent the serpentine run of Williams ending in the inevitable goal. Moments later and the shell-shocked Baverstock was picking the ball from his netting once again, treating his defenders to a volley of invectives as they were left for dead as Williams ran on to a through pass from midfield to rocket the ball home.
As the rain eased so the tempo rose and despite the inevitable flurry of substitutions Dulwich kept up the assault on the home goal. Even the boss himself was on the field, Burnett lording it down the right wing as Dulwich created chance after chance. Fellow replacement Jean-Serge Musungu might have grabbed a goal courtesy of a Burnett cross as he bravely flung himself headlong to connect with a hammered cross from the right, only for the ball to ricochet up off the done-dry turf and fractionally over the crossbar. Thick and fast the openings came. Musungu beat the offside trap only to hesitate a moment to long and allow the keeper to block at his feet. Kenny Beaney powered through from midfield to rifle a fierce drive just wide. Joel Greaves too was denied by Baverstock but then atoned as his hard work paved the way for Musungu to make it 4-0, the tenacious youngster beating off a host of near-the-knuckle challenges as he battled into the area, the ball finally running loose to Musungu who gleefully hammered the ball home from 12 yards out.
A cracking volley by Dean Milton from a half-cleared corner that dropped over the outstretched fingertips of leaping Chris Lewington, on in place of Emberson between the sticks, but this merely served to inflame the Hamlet and it would not be long before the four goal deficit was restored courtesy of Moore. Latching on to the finest of through passes from Burnett, Moore iced the cake as nonchalantly he curled the ball beyond the advancing custodian. With the game already in stoppage time, one might have expected the Hamlet to have eased off the pedal and give their shattered hosts a modicum of respite but the new order at Champion Hill does not subscribe to that dogma. Like a mastiff snapping at a bull, Burnett ripped time and again at the home defence in what must have seemed an interminable few minutes of stoppage time, lashing crosses like exocets across the face of goal, though the pace and ferocity would have tested the bravest of strikers to apply the finishing touch. At last the final whistle brought much-anticipated relief to the roasted Chicks. For Dulwich another step in the phoney war, the Dorkings provide the mocks; the real examination is still a month away.

Team: Carl Emberson: Yinka Salaam: Adam Wadmore: Jamie Coyle: Jason Turley: Cedric Meeko: David Moore: Ohran Stewart: Carlton Murray-Price: Lee Hynes: Theo Fairweather-Johnson
Subs used: Kenny Beaney, Phil Williams, Matt Deane, Gavin Dayes, Jean-Serge Musungu, Joel Greaves, Wayne Burnett, Chris Lewington (GK)

Carl Emberson saves Dorking's spot kick

Martin promised the hosts a BIG crowd!

Beckenham Town 1 Dulwich Hamlet 3

Pre-Season Friendly

Tuesday 18th July 2006

Pre-season for Dulwich began in earnest with a testing encounter ultimately settled by a brace from second half substitute Daniel Nwanze including a stunning dipping volley that drew appreciative applause from all present. The Kent League runners-up Beckenham Town, redolent all in Millwall blue, provided stern opposition for the Hamlet, perhaps more so than last season’s sorry, toothless Lions might have done, going ahead early and matching their guests for much of an enthralling evening’s entertainment.It was a familiar line-up that took the field on glorious summer’s eve for Dulwich. Nine of the starting line-up played their part in last season’s endgame and even the “new boys” were familiar to Hamlet aficionados, for both striker Luke Cornwall and custodian Carl Emberson had both graced the Pink and Blue in loan spells earlier in their careers. The well-travelled Emberson was soon called into action as the Becks raced into an early lead. A low cross in from the right wing, a close range snap shot but Emberson was a match to it with a deft save low at the base of his post. Luck though did favour him as a blue shirted forward was first to the loose ball and the Hamlet keeper was powerless to prevent the ball being slotted home from a matter of feet. Kept busy by the hosts, Emberson was again in action with a magnificent tip over at full stretch as the Becks bombed in a free kick. The acrobatics were mirrored by his opposite number in the Beckenham goal as a deep free kick found Jamie Coyle at the back of the box, his header back across the face of the six yard box met by Dayes’ head, only for the keeper’s gymnastic leap to deny Hamlet an equaliser. Not that it was long in coming for two minutes later a long throw in found Cornwall and he muscularly slipped the bounds of his bodyguards, before hammering the ball past the now exposed keeper.Level at the break, the arrival of Nwanze amidst the ranks of the Hamlet provided the catalyst for victory. Eight minutes in, the ball was worked down the left, drilled inside to Nwanze. The midfielder calmly teed the ball up and let fly with audacious dipping volley a la Joe Cole, which seemed to spend an age in flight as Beckenham’s keeper vainly back-pedalled in a desperate, but fruitless effort to keep the ball from dropping into the net. However all that might have been in vain had Beckenham capitalised on sloppy defending within seconds of the restart, a forward finding himself alone with just the keeper to beat from a mere six yards but unable to take advantage as Emberson spread himself to repel the shot.As the warm summer’s evening faded into twilight, both sides ran the gamut of changes, even Hamlet supremo Wayne Burnett taking to the field to display his twinkling toes to his young charges. Still time for a further goal though, again from the feet of Nwanze. This time his finish was a little less spectacular than his previous effort, though no less emphatic as he latched on the ball six yards out from goal with a mighty drive that ballooned the roof of the net.

Team: Carl Emberson; Jason Turley; Yinka Salaam; Nicolas Plumain; Jamie Coyle; Gavin Dayes; David Moore; Kenny Beaney; Serge Musungu; Luke Cornwall; Phil Williams

Subs used: Adam Wadmore, Dan Nwanze, Cedric Meeko, Carlton Murray-Price, Joel Greaves, Wayne Burnett, Theo Fairweather-Johnson, Andy Notha

Your 1950s Name is:

Virginia Anita

What's" your 1950s Name?

Your 1950s Name is:

Alvin Vincent

What's" your 1950s Name?

Croydon FC 2 Dulwich Hamlet 2

Saturday 15th July 2006

Pre-Season Friendly (played @ Footscray RUFC)

On blazing summer’s day, on an unfamiliar sward normally frequently by beefy fellows playing with their strangely shaped balls, once regular rivals locked horns in combat. Dulwich’s pre-season preamble to the battle proper began with a test of mettle against a Croydon side who had pressed Premier Division Bromley in their previous outing, something that showed in a late rally that almost saw them emerge victorious, nay should of done but for the referee’s failure to spot a blatant handball in a late goalmouth mêlée.
Whilst the senior players were excused games, this was an afternoon for the triallists and the aspiring youngsters fresh from the Youth Team’s silver gilded season to impress under the watching gaze of manager Wayne Burnett, steely-eyed on the touchlines as the hopefuls performed before him.
In a game of three thirds, as much to give all those aspirants an equal chance to impress, Dulwich shaded the opening period and took the lead with a fine strike from former Tooting and Whyteleafe midfielder Daniel Nwanze, following a sweeping move down the left wing. The second period saw Dulwich double their advantage as Ohran Stewart, youth team graduate of 2005, wove his way through the defence before slamming a low drive beyond the Croydon keeper and into the far corner of the net. At this point it seemed as if Dulwich were about to turn on the gas but despite a number of clear openings the Hamlet were unable to add to their advantage.
The third period was momentarily interrupted by the unexpected appearance of a dog on the pitch, but for the downturn in Hamlet’s fortune it might as well have been a herd of black cats for Croydon’s troops found strength as Dulwich’s powers waned. A clumsy challenge gave Croydon the chance to equalise from the spot; soon after a handball went unnoticed as the Hamlet goal almost wilted under a blue tide. Then a stunning strike on the volley from the edge of the box and the Trams had pulled level as the ball looped over a leaping Hamlet keeper before dropping in the far corner of the goal.

