Dulwich Hamlet 3 Dover Athletic 1

Ryman Isthmian League Division One South

Sunday 7^th January 2007

Under lowering skies, the congregation filed into the SE22's Cathedral of Football, joyous anthems raising the rafters as the pink and blue choristers, enthused by the evangelist zeal of their choirmaster, Wayne Burnett, struck a telling blow against one of their fellow promotion hopefuls. The battle for promotion may be tight, but the Sabbath proved no day of rest as the Hamlet turned on the style to send their opponents back to the Kent coast, pondering how their to plot next step in their escape from this division, their followers, raucous, ebullient, full of song at the start, ashen-faced and tongue-tied by the time the final whistle put an end to their suffering.

Torrential rain a day previous had left Champion Hill more akin to a boating lake, but the gods had been kind. The deluge relented, overnight the waters receded and by the time match referee eschewed his bacon and eggs for a early morning inspection, the pitch had almost returned to its pristine state. Mr Child gave the pitch a thumbs-up, Dover boarded their coaches from the coast and battle could be joined for the belated start to the New Year.

Both sides made minor changes. In for the Hamlet came new signing Leigh Bremner, lately arrived from Cray Wanderers, joining Chris Dickson in the vanguard of attack whilst Shawn Beveney, slipped back into midfield in the stead of David Moore, who was joined on the substitutes bench by a brace of new names in David Milton and Billy Manners. For Dover there was a new face in the dugout as Terry White took over the stewardship of the squad, current incumbent Clive Walker incapacitated by a back problem. The caretaker manager was forced into one change as Jon Wallis' loan spell from League Two side Hereford came to an end. This allowed a return for fans favourite, Jimmy Dryden, despite a week of gossip linking him with the Whites' deadly rivals Folkestone Invicta.

Slow to start, Dover were soon defending desperately as Dulwich sprung into action with lightning alacrity. Barely had the first whistle faded from earshot than the heavy brigade of the Dulwich defence was causing all sorts of confusion in the visitors' box and Justyn Roberts was so close to opening the scoring after just two minutes, firing into the side netting as Glen Knight fumbled a corner under pressure. Five minutes in and Dover songs were stilled as another corner produced the desired result. Outjumped the Dover defence were all at sea as the ball dropped in front of Lewis Tozer and he needed to second invitation to collect his maiden Hamlet goal, stretching to stab the ball high into the top of the net.

Beveney might have added to the lead, scampering away down the right wing before firing in a low shot that Knight grateful smothered at the second attempt but then the pendulum of possession swung in the favour of the Men of Kent. Large swathes of the field dominated by the White hoards but Hamlet calm, collected, dominant in defence. The handful of chances Dover were allowed came to naught as their forwards' wasteful finishing echoed the pre-match doubts of the travelling faithful. Best of the openings belonged to Dryden, firing wide of the far upright with a low drive from the right flank.

The travelling troubadours did their utmost to lift their heroes. For a while the draught seemed to catch the Dover sails but then the wind was sucked from them as Bradley Spice crumpled in a heap as he challenged Simon Overland for an overhit through ball. The prognosis was not good and as the stretcher was beckoned on to the pitch, it was clear the midfielder's day had come to an end. The enforced substitution saw defender Nick Humphrey on in his injured colleague's stead, a reshuffle seeing John Keister move forward into a midfield role.

35 minutes and a clear-cut penalty for the Hamlet went unawarded. Dickson brought down a deep Jamie Coyle cross but was sent spinning as Craig Cloke, left for dead, dived into the tackle. Honesty, and a touch of gymnastics from Dickson, saw the striker avoid hitting the deck and Mr Child's whistle unblown. Dickson's cross was too deep though it was returned to the edge of the box where Phil Williams tried his utmost to make space for a strike but was ultimately thwarted by weight of numbers.

As the half drew to a close Dover again threatened but once more their shooting radars malfunctioned. Craig Wilkins' delicate volley from 20 yards out proved little hazard as it dropped wide of Overland's right hand post, the Hamlet custodian surprisingly underemployed given Dover's territorial ascendancy. Not long after Overland again found himself watching a ball miss the target as Matt Bourne eschewed a gilt-edged chance, volleying high over the bar as a deep James Rogers' free kick found him lurking at the back of the six yard box.

