Dulwich Hamlet 2-1 Hemel Hempstead Town,
National League South, att. 2,376
Welcome to ...
With
all this Corona-Virus chaos and ‘elite’ football being called off all over the
place, it was good to find there was some alternative to staying at home and
staring at the weeds in the garden: the National League was soldiering on, and
my local side Dulwich Hamlet were at home.
Result! What is not quite a
result is me currently holding half a dozen match tickets for a match which may
never take place (QPR v Barnsley) at £28 a pop.
Can I get a refund if I bought the tickets at Oakwell? Won’t BFC insist on having the tickets back
(presuming they’d be able to be used for any replayed fixture). Cos I don’t see me in Barnsley any time soon…
Corona Virus panic hits Peckham; queues for toilet rolls before Savers opens. Wow.
Loko also agreed to come out; well, it was this or take up Pompey Ian’s offer
to go and see his side Havant and Waterlooville at Dorking. And wherethehell is Dorking? Being in the brewery trade, the pull of
Peckham won. Pre-match in the Brick
Brewery and then a choice of Brew by Numbers, or the pub (Cherry Tree) near the
ground. Either way, I felt we’d better
get to the game early, fearing a possible sell-out given the Prem and EFL being
cancelled. Or would it go the other
way? Maybe there’d be hardly anyone
there, what with the impending zombie apocalypse? (In the end, there were 11 more spectators
than my last visit, so virtually no difference whatsoever.)
The teams line up.
I fancied the Cherry Tree as I’d never been before. As it was, with little to no movement in the
queue in the time it took Loko to use the facilities, we headed to Champion
Hill. After all, there can’t be many
football grounds offering the beer selection of Dulwich Hamlet. Even I’m happy…they have Erdinger on
tap. Loko settled for Peckham Pale. When in Rome…
Inside the social club, overlooking the pitch.
He was also a bit dizzy (bless) so we sat down 1st half. The main (Tommy Jovey) stand does offer the
best view in the ground, but I do like standing up. Nothing happened 1st half anyway,
save for sharing a few views with an elderly regular sat with us. Though polite, he didn’t mince his words:
with Hamlet’s budget they should be far higher this season (they entered this
game in the relegation zone). A lack of
distinct strategy on the pitch, mixed with neverending player changes had this
gentleman perplexed, while top scorer Danny Mills was bewildering benched
today.
Always good to be home.
2nd half, Dulwich kicked towards the car park end. With the terracing set back from the perimeter,
it’s a generally poor view, so we went to the ‘away’ end. Well, Hemel was certainly missing someone
from the local asylum as one fan made his presence known. Mirth was raised when I suggested he should
come every week, cos he was certainly entertaining. The away crew had also brought a boom box
with them, which Hamlet stewards rather unsportingly asked them to turn
off. I wouldn’t have thought Hamlet was
synonymous with po-faced, but there it was.
Course, I missed Hemel take the lead. I
was having a pee. But when Dulwich
equalised 10 minutes later, the ‘away’ end was not as away as I thought. There were problies only 15 of them. I remember one very smiley black chap making
the most of it to our Hemel friend, who’d earlier sung the quite bizarre ‘Church
in the morning, you’ve got church in the morning.’ (He hadn’t, I asked him later). BTW, why are Hemel known as the 'Tudors'? Great nickname tho, whatever.
This guy can come every week...
By now Dulwich were on the front foot and with 7 minutes left, the winner was
pinched, as a bit of pinball following a corner ended with the ball prodded
home. We could almost see it form the
opposite end. Game won, job’s a good un,
and Hamlet were 4 places higher. It’s
tight at the bottom (ooh-err). But with
this Corona nonsense going on, could this be the last game of the season? Time will tell. Now it was time to show Loko the sights…on to
Peckham Levels and Bar Story. I love where I live!!!
Through the arched window at Peckham Levels.
The Damage:
£12 ent
£2 prog
£5 beer (Erdinger, x3)
= £29
The Tunes: Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck
Eggs
(Ministry)
Champion Hill panorama
Grimsby Town supporter's HQ (the toilet in Brick Brewery)
The officials walk off at half time.
The view from the corner flag at half time.
Hamlet attack the car park end, 2nd half.
More spacious at this end.
The Main Stand.
...and hope for the best.
Hamlet worry late on.
A higher calibre of graffiti in the Bar Story toilets.
Wealdstone 7-0 Bath City, National League South, att. 1,343
Welcome to ....