A glamorous blonde dies tragically young, her country plunges into inconsolable grief whilst her husband watches on seeming more concerned with the loss of personal popularity her passing will cost him. Not that insane month when half of Britain seemed to put on a hair shirt and beat its collective chest after the untimely death of Diana, Princess of Wales and self-styled Queen of Hearts, but turn the clock back more than half a century to a world having barely emerged blinking from six years of hell and slaughter. Argentina 1952 and the woman known to the poor impoverished, working classes as “Santa Evita” and to the rich, powerful elite that have run this country as a whore and slut, sleeping her way from the gutter to the stars, who has stripped them of the industries they controlled, succumbs at 33 to cancer amid a cacophony of caterwauling and muted celebration. Add to this a Hitler-worshipping husband who has made strange bedfellows of unions and the military to take control of the Argentine, and you have unlikely basis for one of the most successful musicals of all time, now returning to the London stage for the first time in more than twenty years.
From the Gods, one realises what a compact theatre the Adelphi is and waiting for the curtain to rise the thought goes through the mind of how the production might bring to mind the massive political rallies that a so much a part of Evita. Pictures of the 1978 original staring Elaine Paige and David Essex show crowds of extras unfurling banners as the crowds of Evita’s loyal descamisadoes storm Buenos Aires. Likewise the Alan Parker’s big screen version starring Madonna is still fresh in the mind, the limitations of the stage little consideration when Hollywood provides the backdrop. As the lights dim and the orchestra begins the powerfully moving lament that is “Requiem for Evita”, director Michael Grandage gets round the problem with the simple expedient of projecting original footage of Eva funeral footage against the curtain, which then rises to the funeral possession of the illegitimate, and invisible, Eva Duerte’s middle-class father. It is the rejection by her father’s true family that was said to stoke Eva’s life-long hatred for the middle-class and her determination to rise above them. First step on her horizontal rise through the ranks of the Argentinean class system is the second-rate tango singer Augutin Magaldi. Petite and brunette, the precocious Eva snares Magaldi as a meal ticket from her backwoods home to the bright lights of Buenos Aires. Once there Elena Roger, the first Argentinean to play Evita (remember this play was banned at the time of opening and has NEVER been performed there) comes into her own in the role. Diminutive of height, this sassy, sexy Latin, all flashing wide smile, more teeth than a photo finish at the Derby, and sparkling eyes, brings it all into the performance of “Goodnight and Thank You”, as she sees a succession of ever-more influential lovers in and out of her apartment, making full use of the magnificent set as she flounces across the balcony in a succession of flimsy nightgowns. A slight discordance in the higher notes the only minus point.
Credit to the choreographers, particularly for their interpretation of Juan Peron’s simultaneous political rise. Circulating each other warily, one by one the plotting army officers engage each other in a deadly tango with their opponent, the numbers diminishing as each is sent scuttling. Philip Quast, a bull of a man much in the mould of Peron himself, triumphs at the last, waving a white handkerchief before claiming victory with a surreptitious knee to the groin.
The Perons plot their way to the top, “If I hadn't thought, if I hadn't known. We would take the country?”, the fascist Juan Peron’s constant removal of his suit jacket as a sign of his solidarity with the downtrodden workers scarily reminiscent of our own St Tony’s habit of doing something similar. Elsewhere there a knowing references such as during the elections when the ensemble march past a ballot box, the men stuffing their slips in as they pass whilst the women, disenfranchised in this macho land, look on longingly. For all her faults, Evita could at least be credited with inaugurating Women’s Suffrage in Argentina.
Of course there is one tune in this play that all await and as Act II opens, the monumental, triple-sided set now depicting the Casa Rosada, though a cloud of dry ice a vision in white appears, the people’s saviour giving a heartfelt plea to still be thought of as one of their own. The incongruity of this, the Christian Dior clad and diamond draped Evita, still part of that stepped upon lower strata of society is as much part of this for the ambiguity of Evita, still adored and abhorred in equal measure by many in Argentina, is key to a true understanding of her legacy.
The politics are never far away and never more so in "And the Money Kept Rolling In (and Out)" set piece. From a plethora of trunk huge wads of banknotes are distributed willy-nilly to the poor, dreaming like lottery participants of an easy escape from their poverty. Flinging the money left, right and centre Eva, however, is not presented as Robin Hood, taking from their rich and giving to the poor. As she gazing on watching her people celebrating her largesse she looks radiant, but not because her works have freed these people from their drudgery, but at the magnificent of herself. Disconcertingly she brings to mind Margaret Thatcher, smiling benignly, even clutching her hands in the same manner as the Iron Lady. Amidst the dancers whirling around her, she stands aloft before depositing her jewellery and a few surplus notes in one of the trunks.
Her impeding death hangs over the final proceedings and like all good actresses Evita takes her time in dying, but at the moment of passing rather than the maudlin exit, one has grown used to we have a full blown montage with full company in a reprise of all that has gone before, Eva’s bed spun round at breakneck pace. At last it comes to rest and the audience realises Eva has gone, the bed draped with the Argentinean flag as it becomes Evita’s coffin and the cast trudge past as if it were a lying in state. Not for Evita an easy farewell, for ghostlike she reappears on the balcony for one last swansong.
Last word though belongs to Matt Rawle’s Che, a character who throughout has added comment, criticism and question to Eva’s inexorable transformation into Evita, at times appalled and enthralled by the heroine. Too often productions have equated this character with Che Guevara, though here he returns to his intended position as Argentinean Everyman but, call me pedantic, is it really necessary to explain what became of Evita’s body after her death. That is best left for another story, perhaps Santa Evita by Tomas Eloy Martinez.

Pedancy aside this is a cracking production, the critics may have been fawning over Elena Roger in the title role and rightfully so, but this is a true team victory, each member of the company fully deserving of the long ovation at the curtain call. Add an inspired choreographer, music to a Latin rather than rock beat, Christopher Oram’s evocative set and of course Michael Grandage’s direction and this production should be due a long run on word of mouth alone. Word of caution, do not go in thinking you are getting a straight reprise of the Madonna film version, this is something different altogether.

Dulwich Hamlet Youth 1 Worthing FC Youth 0

Isthmian League Westview Youth Cup

Wednesday 3rd May 2006

"O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is!
O brave new world,
That has such people in't!"



