Worthing Supporters 2 Dulwich Hamlet Supporters 3

Worthing Supporters 2 Dulwich Hamlet Supporters 3
Challenge Match
Saturday 7th February 2004

A hardy band of Hamlet Supporters made the long trek to the South Coast, made more frustrating by a circuitous train journey courtesy of the vagaries of the British transport system, but were rewarded with a hard-fought victory over their Rebel counterparts. Despite an icy, gale force wind at their backs the Hamlet found themselves weathering early pressure from the younger hosts. However on 17 minutes Dulwich took the lead when Jack McInroy almost certainly wrote his name into the annals of supporter footballing history. Age had certainly not withered the 45-year-old midfield wizard as he capitalised on defensive dithering to score with a sweet strike. Almost immediately a Danny King freekick could have doubled the lead but the home custodian was well placed to keep out the effort.
A courageous tackle from the deceptively ferocious media luvvie Paul ‘Vinny’ Vinnell on the half hour mark prevented what looked a certain goal and laid the foundations for a rapid Dulwich counterattack from which a second goal nearly came. McInroy again played a starring role and when the ball reached Phil Doyle on the edge of the box, he balletically skipped past two tackles before unleashing a screaming low drive which beat the keeper but crashed against the upright, spinning like a top across the face of goal, just missing the opposite post.
Playing into the teeth of the gale, Dulwich found the Worthing players encamped on the edge of their box like the Greeks outside the walls of Troy but held firm and doubled their lead 20 minutes in when Chris Wheeler did the donkey work to set up James O’Shaughnessy to curl home a magnificent effort. Worthing pulled a goal back when a freekick was played on by a puddle in front of goal and skidded through the hands of stand-in goalkeeper Ian Wright, holding the fort until the arrival of regular custodian Matt Hammond who had elected for the scenic route to the South Coast via Orpington!
For a while it seemed as if the Rebels would pull level and not undeservedly so but O’Shaugnessy minor made sure Dulwich had a two goal cushion as the game entered the final throes as he rounded the keeper to tuck the ball home from a tight angle despite the best efforts of a seagull on the goalline to keep the ball out. Right at the death Worthing pulled one back when from a corner Hammond, on for the gallant Wright, was beaten by a low drive. Mishi Morath on the post attempted a clearance but succeeded only in hammering ball into the top stanchion of the net where it nestled a la Trevor Brooking in the Nep Stadion. Any hopes Worthing had though of snatching a draw evaporated moments later as from the restart the referee almost instantaneously signalled the game’s conclusion.

Team: Ian Wright (Matt Hammond), Mick O'Shaughnessy (Paul Griffin), Phil Baker (Mishi Morath), Paul Vinnell, Steve Bennett, Phil Doyle, Jack McInroy, Danny King, Damon Green, James O'Shaughnessy, Chris Wheeler