Hampton got on the front foot right from the start and Charlie Moone tested the Hamlet defence early with a shot which forced a scrambling save from keeper Wilson.
The Hamlet were being restricted to counter attacking as the Beavers dominated possession, Ethan Pinnock's header on 12 minutes was met by Michael Kamara but his shot landed on the roof of the net.
Most of the opportunities were falling to the Beavers in the first half hour; on 20 minutes, Luke Wanadio intercepted a loose ball in midfield but fired his shot at Wilson when perhaps the better ball might have been to Ben Harris. 5 minutes later, Wanadio found Harris in space but the shot skewed wide of the post.
After Justyn Roberts had fired a free kick into the defensive wall, Dulwich started to come to terms with the Beavers play and just 5 minutes before the break, Jack Norton had to beat away a Xavier Vidal shot from the edge of the box.
The second half saw the hosts come out with more purpose and on 54 minutes, they took the lead. Kevin James' long cross to the back fell for Ashley Carew to fire home from 8 yards, helped by an unlucky deflection of Billy Jeffreys.
The game turned 12 minutes later as Hamlet defender Kershaney Samuels was left exposed in the box and he fouled Ben Harris in his attempt to win the ball as the striker bore down on goal; the referee deemed it a clear goal scoring opportunity and showed Samuels the red card. Harris took the spot kick, and with little ceremony, blasted it past Wilson.
Hamlet were still fighting and on 78 minutes they regained the lead as Pinnock tricked his way past two defenders to find Carew, whose curling shot left Norton grasping at air with a goal that deserved to win any game.
However, the Beavers were not reading that script, as they gathered themselves up to fight Dulwich right to the end. Karle Carder's 86th minute free kick was fumbled by Wilson and the keeper had to frantically re-gather at the second attempt.
Jerome Federico had newly come on and was already making life difficult for right back Michael Kamara and his cross on 88 minutes left the Hamlet defence in some panic as it had to be hurriedly headed clear with Charlie Moone lurking menacingly.
However, in added time, Federico beat Kamara to the bye line and clipped over a cross to Moone at the near post; the ball bobbled around his feet and Hamlet were able to get a boot to the ball to take it away from him, but it rolled straight to Paris Mason and the youngster needed no second invitation to fire the equaliser past Wilson from 8 yards for his first senior goal for the club, one he'll remember for a long time as he was mobbed by the rest of the team in their delight.
Dulwich Hamlet (0) 2
Ashley Carew 55', 79'
Hampton & Richmond Borough (0) 2
Ben Harris pen 67', Paris Mason 90'
Att: 2,856
Dulwich Hamlet: 1 Phil Wilson, 2 Michael Kamara, 3 Lewis Gonsalves (Marlon Patterson 62'), 4 Kershaney Samuels, 5 Terrell Forbes, 6 Ethan Pinnock, 7 Jordan Hibbert (Ibrahim Mansaray 87'), 8 Ashley Carew, 9 Nigel Neita (Kareem Boyle 70'), 10 Kevin James, 11 Xavier Vidal
Subs: 12 Marlon Patterson, 14 Laurent Hamici, 15 Ibrahim Mansaray, 16 Kareem Boyle, 17 Abdul Mansaray
Hampton & Richmond Borough: 1 Jack Norton, 2 Ben Osman, 3 George Wells, 4 Tommy Brewer, 5 Billy Jeffreys, 6 Justyn Roberts, 7 Luke Wanadio (Joe Dixon 90'), 8 Karle Carder, 9 Ben Harris (Paris Mason 77'), 10 Charlie Moone, 11 Michael Bryan (Jerome Federico 80')
Subs: 12 Max Hustwick, 14 Jesse Kewley-Graham, 15 Jerome Federico, 16 Paris Mason, 17 Joe Dixon
# | Team | Pl | Pts |
13. | East Thurrock United | 46 | 66 |
14. | Bognor Regis Town | 46 | 63 |
15. | Hampton & Richmond Borough | 46 | 57 |
16. | Harrow Borough | 46 | 53 |
17. | Canvey Island | 46 | 53 |
18. | VCD Athletic | 46 | 53 |
19. | Lewes | 46 | 53 |