Talent today is weaned in the cradle, fathers putting their sons’ names down at birth for a coveted spot in the Chelsea Academy, much as the country’s elite once did for the great institutions of Eton and Harrow. However, beyond the portals of those sterile, battery farm-like institutions there lies a land where the beautiful game is played not for the rewards of mammon but for the rewards of victory. Thus the train took this humble scribe to the far outposts of Imber Court, home of the boys in blue, but this night host to South London’s finest’s attempt to bring back this revived trophy to Champion Hill for the first time. Ranged against them all-conquering Worthing, little more than a twinkle in a south coast salt’s eye when last their forebears clinched the Youth Cup, 1982 to be precise.
Both sides were as near to full strength as dammit. For the Hamlet only the injured Raymond Morath-Gibbs was reluctantly forced to sit out the youngsters’ big night whilst Worthing could call on a full complement of the players that had brought them to the very brink of a Southern Youth League treble.
Once the formalities had been completed, it was battle joined and Dulwich were soon displaying the trickery and skills that have graced a season laced with goals galore and heartache in equal measure. The youngsters seemed determined to banish the memories of their bland performance in the London Cup Final, mesmerising their opponents with neat footwork but just failing to apply the killer touch. A Georgie Harris freekick came within a whisker of catching out Rebels keeper Steve Phillips as he curled in a deadly effort from the tightest of angles that grazed the crossbar as Phillips stood rooted. The prolific Sol Pinnock soon tested the keeper as he pulled the trigger on a fierce drive but Phillips proved himself the equal with a comfortable save. Though Worthing responded with some telling attacks of their own, Dulwich defence ably dealt with the threat as Worthing found their attacks nipped in the bud, few efforts posing much danger to Hamlet custodian Joe Ivory.
Pinnock was again on target, his effortless strike from the edge of the box disguising the lethal power behind it but again Phillips was surefooted in his collection of the ball, unaware of the cruel fate Dame Fortune had in store as half-time drew nearer. Attacking down the right, a neat pass set up Pinnock for a rasping low drive from the edge of the D but straight at Phillips. It seemed a simple task for the keeper to gather but he failed to get his body behind the ball, the shot bouncing off his gloves, over his shoulder and into the net. A calm demeanour belied the personal rage burning within the crestfallen custodian, but no matter how the goal materialised Pinnock was mobbed by delirious team-mates as the strike brought him within a goal of a half-century.
Not that the prodigious youngster is a purely a goal machine for a elegant cross, precise in the extreme, preceded by a pirouette that left defenders feeling as if they were chasing a ghost, picked out strike partner Serge Kamia at the back of the six yard box. Kamia’s header was firm but Phillips had wiped the Teflon from his gloves and held on well.

To the game the first near goal effort came from a Georgie Harris free kick taking it quickly before the keeper got into position went inches over the bar, next Sol Pinnock connected and the keeper saved. The game remained tight with both teams attacking well. The early exchanges showed the Hamlet well in control and solid restricting Worthing to efforts from distance. 25 minutes into the game another Hamlet attack saw Sol turn and crack a shot which the keeper managed to save. Myself and the rest of the Dulwich supporters felt we would be scoring soon and sure enough Hamlet took the lead 5 minutes before half time when another Sol left foot drive put the keeper under pressure the power off the shot took the ball through the keeper's hands over his head and into the net. Dulwich pressed forward more and a minute before half time Serge Kamia headed just over after a great cross from Sol.
Wounded by the goal, Worthing seemed easy prey as Dulwich tore flesh wounds in a ragged defence, Scene I of Act II, belonging to naught but the Hamlet. Barely had the parp of the replacement referee’s whistle broken the still evening air of suburban Thames Ditton than the Hamlet were on the attack. Like a ragging bull, Keir Ferguson charged into the box to connect with a corner, leaving the keeper stranded as his effort cannoned back off the crossbar. Kamia might well have done better as he latched on to a long ball forward from Harris but his attempted proved an easy take for Phillips. Dulwich were now on fire and attacks rained down upon the besieged Rebel goal. A storming run from Masamba Malela was capped with a teasing cross that found Phillips in No Man’s Land but dropped agonisingly just shy of the far post. Again the woodwork came to the rescue of Worthing as a crude challenge 25 yards out gave Pinnock the opportunity to curl in the most delicate of freekick, over the wall, to rebound off the crossbar with Phillips rooted to the spot. Troy Ferguson reacted quickest to latch on to he rebound but only to loft the ball over the bar. With Pinnock again going close with an audacious chipped effort, it seemed as if the engraver might already be adding the name of Dulwich Hamlet to the list of winners etched upon the trophy, but the rebels had other ideas. Galvanised by Hamlet’s failure to put the game to bed as a contest, they rallied and now it was the Dulwich goal under siege as Worthing forced an interminable series of corners as the match entered its final throes. The match became a rampage, the thunder of cavalry, the stench of cordite, the blast of the blunderbuss. But cometh the hour, cometh the men as the Dulwich defence became heroes all repelling attack after attack. Ivory, untested until now, produced one of the season’s outstanding saves leaping beyond his stature to tip away a fierce close range drive. Even with their gargantuan centre-half and skipper Matt Wake constantly winning the ball at a series of set-pieces, Dulwich set out their stall to clear their lines under the most intense of pressure. As seconds ticked down, a mêlée in the box brought claims of handball, but to the Hamlet’s relief the referee waved away pleas for a spot kick. The heart ripped from their cause, Rebel retaliation subsided, stoppage time passed inexorably slowly but at last, one almighty blast of the whistle was the cue for celebration to break out in the Pink and Blue ranks. I have seen the future and it is Pink and Blue!

Teams:
DHFC: Joe Ivory; Masamba Malela; Keir Ferguson; David James; Georgie Harris (Capt.); Tony Ferguson; Myles Martin (Samuel Odolofin); James Fuller; Sol Pinnock; Serge Kamia (Paul Atkinson); Spencer Sachikonye (Dwayne Patrice)
Substitutes not used: Warren Greaves; Anthony Gaughan (GK)

WFC: Steve Phillips; Steve Bantock; Charles Kimbangi (Karl Akehurst); James Gray; Stuart Axten; Matt Wake (Capt); Jamie Brotherton; James Fraser; Ryan Smith (Jonno Meeney); Tom Lawley; Jason Winch
Substitutes not used: Ash Long; James Cox; Jason Lewis (GK)

Attendance: 104

Officials:
Referee: Mr Mark Wood (Redhill)
Assistant Referees: Mr Daniel Robathan (Dorking) & Mr Lee Mills (London)
Fourth Official: Mr Paul Burton (Redhill)

Goalscoring:
1-0 DHFC Sol Pinnock 40th minute

Oh what a lovely war (for the prisoners)

