So how did our adopted non-league club for this season get on during November? It’s time to find out in the latest edition of our Grass Roots feature.
When we last checked in, the Hamlet had made good progress in the FA Trophy and were pushing the top sides in the Ryman Premier but their start to the penultimate month of 2016 did not go well.
A trip to Staines Town ended in a 2-0 defeat with the second goal proving decisive right after the break. Improvement was to come quickly though as days later a trip to face a top four Needham Market side ended in the points shared after a 1-1 draw. The visitors took the lead with half hour to go through Dumebi Dumaka but Needham were back level within ten minutes.
Next up, it was FA Trophy duty as Chesham United were the visitors to Champion Hill. It was a rather one sided affair as Hamlet dominated the game, winning 4-0 thanks to goals from Nathan Green, Dumaku, Vasileios Karagiannis and Nyren Clunis.
The goals continued to flow and this time Worthing were the victims in the league. Dumaka open the scoring after half an hour with his third in as many games before Karagiannis doubled the advantage right on half time. Mark Weatherstone looked to seal all three points but the visitors scored what only ended up being a consolation with a little over twenty minutes remaining. Finishing off the scoring was Ashley Carew with just over ten minutes left to play.
A trip to Harrow Borough followed and it only took just over twenty minutes for Dulwich to open the scoring through Ibra Sekajja. For the second game in a row, Karagiannis doubled the lead just after the break which was enough for the visitors to take all three points.
Back to FA Trophy action and this time a trip to Winchester City and a single goal from Green was enough to secure safe passage into the first round proper for Dulwich with the opponents yet to be determined.
The final game of the month took place in the league against a resurgent Metropolitan Police. It proved to be a goal fest at Champion Hill as Dumaka opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the month. In form Green doubled the score with his third of the month but the visitors levelled things up with a goal either side of the half time interval. Karagiannis put Dulwich into the lead once again with his third in three consecutive league games but the Police would not lay down and found an equaliser in the dying seconds of the game to ensure the spoils were shared.
RESULTS
- 01/11/2016 Staines Town 2-0 Dulwich Hamlet
- 05/11/2016 Needham Market 1-1 Dulwich Hamlet
- 12/11/2016 Dulwich Hamlet 4-0 Chesham United (FA Trophy)
- 19/11/2016 Dulwich Hamlet 4-1 Worthing
- 22/11/2016 Harrow Borough 0-2 Dulwich Hamlet
- 26/11/2016 Winchester City 0-1 Dulwich Hamlet (FA Trophy)
- 29/11/2016 Dulwich Hamlet 3-3 Metropolitan Police
FIXTURES
The final month of the year sees Dulwich challenge on three fronts due to their involvement in two cup competitions. The league fixtures see them take on three top ten sides before the year out, the outcome of which will go a long way to proving whether the Hamlet can challenge the top four.
- 03/12/2016 – Folkstone Invicta (a)
- 06/12/2016 – Staines Town (h)
- 10/12/2016 – TBC (FA Trophy)
- 13/12/2016 – Faversham Town (h – cup)
- 17/12/2016 – Tonbridge Angels (h)
- 19/12/2016 – Kingstonian (a)
- 27/12/2016 – Grays Athletic (a)
- 31/12/2016 – Wingate & Finchley (h)
LEAGUE TABLE
Dulwich saw out the penultimate month of the year in a healthy fifth place in the Ryman Premier with 32 points from 21 games, three points behind Leiston in fourth and two points ahead of Enfield Town in sixth.
For more information about Dulwich Hamlet, head over to their OFFICIAL WEBSITE and follow their account on Twitter.
Our next GRASS ROOTS article will be online early in the New Year. If you are a Dulwich fan and would like to provide us with your views on the club between now and the end of the season, please get in touch.