The Dover team coach must have taken a detour though a black cat farm for ill-fortune coming to haunt them, Dryden emerging from the dressing room sporting a blood-stained bandage around his head, the result of a clash of heads in the dying moments of the first half.

A rush of blood sees Bremner mark his debut with a yellow card as he clashes with Matt Bourne as the Dover defender ushers the ball out for a throw, the caution bringing in its wake a one match ban as it is his fifth of the current campaign.

Dover find a new tactic, the long throw of Cloke, and it almost brings its reward as the hour mark approaches. A flick on from Wilkins and the ball fell into the flight path of Dryden's acrobatic volley but to no avail as the ball sailed over Overland's crossbar. A vital miss for two minutes later and Dulwich had doubled their advantage. Caught on the hop by a lightning Hamlet raid, a free kick was conceded some 25 yards from goal. Up stepped Kenny Beaney to produce a precise, curling finish, over the wall, beyond Knight's grasping fingers and into the net; a goal worthy of the greatest theatres of football, applauded by all no matter their allegiance.

That goal merely twisted the knife but the fatal blows were struck just five minutes later. First substitute Humphrey was sent off to complete a hat-trick of dismissals this term, dragging down Leigh Bremner as the pair tussled for a long ball on the edge of the area. Whilst Dover players swarmed around the man in black to voice their protests, to his credit the offender accepted his punishment with good grace before beginning the long walk back to the dressing rooms. Though Dulwich failed to add to the Dover woes, Knight making an excellent save from Jamie Coyle's sweetly struck dead ball effort, low and hard, it would be mere moments before they would strike again as Beveney latched on to a foolhardy pass across the face of his own penalty area from John Keister, unleashing a fearsome rising shot that saw the net bulge before Knight could react.

Against a decimated, ragged Dover, Dulwich looked rampant but could not stretch their lead. Indeed it was Dover who came closest to finding the net, only for Wilkins to be frustrated as Overland pulled off an outstanding save, cat-like reactions seeing him fling himself left to turn the ball past the post as the Dover man rifled in a first-time volley from close range. The intervention of Cloke with a diving header, albeit a little too close for comfort for his keeper, denied Bremner surely a debut goal as Coyle lashed in a cross from the right. 90 minutes elapsed, another penalty shout waved away as Bourne seems to handle the ball as it is hammered towards the near post by Dickson. Stoppage time seemed interminable, already the Dover supporters drift home. With Dulwich unremitting in attack, none but the hardy, last Kentish souls want the game to end but then that perseverance is rewarding as six minutes past the allotted span, the visitors at last force the ball into the net as Dryden is on hand apply the final touch as Rogers' corner is allowed to drop at the back of the box.

Keep the faith, a better place awaits for those who do. Here endeth the lesson.

Teams:

DHFC: Simon Overland, Jason Turley (Cedric Meeko 83), Nicolas Plumain, Justyn Roberts, Jamie Coyle (Capt), Lewis Tozer, Shawn Beveney (David Milton 83), Kenny Beaney, Leigh Bremner, Chris Dickson, Phil Williams (David Moore 79)

Substitutes not used: Sol Pinnock, Billy Manners

DAFC: Glen Knight, Tony Browne, James Rogers, Matt Bourne, Craig Cloke, Danny Chapman (Byron Walker 66), Bradley Spice (Nick Humphrey 33), Lee Spiller (Capt) (Shane Hamshare 83), Craig Wilkins, Jimmy Dryden, John Keister

Substitutes not used: Darren Smith, Liam Quinn

Attendance: 518

Referee: Mr Steve Child

Assistant Referees: Mr Phil Stevens & Mr Timothy Hatt

Goalscoring:

1-0 DHFC Lewis Tozer 5^th minute

2-0 DHFC Kenny Beaney 63^rd minute

3-0 DHFC Shawn Beveney 73^rd minute

3-1 DAFC Jimmy Dryden 90^th minute (5^th minute of stoppage time)