With a casino, a football league featuring Steve Bloomer, the captain of England, an internal postal service and its own glossy news magazine, Ruhleben may just have been the most sophisticated prisoner-of-war camp in history.
Documents fully catalogued for the first time at the National Archives in Kew and released for Remembrance Day today show in astonishing detail the lives of the 200,000 or more British men and women held captive during the First World War.
They include a teamsheet from what must have been the most star-studded game of football played behind prison walls, on May 2, 1915 between "England v The Rest".
England were led by Bloomer, of Derby County and Middlesbrough, who played 23 times for his country and scored 28 times, enough for him to be still the ninth highest scorer of all time.
Joining Bloomer were two other England players, Fred Pentland (Middlesbrough and Norwich), and Sam Wolstenholme (Blackburn Rovers and Everton).
The opposing captain was John Cameron, a Scottish international who had scored for Spurs when they won the FA Cup in 1901.
Ruhleben, a camp outside Berlin built on a racecourse, housed 4,500 British prisoners, many of whom, like Bloomer, had been in Germany when war broke out and were interned.
They ran their own football league with headed notepaper, printed their own stamps and stationery and attended lectures on music and the arts given by well-known performers of the time such as the opera singer FC Adler and the Canadian musician Edward [later Sir Edward] Macmillan.
Compared with the drab, barbed-wire lifestyles of the 1939-45 camps, the prisoners of the First World War seem to have had an exciting time.
"At camps like Münster, they had a full-time entertainment troupe, headed by a music hall comedian named Jack Harris, a corporal in the Rifle Brigade," said Paul Stembridge, the leader of the Archives' experts who have spent 12 months producing detailed catalogues of the 547 files.
"Ruhleben's prison magazine, called Prisoner's Pie, which has articles, portraits, poems and drawings, was printed on very high quality glossy paper and it's hard to imagine it could have been much better done outside a prison.
"All in all, you get the strong impression that they had an easier time than the Second World War prisoners did."
In the first months of the war, conditions were very basic, but when American-led inspection teams began to visit the camps, things quickly improved.
Some camps were better than others, but many had wide choices for entertainment, sport and other cultural activities, the records show.
There are records also of the tens of thousands of German prisoners kept in British camps, including one of the inside of a camp in Islington which resembles a very cramped English boarding school dormitory.
But German officers, mostly held at Donnington Hall in Leicestershire, were allowed to keep servants, who lived in the stables.
The files show some fascinating details of the war.
In one debriefing of a Royal Flying Corps lieutenant named Geoffrey Harding, he gives an account of his brush with the Flying Circus of Baron Manfred von Richthofen over the Western Front near Vimy in spring 1917.
"We became detached from the others and then we were brought down by Richthofen himself with an explosive bullet in the petrol tank which set us on fire. We made quite a decent landing."
Unfortunately, it was behind German lines.

From the Daily Telegraph

'If I am to die, I am not afraid to do so'

At the height of the war in the Atlantic, Lt-Cdr Keith Morrison wrote a last letter to his wife and went to face a heroic death. Sixty-five years later, the newly discovered document sheds fresh light on a remarkable man caught up in extraordinary circumstances. Nigel Blundell pieces his story together, while we reprint the long-lost letter
The 37 freighters and tankers of Convoy HX84 were seven days out of Halifax, Nova Scotia - halfway home but still in mid-Atlantic - when the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer was sighted on the horizon. The convoy's sole escort, an ancient converted cargo ship armed with obsolete guns, turned to meet her.
What followed was one of the most heroic actions of the Second World War, as the crew of HMS Jervis Bay prepared for a battle that could have only one outcome. Outgunned, and with no hope of survival, they sailed head-on for the German ship, feebly returning the broadsides of her 11-inch guns.
Crippled and sinking, the Jervis Bay held the Admiral Scheer at bay, allowing the convoy to disperse into a winter storm. All but nine ships escaped. More than 190 of the 256 Jervis Bay crew died.
A footnote to the story has since come to light, during the writing of a book about the battle, that tells a little more about the sort of men who gave their lives in that cold, cruel, unequal struggle.
It is a letter written by the officer who commanded the Jervis Bay in her dying moments. Lieutenant- Commander Keith Morrison wrote it on September 20, 1940, and marked it: "To be placed with my will and in the event of my death to be given to my wife."
Cdr Morrison was last seen, wounded but standing perfectly straight, on the foredeck of his ship as, having launched her last lifeboat, the Jervis Bay sank into the icy Atlantic on the evening of November 5, 1940. And, from the letter he left, we know of whom he was thinking during the final moments of his life... "It will be very hard if I have to die without holding you in my arms again and telling you of that great love I have for you."
Keith Morrison and Margaret Chisholm had married in Sydney in 1935, he a 32-year-old merchant navy First Officer with the Orient Line and she a 24-year-old Australian from a New South Wales farming family. They settled in Dorking and had two sons. Michael, born in 1937, has only a brief memory of being held aloft by his father on one of his shore leaves. Tony, born in July 1940, never saw his father. After the war, Margaret took the children to back Australia. She died in 1957.
"It was only after her death that we saw all her letters," says her son, Mike, now 68, a retired lieutenant-colonel with the Australian Army. "It was humbling to realise how enormously devoted they were to each other and to us boys."
One of the letters, written by Margaret to her family in New South Wales on November 19, reads: "I just can't believe that I will never see Keith again, but I have nothing but happiness and his two lovely children to remember him by, and no two people ever had a greater love and understanding between them as he and I did.
"I know too how much he longed for action and that he had his dearest wish fulfilled by taking part in such a glorious battle. Nothing has been more gallant in the history of the Navy and his two sons have a wonderful example to follow and I pray they may always be worthy of it."
Margaret learnt from survivors of the Jervis Bay that her husband had taken over command of the ship after the captain (Captain Fogarty Fegen, awarded a posthumous VC) and two other senior officers had been killed. Despite being twice wounded, Cdr Morrison organised the defence of his ship as, ablaze from bow to stern, she was raked with gunfire from the Admiral Scheer. Finally, with all but one of her lifeboats burnt, he ordered "abandon ship".
Margaret later wrote: "They say he was as cheerful as a cricket and cheering them all up. There was only one boat left, and there wasn't room for everyone; and it was his duty to see it safely away, so he stayed behind.
"He was standing on the foredeck still perfectly erect with the surgeon and another officer when she went down. The surgeon was badly wounded, but he could stand up and was Keith's greatest friend on board. And so, if it had to be, it's rather wonderful knowing he went like that, in command of his gallant ship and with his greatest friend."
After receiving the letter that her husband had left with his will, Margaret again wrote to her family in Australia: "Keith was so gallant - as indeed were all those men - and his last thoughts, I know, would have been for me, Michael and Anthony and for his mother." Margaret's sons read all of her letters - and the final letter from Keith - only after her death.
Her son Michael says: "She handled my father's death with great resolve, courage and love. Perhaps hers was a loyalty bordering on obsession; but for sure it was love in the extreme. It must have been a sublime relationship and, for my mother, one that never did - nor did she ever want it to - come again."
His brother Tony, 65, who farms near Goulburn, New South Wales, has never taken Australian citizenship.
"That's out of a respect for my father," he says. "I have always been enormously proud that my Dad died for his country, and, although I grew up a real Aussie kid, I have always been patriotically English. I keep my British passport because that part of me is precious, sacred almost. It's how I can keep part of my father. I have always loved him, though I never saw him. But his letter to my mother tells me everything I would wish to know about him. He is an unsung hero."
• 'If the Gods are Good: The Sacrifice of HMS Jervis Bay' by Gerald Duskin and Ralph Segman (Crecy Publishing), £10.95 (0161 499 0024 or www.crecy.com)