What with England's rail network unable to deliver a train from its capital city to the provincial naval village of Portsmouth, notwithstanding PFC's decision to charge £24 for an FA Cup match with the Super Reds (Barnsley), Loko and I decided we'd give it a miss. And having trawled the fixture list for a non-league game, how about this: 1st v 2nd in the National League South? And Wealdstone (actually, Ruislip) isn't far, is it? Let's go.
Healthy queues at The Vale.
We decided to go via Ruislip station, mainly to try out the craft ale house Hop and Vine, where Loko (an aficionado) explained the difference between cask and keg. I've since forgotten, so I'm only going to have to ask him again. Anyway, a couple of beers in there, and a 15 minute or so walk down the high street to the ground, via a phone shop for an emergency charger for those who simply can't cope without their phone for an afternoon (not me, btw).
It's a sign! It's two signs!
There were some decent queues at the turnstiles, too, so while Loko queued, I dived into the social club to grab a couple of beers. Not a great choice, so I had an Estrella, while I bought Loko a 'Trilby' bitter he couldn't finish. (He works in the trade, and when I told him what it was, he did say that Robinson brewery was pretty poor; I see Trilby gains a whopping 2.9/5 on Untappd. Oh well.
The keeper continues his warm-up.
Entry was a pound more than my local Dulwich Hamlet, as was the programme. What did I get for the extra money, I wondered? Well, the programme was full colour and had plenty to read, while the football was spectacular. I saw some of the slickest attacking play I've seen all season as Wealdstone absolutely destroyed Bath 7 (seven) nil. It was a majestic display, even if Bath didn't help themselves by scoring the second one themselves, a backpost volley.
The view from behind the goal.
The one thing I did note though was the sheer abuse of the home fans. Good job they were winning. What are they like when they lose? Loko mentioned it was the home of the 'famous Wealdstone raider', but not being big on social media, or a keen listener of Talksport, or a student of the popular music charts, I have no shame in saying I had to look him up. Check out this doc. Maybe the rest of them are 'wannabes'?
Amid the abuse of the Conference South Millwall, there was one chant which amused me. No, not the one which ended with telling an injured Bath player he should 'DIE DIE DIE', but a supporter asking for a 'W', an 'E'....A.L.D.S.T.O.N.E......what have you got?' 'A sore throat'. Yes, I liked that one.
We got into Grosvenor Vale just as the game kicked off. Unlike Hamlet, there was some decent terracing behind the goal, so we made our way there. There were a mish-mash of other stands around the pitch, a proper non-league ground, with a covered seated stand at the far end, which most of the home end relocated to for the second half, to the end Wealdstone kicked towards. Bath meantime had a terrace of their own at the far end, and brought decent support themselves. Long way for nothing though.
Action in front of the Main Stand.
At half-time we snuck out the ground to the social club, grabbed another beer (not Trilby) and re-entered. Looked to me like anyone could wander in at half time (though you'd have missed Weald's opening 3 goals). We stood by the touchline this half, after I had a snout around their club shop, where there was a fantastic selection of programmes. If any Luton fans are missing some 60s, efforts, they're going for 50p a pop. We had a great day, while avoiding Barnsley's capitulation to a lower division side.
SOME of the programmes.
The Damage:
£13 ent
£3 prog
£7.80 a pint of Trinity and Estrella
= £23.80
The Tunes: Ghosteen (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) Hands on Yello (Jam and Spoon / Yello) He is Cola (Cola Boy) Heroes to Zeroes (Beta Band)
Dulwich Hamlet 6-0 Braintree Town, National League South, att. 2,730
Welcome to ....
This
was a turn up for the books.Dulwich,
having had a poor run of results, save for winning the New Year’s Day game at
Hampton, go 3 up within half an hour and go on to pummel their opponents,
Braintree, six nil.I didn’t see that
coming.No-one did.It certainly helped alleviate some of the
relegation worries around Champion Hill, even if there’s a fair amount of the
season to go yet.
The teams come out.
I can thank Wayne Rooney for my attendance today, as the England and Manchester
United legend made his debut for Derby at home to Barnsley this week, the game
being switched from New Year’s Day to the 2nd, for the TV
public.Cue the Super Reds’ cup game at
Crewe being moved to the Sunday, giving me this blank Satdy.Cheers Wayne.And cheers whatever betting company is paying his £80k/week wages, while
his own teammates earnings are delayed.You can’t make it up.
Dulwich Hamlet 1-2 Hampton and Richmond,
National League South, att. 2,089
Welcome to ...
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 1st win in 14, away at National League South bottom
side Hungerford Town. (There’s a reason
they’re bottom.) Dulwich start 5th
off bottom (it would have been 2nd 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 2nd
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 1st 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.
2nd 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)
