Pitchero

Dulwich Hamlet

Hampton & Richmond Borough

Full time

C Dundas (31'), C Dickson (56' Pen)

Sat 1 Sep 15:00 - The Vanarama National League - Vanarama National League South Attendance 815

Report

Highlights

Selection

League round up

Dundas and Dickson Delight at Dulwich

By HRBFC Press Team

The Beavers continued their fine form on the road, recording a 2-0 win at Dulwich Hamlet, thanks to strikes from Dundas and Dickson.

In a frantic opening ten minutes, either side could have taken the lead, with space available for both sets of attackers to create chances.

Hampton started the exchange, with Ricky Wellard racing onto a clever ball from Dickson. The Beavers captain turned, before playing the in-form Dickson back in 12 yards from goal - but Dickson rushed effort was too high to trouble Dulwich keeper Preston Edwards.

Following this, The Hamlet thought they had taken the lead, and with the ball in the back of the Beavers net, it certainly seemed that way. A long ball saw a panicked attempt from Miller-Rodney to clear the ball, which he hit into his teammate Rian Bray. It was so nearly capitalised upon by Ferguson, but he was a little too forceful, adjudged to have fouled Lovelock in his attempt to bundle it in.

This lead onto both teams having an array of chances, with the dangerous Akinyemi, wriggling free of Bray and unleashing a good effort from 25 yards, before the Beavers countered, and Dickson’s side-footed volley from Ucheci’s cross flirted with the right-hand post.

After this, the Beavers began to take a foothold of the game, and their direct style of play certainly caused The Hamlet problems, with Craig Dundas winning flick-on after flick-on.

A great chance came for the Beavers to break the deadlock in the 19th minute, after brilliant work down the left from Uchechi bamboozled the Dulwich back four. His mesmeric footwork saw him burst into the box, but his cut back across goal was well blocked by former Beaver and Dulwich Hamlet’s Michael Kamara.

The pressure continued to ramp up. Murrell-Williamson’s low cross found a well-positioned Daniel Uchechi who had the composure to find Dundas just 6 yards from goal. Dundas made no mistake, placing a finish on the turn past Edwards.

This was another assist for Uchechi, who has repaid the faith shown to him by Gary McCann, following his pinpoint cross for Dickson’s headed goal at Torquay United.

There was no resting on laurels following the opener as immediately after Rhys Murrell-Williamson almost made it 0-2, sending a first-time volley dipping just over the bar following Uchechi’s smart low corner to the edge of the box.

Further attacking intent followed, and the Beavers were kicking themselves not to go into the interval two to the good. In the last attack before the whistle, Murrell-Williamson latched onto a long ball in acres of space, with Dickson following closely in support. The proximity of Dickson may have made things a tad more difficult, as Murrell-Williamson’s rushed effort was stopped by Edwards, before Dickson’s reflex rebound dropped over the bar.

Second half

The Beavers picked up the second half from where they left off, with a sound defensive setting providing a strong foundation, largely in part to Michael Corcoran’s excellent marshaling of the back four.

It didn’t take the Beavers long to grab the deserved second, coming from, once more, the lectric Chris Dickson. His turn of pace followed by liquid footwork in the penalty box left Taylor in trouble, with the defender’s late lunge on Dickson penalised by the referee, who pointed to the spot.

Dickson’s run up oozed confidence, and really, there was no doubt that he was scoring. A low, precise penalty into the bottom left corner sent Edwards the wrong way, and The Beavers doubled their lead.

From there, the game was Hampton’s, who in truth, should have added to the tally. There were good chances for Uchechi, Whichelow and Joseph in the final ten minutes as the Dulwich team tired against the fresh legs of the Hampton substitutions.

The final whistle blew and The Beavers ran out worthy winners, adding their second clean sheet in three games, and making it a magnificent 10 points from 12 on the road.

The magnificent travelling Beavers support serenaded their manager with a rendition of “Gary Mac’s red and blue army” at full-time, as he waved them on their way following a great day for everyone connected with the club.

Reaction
“It was probably as complete a performance as we’ve had so far,” said Coach Fabio Valenti to the club’s Twitter after the game. “First 5-10 minutes we got to grip with Dulwich’s shape and changed a couple of things, and from then on we were dominant.”

“We maybe could have scored a couple more, but we were solid at the back, in midfield and up front – we just could have been more punishing.”

Catch up with Fabio’s full interview here.