Last words from a doomed officer

To be placed with my will and in the event of my death to be given to my wife
At sea
My Beloved Wife, I hope that this letter may never have to be given to you, for it is about a subject which we never speak of or even allow ourselves to think of.... that is, of my not coming home safely to you and to our children. Nevertheless, I cannot blink at the fact that there is more danger to be faced now than there was last year, or if we meet the enemy in any strength our chances of survival in these coming winter months are not very good.... & so because of that darling I am writing this letter to you to ask you to do certain things, & to tell you a few things.
I cannot thank you enough, my darling for all you have been to me ever since we met... no man ever had a better wife... our separations and our anxieties have been hard, but your courage & cheerfulness & great love have brought nothing but happiness to me.
You can look back over these last 7 years & find happiness at every turn - & I have lived solely & simply for you, & you have done the same for me. You will remember saying Goodnight on the steps of the Macquarie Club; driving to Mittagong, Old Sambo & the cottage: Fountains Abbey, Brittany, how we asked Old Foxey to dinner, our lovely house which has always been a Home, the day that Michael was born - all those things have been ours, and all our happy memories coupled with scores of others which have done so much to make life beautiful & wonderful to us.
I want you to find happiness in all those things, dear heart & if I have to die I don't want it to break your life up or change you. There are two little lives who are going to need you more than ever because I am gone, & you must do your best for them & bring them up to be a credit to you & a mirror of the love in which they were born.
If you ever want to marry again for any reason at all I shall quite understand: you are too young to contemplate living your life alone to its end, & if you do marry I pray that it may be to a good man who can give you that constant companionship & care, which I have never been able to give you. By marrying again you would be in no way unfaithful to my memory, all I want is your happiness.
You have had a hard life as a sailor's wife, but it has brought out all that is gold in you, & not a single flaw shown... As regards our sons darling - two boys will be a hard task for you but always use a firm hand & keep the upper hand too.
It is my earnest wish that neither of them go to sea or join any of the Services as a profession - rather would I that they grew up to the suburban Home life in which you & I would have been so ideally happy: they won't be able to understand that when they are young, but they will as they grow older.
Do not make the mistake of stinting yourself to try and educate them above your means - & maybe no influence at the end of it to help them into a good job. I had to strive for my living & was just beginning to get somewhere... so it can be done if one works hard.
It is a great joy to me when you tell me how generous Michael is with his sweets & toys, & I feel sure that Anthony will be the same. Try to bring them up to appreciate the beauty of nature & things generally - think how much happiness we have gained from a beautiful sunset or a lovely view or an old, old castle. It is a sense not given to everyone. I expect you'll take them to Australia & become good Australians, & you will be very wise if you do. It is a wonderful country & I hold it very dear in my affections - & there will be opportunities there for them than in England.
If I have to die I am not afraid to do so & I know I will have died in supporting a righteous cause. Don't let my death affect the attitude towards the war: and we must win for the sake of civilisation... & if we were to lose, my death & those of many others would have been in vain - & it is hard enough to leave you without that.
There is nothing spectacular in my War Effort to leave behind for my sons, but I die conscious that I have always done my job to the best of my ability & always had the faith and reliance of those above me. Someone has to do the dull work, & until one has actually had to do it one doesn't realise how hard it is, with this prolonged separation from one's loved ones & thoughts of them being bombed or invaded ever present...
Try to bring the children up with a love of the Church such as we have - not religion thrust upon them, but feeling they can turn to God as friend for help.
Not much more, Precious: it will be very hard if I have to die without holding you in my arms again & telling you of that great love I have for you... but pray God that I shan't have to.
God bless you and our darling sons always - you are my Light & my Love & my Life & I have lived just for you. My great sorrow if I have to "pass on", is the sorrow I will cause you - but fight it Beloved... but fight it as we have always fought all our sorrows.
Ever your devoted and loving Xxxxxxxxxxxx Husband.

Why blog?

Hey everyone else I know has one! Must be trendy, better jump on the bandwagon before it trundles off down the road without me. Suppose at least if everyone else jumps off at the same time, next time the trend comes around as retro perhaps I can claim some kudos, a brief injection of fame into the dull life of a wage slave burdened by sanity and the onset of a mid life crisis. "Shit you're forty you haven't got a mortgage or shackled yourself to a spouse and screaming, mewling, brats"
Norm

Don't mention the Walk...

From the Daily Telegraph

War has broken out in Cornwall - and it's all Hitler's fault (again). Hostilities began when officials at Restormel Borough Council decided that a stretch of pathway running through parkland in Megavissey, 16 miles from Newquay, should be signposted according to the name it has held among locals since the 1930s - Hitlers Walk. Consequently, signs to that effect were erected. Some residents panicked, fearing that this attempt to retain this historic soubriquet might deter holidaymakers from taking summer homes in the area, and councillors were harangued for not choosing a "more positive" name.
The signs were promptly whisked away, and the path was to revert to its official title, Cliff Park - only for hardier locals to insist that they be reinstated, declaring that the objections were "ridiculous".
The path was apparently named after one Wright Harris, a despotic councillor who donated the land to the greater good in the 1930s. Traditionalists have argued that a name - unfortunate or not - is still a name, and should not be altered for the sake of political correctness. More delicate souls, however, are anxious that visitors will hesitate to flock to an area named after history's most brutal fascist.
In the latest peace move, the council is to hold a ballot on what Hitlers Walk will be called in future. Meanwhile, Megavissey clearly remains a dangerous place to live. Other, less controversial signs warn: "Please do not feed the seagulls! They can be vicious."

Whyteleafe P Dulwich Hamlet P

Whyteleafe P Dulwich Hamlet P
Ryman Isthmian League
Saturday 26th March 2005

The Hamlet were left kicking their heels at the weekend when their scheduled League match at Whyteleafe’s Church Road ground fell victim to the weather, as a fresh dump of snow in the area put paid to any hopes 'Leafe had of getting the game going ahead, despite an army of willing volunteers, armed with forks and seduced by promises of free beer, standing at the ready in an attempt to make the pitch playable. The match has now been provisionally rescheduled for Tuesday 15th March, kick-off 7:45 p.m. The early morning postponement must have come as a particular disappointment to Dulwich’s latest recruit, striker Paul Scott, who signed from the Hamlet’s Surrey rivals earlier in the week and would have been looking forward to facing his old team-mates. Possessing the skills to excite the crowds and the ability to score spectacular match-turning goals, the much-travelled goalscorer has played in two previous spells for Dulwich, the most recent at the start of the 2002/2003 season after signing from Maidenhead United, but returned to Whyteleafe in September of that year. After flirting with AFC Wimbledon, he switched to Croydon Athletic at the start of the current season before returning to Whyteleafe in November of last year.

Forthcoming fixtures:
Saturday 5th March: Dulwich Hamlet vs. Fleet Town (@ Champion Hill, KO 3:00 p.m.)
Monday 7th March: Ryman Isthmian League Centenary Match: Ryman League vs. FA XI (KO 7:30 p.m.)
Tuesday 8th March: Leyton FC vs. Dulwich Hamlet (KO 7:45 p.m.)

Les Supporters du Red Star Paris (Gang Green) 2 Dulwich Hamlet Supporters 3

Les Supporters du Red Star Paris (Gang Green) 2 Dulwich Hamlet Supporters 3
International Challenge Match
Sunday 13th March 2005

Paris versus London. No not the scrap for the right to host Olympic Games but a far, far better thing and probably cleaner too! Far from the Elysian Fields of the Paris that tourists come to gaze in awe at, Dulwich supporters carried the olive branch of Anglo-French friendship to the Stade Joliot-Curie for a ‘Rendez-vous de l’Amitié’. Battle engaged and Dulwich were soon in front when Lawrence Marsh skipped through to tuck away the opening goal as early as the 9th minute, drilling the ball low past a diving keeper’s right hand. However Red Star were not without their stars and one of them, a Zidane-like giant in midfield named Karim, capitalised on a weak pass in defence to unleash a ferocious shot from the edge of the box that had keeper Phil Baker clawing at thin air as the ball fizzed past him. Level at the break and deep into the second half, it looked as if a diplomatic draw was on the cards, that was until a low shot driven in beat a diving Baker and despite the best efforts of defender Mick O’Shaughnessy, he could only provide the finishing touch as the ball crossed the line. Undaunted Dulwich hit back almost immediately as from the kick-off the ball was played back to Steve Rickerby whose launched ball was flicked on by the head of Lee Shailer for Marsh to gallop through and lob the keeper to bring the scores level. Soon after Marsh was through again and rounding the keeper to complete a hat trick. His man of the match performance was almost capped with a fourth as through on goal; he beat the keeper with a chip only for the ball to strike the crossbar. There were still nervous moments before a first victory on continental soil was confined, particularly when Karim launched a booming long-range effort a la Nayim from the halfway line, Baker standing firm as the ball fell from the sky, stoppage time seemingly interminable but victory it was.

