Dulwich Hamlet 1-2 Hampton and Richmond, Thursday 26th December 2019

Dulwich Hamlet 1-2 Hampton and Richmond, National League South, att. 2,089

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It’s Boxing Day, which means no Barnsley FC for me – no trains.  So it’s off to my local side, Dulwich Hamlet, fresh from their 1^st win in 14, away at National League South bottom side Hungerford Town.  (There’s a reason they’re bottom.)  Dulwich start 5^th off bottom (it would have been 2^nd off bottom had they lost last Satdy).  They need points, fast.  Midtable Hampton offered an ideal chance, I would have thought.

One day they'll build a decent terrace.

It was raining hard, so I walked rather than biked it.  I got there an hour or so before kick-off, having left home despite the allure of Spurs-Brighton on Amazon Prime.  The Premier League will not rest until their dominance is total.  Mind, I still caught up with it in the Hamlet clubhouse.  Well, it was that or watch cricket, while I nursed my pint of Erdinger. 

The Main (Tommy Jovey) Stand.

The clubhouse has a cracking selection of ales, not to mention plenty of barstaff, so there was barely any wait.  Still, it was a bit warm in there so I decanted to the terrace with a 2^nd beer.  Given the paucity of decent terracing, I headed for the halfway line opposite the Main Stand.  Crowd numbers seemed down on previous.  Indeed, the attendance was barely over 2,000.  Was everyone away visiting family?  Was family visiting Dulwich?  Or was it the rain? 

The teams meet 'n' greet.

Pre-match there was a minute’s silence for a couple of recently-deceased Dulwich fans, and a touching announcement thanking one in particular for his part in the club’s recent transformation.

R.I.P. Ben Miller and Mishi Morath.

The game itself was entirely decided by the match officials.  In the 1^st half, Hampton scored, but the lineswoman’s flag had gone up straightaway.  Cue ref walks over, chats for over a minute, then points to the spot.  Goal.  I’m not sure what went on there.  The ref has overruled his assistant, who had a much better view.

Match action.

2^nd half, Hamlet equalise.  A free kick is curled in, misses everyone, and lands in the net.  The lineswoman puts her flag up again for offside.  No conversation with the ref this time, and the goal is chalked off.  I can only presume she thought it touched another a Dulwich player on the way in.  Cos the other alternative involves not knowing the rules.  Ho hum.

Behind the Hampton goal, 2nd half.

Dulwich then have a (soft) penalty appeal turned down, but it’s made worse as Hampton run up the other end and make it 0-2.  What can go wrong will go wrong.  There was still time for Dylan Kearney to pull one back with a free kick through the wall, but that was the least he could, given the hatful of chances he’d missed earlier.  Another late chance for Hamlet was charged down and that was that.  1-2 to the visitors.

The view from the far corner.

The Damage:
£12.96 ent (the 0.96 was ordering it online)
£2 prog

£5 beer (Erdinger, x3)
= £29.96

The Tunes:
Music has the Right to Children (Boards of Canada)

Pre-match panorama.