MATCH REPORT | Horsham 2 Dulwich Hamlet 1
For the second away game in succession Dulwich conceded an injury time goal to drop points on the road. Daniel Ajakaiye’s 95th minute winner proved the difference between the two teams and earned Horsham a 3-2 victory, much to the delight of the vociferous home support. Of the two late goals, it’s likely this one from the Hornets that will sting more, given Dulwich had led 2-1 with fewer than 10 minutes to play.
It was the home team who began the brighter at The Camping World Community Stadium, with Dulwich slow to get going on the artificial surface. Horsham were rewarded for their early endeavour in the sixth minute. A bouncing ball was hooked hopefully on by Tom Richards towards Jack Mazzone. The Horsham number nine managed to get goal side of Manny Parry and the Dulwich defender tripped him inside the area, leaving the referee with no option but to point to the spot.
And it was Mazzone who would convert from 12-yards, hitting it hard and low to Ruddy’s left and sending the keeper the wrong way. Hak must’ve hoped this goal would awaken his slumbering side and it did. Dulwich began to dominate possession, albeit with more probing than penetrating attacks. In fact Hamlet’s best chances in the opening half hour came for set pieces, where our aerial advantage was evident. In the 12th minute, from a Jerome Binnom-Williams delivery, Danny Mills connected with a dangerous downward header, which Lewis Carey in the Horsham goal did well to punch away.
Fifteen minutes later Mills again had the better of his marker from a corner, this time he nodded it back across goal and Michael Chambers was close to connecting, but once more Horsham managed to clear their lines.
From open play it was Sanchez Ming and Luke Wanadio who were looking most threatening for the Hamlet. Dulwich were finding success with left to right diagonal balls that freed the marauding Ming down the wing. From one of those surges he found Wanadio, but his shot was more high, than handsome. It would be the first of three Wanadio efforts in quick succession, with the last the best of the lot, forcing a sprawling diving save from Carey. It would be Dulwich’s best, and last, effort of the opening 45 and they headed down the tunnel one goal behind.
Whatever Hak said at half-time clearly had the desired effect as Dulwich noticeably upped their intensity from the off. Within the opening five minutes Richard Pingling, Wanadio and Mills had all threatened, the latter with a trademark header that he couldn’t quite keep down. The game was being played in the Horsham half and the pressure was building.
The dominance would pay dividends in the 62nd minute. Mills was proving a handful and from a cross from the left towards him at the back post, Horsham would handle and the referee, after a pregnant pause, awarded a spot-kick to the pink and blue.
The responsibility would fall to Ming and he was more than equal to it, confidently stroking the ball down the middle of the goal, with the keeper diving to Ming’s left. At this stage Hamlet were purring and it felt a matter of when not if they would score a second. In one attack Wanadio and Miils both had half chances, Dulwich recycled the ball, and a cross found Ming free at the far stick, his rasping shot was goal bound and only a fine stop from Carey denied the Dulwich defender a quickfire double.
But, if Hamlet felt like there were only one winner in the game, they would soon have to rethink that. Horsham had looked dangerous on the counter-attack and from one such transition Richards was sent clean away down the right hand touchline, he had multiple men open in the middle, but his cross couldn’t find any of them.
Just sixty seconds later, that missed opportunity would look incredibly costly, as although Ming had been denied a double, Hamlet would not be. Binnom-Williams crossed diagonally from the left, Mills did what he does so well and nodded it back across goal, Ade Shokunbi timed his arrival perfectly and kneed it into the back of the net from a few yards out. Two goals in four minutes were no less than Dulwich deserved for their dominance and we were dreaming of a first away win since January.
Dominic Di Paola had reacted to Dulwich’s first goal by bringing on Daniel Ajakaiye and he reacted to the second by throwing on Charlie Hester-Cook and Horsham’s subs would play a huge part in bringing the home side back into the game.
Hester-Cook in particular was neat and tidy in possession and the field began to tilt in favour of the home side. With just eight minutes to go they would draw level. A high through ball by James Hammond was controlled on his chest by Lee Harding, the Horsham right-back somehow had the freedom of the Hamlet penalty area, and the ball found its way to Richards, who showed poise that had been lacking earlier, to fire a low shot past Ruddy.
In the last of the regulation minutes Dulwich almost fashioned a goal of their own through good work from our substitutes. Miquel Scarlett, who had replaced Richard Pingling, fizzed in a cross towards Adrian Clifton at the near post. The Dulwich striker looked to have a tap-in, but great work from Carey, who had anticipated the cross and dived at the feet of the onrushing Dulwich striker to claim the ball.
As the board went up to indicate five minutes of added time, the narrative was being written for one of those games that both sides felt they should’ve won, but ultimately where a point a piece would be a fair result.
But, football never fails to surprise you and with less than a minute on the clock Jack Strange played a slide rule pass down the right-hand side, Binnom-Williams just couldn’t stretch enough to cut it out, Shamir Fenelon was away, after a touch or two to compose himself, he crossed for Ajakaiye who finished first time from close range.
It was a sickening and underserved blow for Hamlet and the players, who had put in a great second-half performance, sunk to their knees. It’s now back-to-back defeats for Dulwich, who slip to 15th in the table. If there’s one silver lining it’s that we don’t have long to dwell on the manner of the defeat, as we welcome high flying Chatham Town, who have a 100% record, to Champion Hill on Bank Holiday Monday.
Dulwich Hamlet Line-Up: 1 Jack Ruddy, 2 Sanchez Ming, 4 Mark Ricketts (c) (15 Kreshnic Krasniqi 89'), 5 Michael Chambers, 7 Luke Wanadio, 8 Richard Pingling (17 Miquel Scarlett 75'), 9 Danny Mills (14 Adrian Clifton 85'), 11 Alfie Allen, 16 Ade Shokunbi, 18 Jerome Binnom-Williams (c), 20 Manny Parry
Unused Substitutes:, 6 Jerry Gyebi, 10 Kaya Hansson
Goalscorers: Sanchez Ming 63' (pen), Ade Shokunbi 67’
Yellow Cards: Jerome Binnom-Williams 55’, Luke Wanadio 72'
Horsham Line-Up: 1 Lewis Carey, 2 Lee Harding, 3 Harvey Sparks, 4 Douglas Tuck (15 Charlie Hester-Cook 70’), 5 Jack Strange, 6 Sami El-Abd, 7 James Hammond, 8 John Brivio (c), 9 Jack Mazzone (17 Shamir Fenelon 84’), 10 Kadell Daniel (16 Daniel Ajakaiye 64’), 11 Tom Richards
Unused Substitutes: 12 Alexander Malins, 14 Thomas Kavanagh
Goalscorers: Jack Mazzone 6’ (pen), Tom Richards 82’, Daniel Ajakaiye 90+5’
Yellow Cards: Jack Brivio 78’
Referee: Stephen Hawkes
Attendance: 1,018
Address
Champion Hill Stadium,
Edgar Kail Way,
East Dulwich,
London.
SE22 8BD.
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