Team:
Phil Baker; Alex Bushell; Steve Rickerby; Ian Wright; Mick O'Shaughnessey; Mark Hutton; Dave Berry; Lee Shailer; Phil Doyle; Mishi Morath; Lawrence Marsh
Sub: Paul Griffin
Physio: Adele Beckford
Interpreter: Myles Quinn

Leyton FC 0 Dulwich Hamlet 1

Leyton FC 0 Dulwich Hamlet 1
London Senior Cup 5th Round
Tuesday 8th March 2005

Burning bright like the fabled Holy Grail, the London Cup still holds Dulwich in its thrall as the men in Pink and Blue upset the applecart with victory away to Premier Division promotion chasers Leyton FC courtesy of a ferocious strike from Kemal Bulent midway through the second half. Nor was this a fluke as Dulwich refused to be intimidated by the strong-arm tactics of their loftier hosts who had keeper James Hasell to thank that the margin of victory was not greater.
Things might have been very different had Leyton taken advantage of the generous award of a penalty after just 6 minutes. Gavin Dayes’ tackle on Manny Williams looked to be at least a yard outside the Dulwich penalty area but referee Mr Bushell pointed straight to the spot, unswerved by vehement protests from the Dulwich players. Justice though was served as Leli Bajada’s ineffectual spot kick was easily saved by Paul Seuke.
The hosts again threatened when the diminutive Vas Soteriou skipped past a trio of tackles but his angled drive bounced wide of Seuke’s left-hand post. Two minutes later Marlon Patterson came close with a similar effort as Meshach Nugent’s lobbed pass released him down the left wing. Fed by Francis Quarm, Patterson, having switched to the ring, delivered a magnificent cross into the box, Meshach Nugent flicking a header backwards but straight into the hands of the waiting Hasell.
Unfazed by the opponents, Dulwich bumped up the workrate and when Charley Side latched on to a long pass, defender Ben Wood made a vain attempt to haul him down as he burst into the box. Manfully Side shrugged off these illicit attentions but Hasell made a stunning block to keep out the Dulwich striker’s fierce drive. Sent haring off down the left by Bulent’s pass, Nugent displayed some neat skills before delivering a low cross to the edge of the penalty area but Alex O’Brien’s first time strike was well wide of the mark.
Having suffered at the hands and feet of the hosts, it was galling that the game’s first booking, albeit correct, came a minute later as Nugent used a hand to turn a freekick into the goal. Five minutes later and another inspiring Dulwich move came within an ace of breaking the deadlock. Patterson’s neat pass found Side in space in the area, the striker delivering a low cross that Nugent flicked through his legs to the unmarked Kenny Beaney at the back of the box. His shot beat Hasell but not covering defender Des Thomas who hacked the ball to safety off the goalline.
With five minutes to the break Dulwich again had the ball in the net as Dayes arrived at the back post to head in a corner but once again the referee’s whistle was to see the goal chalked off as Side was penalised for hampering the keeper. The Hamlet were almost punished for this as poor marking at a freekick saw Williams arrive at the back of the box to head the ball back across the area to Soteriou but his header landed harmlessly on the roof of the net.
The Hamlet were to finish the half in the ascendancy but goalless thanks to the heroics of Hasell, as a sweeping Hamlet move ended with a stunning shot from O’Brien that was matched by Hasell’s flying leap to tip the ball over the bar. Again, the custodian came to his side’s rescue as the corner was delivered, twice provided killer punches to deny the Hamlet.
The second half brought no respite from the excitement as a full-blooded cup-tie continued to enthral. Seven minutes in a Leyton corner found skipper Scott Honeyball, an inelegant header blocked on the line by Bulent. Soon after, Dulwich fans were howling for a penalty of their own as Roy Parkyn cleared handled the ball on the floor as he and Beaney challenged for the ball. Confidence in the officials was further undermined when Side became the second Dulwich man to see yellow for what was his first foul of note, though Mr Bushell did start to even things up, first when Scott Curley was rather unfortunately booked after challenging for the ball with Quarm. Not doubts though about the next caution as Parkyn got his just desserts following a nauseating challenge as Beaney as the young winger tried to give him the slip. One could tell the hosts were getting rattling as yet another foul saw a freekick dropped into the area, Dayes stabbed the ball wide from close range.
Then with 67 minutes on the clock came the breakthrough and what a goal to savour as Bulent won the ball on the left and with the defence anticipating a cross, the tricky wingback unleashed a screamer of a drive that finally beat the seemingly impervious Hasell.
Their opponents now rocking Dulwich pressed home their advantage. Beaney curled a freekick from the edge of the area fractionally wide, before Quarm lashed a shot wide from ten yards after dancing into the box, shortly before selling an outrageous dummy but blazing his opportunity over the bar. This was to be his last contribution to the night’s entertainment as, bizarrely, he disappeared down the tunnel moments later, apparently struck down by illness. Confusion reigned as with Quarm’s reappearance unlikely, Dulwich attempted to bring on Ellis Conroy in his stead, the assistant referee seemingly unaware of Quarm’s departure. Eventually Conroy made it on to the pitch to add his steel to Dulwich’s cause, a nervous final ten minutes endured, but at last brought to an end by a blast of Mr Bushell’s whistle. Another trip north of the Thames lies in wait in the semi-finals with a trip to either Wingate & Finchley or Redbridge FC on the cards. Playing like this, the Hamlet should fear neither.

Teams:
LFC: James Hasell; Des Thomas; Roy Parkyn; Scott Honeyball (Capt.); Ben Wood; Scott Curley; Dean Bradshaw (Neil Thompson 84); James Hawes (Malcolm Dannie 58 (Trevor Paul 76)); Manny Williams; Vas Soteriou; Leli Bajada
Subs not used: Simon Peddie; Dave Morgan

DHFC: Paul Seuke; Jason Turley; Kemal Bulent; Alex O’Brien; Tom Ababio; Gavin Dayes (Danny Twin 73); Francis Quarm (Ellis Conroy 84); Charley Side; Meshach Nugent; Kevin Beaney; Marlon Patterson
Subs not used: Lee Akers; Jermaine Adan; Nicolas Plumain

BEANEY MAKES ISTHMIAN LEAGUE CENTENARY SQUAD

Dulwich midfield prodigy Kenny Beaney will be in exalted company including David Clarke, captain of Yeading FC against Newcastle United in the FA Cup, when Champion Hill hosts a match between the FA and the Ryman Isthmian League to celebrate the centenary of the competition’s institution on March 8th 1905. Of the current members of the league, only Clapton have been members longer than Dulwich who joined three years later. The game takes place at Champion Hill on Monday 7th March, kicking off at 7:30 p.m. The squad of 17 named by Ryman League representative manager Jack Pearce includes primarily Premier Division players although alongside Beaney in the squad there is the name of AFC Wimbledon’s ace striker Robert Ursell. The full squad is Paul Nicholls (Chelmsford City), Dean Marney (Harrow Borough), Ollie Adedeji (Braintree Town), Pat Sappleton (Billericay Town), Alex Haddow (Eastleigh), Liam Collins (Worthing), David Clarke (Yeading), Fiston Manuella (Staines Town), Robert Ursell (AFC Wimbledon), Alex Revell, (Braintree Town), Andy Forbes (Eastleigh), James Hasell (Leyton) Richard Jolly (Wealdstone), Leon Hunter (Billericay Town), Michael Shinn (Heybridge Swifts), Alex Stanley (Yeading) and Kenny Beaney (Dulwich Hamlet).

BURGESS HILL TOWN 1 DULWICH HAMLET 0

Paul Griffin Reports From Leylands Park, South London Press

A GUSTY swirling wind combined with a gluey, rain sodden pitch did its best to ruin this match as a spectacle with few clear-cut chances and little in the way of quality football.
It looked as if a draw was on the cards with both keepers making vital saves to keep the scoresheet blank, Paul Seuke pulling off a stunning save to keep out a close-range header from Lloyd Cotton and Hillians' custodian Pat Gannon sticking out a foot to divert a Charley Side strike over the bar.
However, with eight minutes to go, up popped Burgess Hill's leading scorer Steve Harper to bag his 26th goal of the campaign, flicking a low left wing cross past Seuke.
Dulwich applied late pressure in a bid to salvage a point and had a good shout for a penalty when Side's cross struck a defender's hand but it was not to be.
Dulwich: Seuke, Akers, Turley, Ababio, Twin, Conroy (Patterson 86), Burton, Side, Nugent, Beaney, Schoburgh (Quarm 68). Not used: Plumain, O'Brien, Ward.
Dulwich host Cray Wanderers tonight (Tuesday) in the London Senior Cup (7.45pm).

Burgess Hill Town 1 Dulwich Hamlet 0

Burgess Hill Town 1 Dulwich Hamlet 0
Ryman Isthmian Division One
Saturday 12th February 2005

Strolling through a rather unlovely housing estate, one happens upon the arboreal splendour that is Leylands Park, home of Burgess Hill Town FC, small in stature but big in ambition as they challenge for a place in the end of season play-offs. Unfortunately, the surroundings provided little respite from the elements as the game matched its rustic surroundings, though more in part to a biting wind that swirled in from Siberia, snatches of the Internationale whispered in its howling gusts. Add to this a cloying flypaper of a pitch that constantly frustrated the participants’ attempts to play all but the most basic of football and it was little wonder that there was scant fare for spectators to feast upon. At least, given the conditions, the goal that won the game was a moment of pure quality but Dulwich will look back upon missing opportunities to have taken the points from their hosts.
Injuries still plagued the Dulwich management as they made their selections, Tom Ababio a ever capable replacement for the injured Gavin Dayes in the heart of defence, whilst the battling presence of Wade Falana was again missing in attack where Meshach Nugent partnered the prolific Charley Side in the vanguard.
Dulwich came to terms best with conditions early on with Nugent capitalising on a mistake in defence but electing to try to find Side rather than utilise the better option of a shot. A minute later and a Lee Akers freekick proved the catalyst for Side to chip in a cross for the head of Warren Burton, keeper Pat Gannon making a swift change of direction to gather the header.
Constant interruptions from referee Andy Legg’s whistle and the prevailing elements made for a fragmented game although Matt Geard did bring a smart save out of Paul Seuke as he struck a fierce low shot on the run only for the Dulwich custodian to dive full length to turn the ball past the foot of his right post. Moments later Burton fed Sebastion Schoburgh on the edge of the penalty area but his angle chip rode on the wind, clearing Gannon’s bar.
From here the game evaporated into stalemate and it was not until the closing stages of the half that Dulwich stepped up the pressure but after laying siege to the home goal, Hamlet could not force the ball home, Nugent meeting a curling cross from Jason Turley on the left only for a brace of defenders to block his shot from 8 yards out.
The second half followed a similar pattern as Hillians’ defensive steel stifled Dulwich’s attacking zeal though Side did strike a fierce effort just wide after capitalising on a defender’s slip and Ellis Conroy tried his luck only to see his effort sail over the crossbar.
A stunning save from Seuke to keep out a close range header from Lloyd Cotton drew admiring gasps for all round before Burgess Hill wasted a great opportunity as a freekick on the edge of the box was blasted wide.
Dulwich replaced the enigma that is Schoburgh with Francis Quarm as they again turned the tide back in their favour as they pushed keeper Gannon to the limit with a brace of vital saves inside five minutes. First Kenny Beaney released Side with a perfect pass but Gannon raced from his line to spread himself and divert Side’s goalbound shot over the bar courtesy of an outstretched boot. Side then put Nugent through, but the striker hesitated momentarily allowing Gannon to make a vital interception.
After such a battling performance, Dulwich’s failure to put away their chances as Hillians' Steve Harper, despite a niggling groin problem, showed why he leads the club’s goalscoring charts with a quality piece of poaching arriving first to divert substitute Neil Watts’ left wing cross low to the near post past Seuke. Soon after Harper threatened to double the lead but this time the Hamlet keeper made a telling save, diving full length to turn the effort behind.
Dulwich came back strongly in search of an equaliser but despite late pressure could find a route through to goal. Gannon again denied Side and the Hamlet had a good shout for a penalty as Side’s cross struck a defender’s outstretched hand but it was not to be.

Teams:
BHTFC: Pat Gannon; Lloyd Cotton; Ben Fillery; Matt Piper; Tom Edmonds; Kevin Townsend; Steve Harper (Owen Callaghan 90); Matt Geard (Neil Watts 56); Darragh Ryan; Leo Day (Capt.); Dave Soutar
Subs not used: Richard Greenfield; Darin Kilpatrick

DHFC: Paul Seuke; Lee Akers (Capt.); Jason Turley; Tom Ababio; Danny Twin; Ellis Conroy (Marlon Patterson 87); Warren Burton; Charley Side; Meshach Nugent; Kenny Beaney; Sebastion Schoburgh (Francis Quarm 69)
Subs not used: Danny Ward; Nicolas Plumain; Alex O’Brien

Officials:
Referee: Andy Legg
Assistant Referees: Mark Wood & Graham Kendall

Scoring:
BHTFC: 1-0 Steve Harper 82 minutes
Attendance: 249

COLEMAN DELIVERS!

The Hornets today completed the signing of prolific non-league striker Omari Coleman to a one-year contract.
The former Dulwich Hamlet marksman has been on trial since July after being spotted by chief scout Frank Sibley and recommended to manager Ray Lewington.
"I'm very excited to have signed a contract with Watford,'' he said, minutes after putting pen to paper. "It's been going on for a while now so I'm glad to get it over and done with and now I'm just looking forward to the next chapter.
"I've got so much to prove at the moment, but I believe in myself that I can make it happen at this level. I'm looking forward to getting fitter and getting some games under my belt. The manager has signed me so he must have belief in me, so I've got to prove to him that he has made the right decision.''
The 23-year-old, who was on schoolboy forms with Wimbledon, has had several trials with league clubs over the years but never quite made it. At his age, he could have thought his chance had gone, but he puts his reversal in fortunes all down to old-fashioned hard work.
"I was with Croydon for a year, then I went to Dulwich Hamlet and scored a lot of goals over two seasons and it really took-off for me towards the end of last season. There was a lot of interest from other clubs, but I didn't really read too much into it when the Watford situation came up, but after meeting the manager and the rest of the lads things really started happening for me here, leading up to today's great news.
"I'm getting on a bit in football terms, so I said to myself at the start of last season to give myself one last push and get myself really fit and sharp - then I started scoring for Dulwich so I thought that if I didn't make it after that then I would have missed my chance but given it my best shot.''
This week the roads around Watford are once again clogged up with traffic - so that must mean the kids have gone back to school! That's what Omari would have been doing had he not been given this opportunity by the Hornets.
"I was a teaching assistant working with kids who have learning and behavioural difficulties,'' he explained. "I taught sport and a variety of other subjects to kids who found it hard to concentrate and learn simple things.I should have been going back to school this week, my school said to me because I have been on other trials before, if I went to Watford then I might not be able to come back to work in September, so that was a risk I took and fortunately it paid off.''
Swapping the classroom for a professional football club is a huge step, particularly in the fitness stakes, but it's a career change he is adapting well to, although competition is fierce at Vicarage Road in the very healthy striker department.
"You have got to be professional about everything you do here,'' he said. "You have to rest at every opportunity as the different training patterns take a toll on your body. It has taken me a while to get used to it, at Dulwich Hamlet I trained twice a week and now it's almost every day. It's a mental and physical thing that in time you get used to.
"There are a lot of good strikers here at Watford and it's up to the individuals to fight for the two positions up front. I'm not fazed by it though, I'm just here to do my best and I believe that then things will go well.
"My goal for this season is just to get myself known here, establish myself and earn the respect of the management and players here. I just want to do well, whether it's in the reserves or if I get a sniff of the first team. I just want to make sure I do myself justice.''

From the Watford Official Website

Crawley Town Youth 1 Dulwich Hamlet Youth 3

Crawley Town Youth 1 Dulwich Hamlet Youth 3
FA Youth Cup – Third Qualifying Round
Friday 29th October 2004

For the third year running since being reformed Dulwich Hamlet Youth Team will be competing in the FA Youth Cup competition proper after overcoming stiff opposition and a serious injury to keeper Tope David in registering a 3-1 victory at Crawley Town last Friday night. The Hamlet got off to a flying start when Crawley’s keeper lost a corner and in the ensuing mêlée, skipper Asher Hudson was on hand to smack the ball home from 6 yards. With the two sides evenly matched, chances were rare with Mutiu Lamidi striking wide after some good approach play and Jason Mabbs putting a freekick over the bar after Ohran Stewart had been brought down on the edge of the penalty area. A controversial penalty gave Crawley a route back into the match when a freekick appeared to strike Mabbs in the face only for the referee to whistle for a spot kick, one that Liam Buchan converted well to give David no chance. However celebrations were cut short as Dulwich took just three minutes to regain their lead. A freekick looked to have been overhit but Cedric Meeko refused to give up, collecting the ball before finding Stewart whose low ball into the box was met by Hudson stretching to stab the ball home via the underside of the crossbar.
Hudson came mighty close to completing his hat trick on 69 minutes only for Crawley’s Stuart Robinson to pull off a stunning point save but a minute later it was 3-1 as Stewart showed a clean pair of heels to the defence before beating Robinson with an angled low drive. However the latter part of the game was made nerve-racking as David was injured in making a save and with no reserve keeper on the bench the onerous task of donning the gloves fell on the shoulders of Hudson. Against all the odds Dulwich held for an anxious quarter hour or so to ensure a first round tie away to Wycombe Wanderers on Wednesday 10th November, kick-off 7-45 p.m.

Team: Tope David (Lamin Ojo); Tariq Ahmed; Craig Braham-Barrett; Cedric Meeko; Asher Hudson; Michael Makas; Jason Mabbs; Ohran Stewart; Mutiu Lamidi (Tyran James); Chris Kiganda (Kobi Degraft-Johnson); Ryan Martin
Subs not used: Brett Lambert-Wright; Dominic Weston

DULWICH SUPPORTERS’ ITALIAN JOB

As Britain’s war heroes made their way to Normandy to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the D-Day landings, another troop of gallant Brits were making their way back to Blighty as Dulwich Hamlet Supporters Football Team returned from their annual foray into Europe. This time it was the Torfeo Delfino, held in Rimini, Italy and the side were celebrating yet another achievement as for the first time they avoided the wooden spoon in their group.
The tournament opened at the Spontricciolo ground where the Hamlet lads were first on pitch against Corsica team, C.F.A. Bastia and it proved to a torrid test as the sprightly opposition displayed immaculate skills in taking a two-nil lead into the break, increasing that in the second half. Dulwich were not helped by the idiosyncratic decisions of the local referee whose eccentric decisions brought British bewilderment and Gallic shrugs in equal measure. However Dulwich would not lie down and forced their way back into the game with a classic English goal. Winning a freekick wide on the left, Dulwich took full advantage as skipper Andy Tucker’s pinpoint delivery allowed Lee Shailer to rise and head a powerful header home. As the clock ticked down Dulwich continued to press but further goals did not come. A final score of 3-1 to Bastia was deserved particularly in light of sporting manner in which they conducted themselves.
A long wait ensued before Dulwich were next on pitch against local A.C. Grottino who’d won their opening game in none too convincing style giving the Hamlet Supporters every confidence that they would be able to record a maiden victory on continental soil. However Lady Luck was not smiling upon the boys in Pink and Blue as the Italians went on to record a flattering 4-0 triumph courtesy of a trio of scrappy goals, loose balls tucked away despite the best attempts of keeper Matt Hammond and his overworked defenders. Dulwich might have claimed a consolation late on when Lawrence Marsh received the ball in the penalty area but could only hold his head in dismay as his steam-hammer effort cracked against the crossbar.
Out of contention for progression to the knockout stages, Dulwich still had the opportunity to clinch third place in the group as their final opponents, G.E Factofrance, from St Ouen l’Aumone, north west of Paris, had suffered two defeats (3-0 and 4-0), meaning a draw would ensure Dulwich avoided the wooden spoon. However it was to be a long wait as the match was not scheduled until 10 to seven that evening in Argentina, a hamlet on the outskirts of town not the country! The delay probably did more to unsettle the opposition as Dulwich came out all guns blazing, taking the lead through the head of Marsh meeting a twice nodded on freekick from a throw-in to plant a header firmly past the French keeper. The Hamlet paid for some lackadaisical defending, though, as a freekick found a French player unmarked in the box and his well placed header gave Hammond no chance but a fine strike from Hamlet’s Man of the Tournament Phil Doyle restored Dulwich’s lead before the half time break. However Dulwich were denied what would have been a deserved victory when Factofrance pulled back a goal in the second half with a close range effort and despite a myriad of chances the game petered out into a draw as the day took its toll on the fast wearying combatants.

Squad: Matt Hammond (GK); Alex Bushell; Steve Rickerby; Lucas Green; Paul Griffin; Andy Tucker (Capt.); Damon Green; Phil Doyle; Lee Shailer; Ferenc Morath; Phil Baker; Mark Hutton; Ian Wright; Dave Blyth; Mick O’Shaughnessy