Opportunism counts for a lot in football. You can have a team stuffed with talent, a canny and strategic manager and enough grit to de-ice Dog Kennel Hill for a thousand Januaries - and Dulwich have all of that in spades (not to mention a supportive crowd, numbering 472 for the first home game of the year) but sometimes it’s just the team that makes the most of its chances that walks away victorious. Despite plenty of sparkle from Dulwich Hamlet this week, they just couldn’t convert, while their fellow SE London opponents made lemonade all afternoon.

Dulwich opened with confidence, with frontline stars Sophie Manzi and Lucy Monkman going after multiple chances in the opening minutes, but Millwall keeper Chrissie Wiggins was a wall of nope from the start, seeing off all attempts. Ten minutes in, Molly Hawkins scored with Millwall’s first shot on goal - an auspicious start for the visitors, and one that would change the tone for the rest of the game. An audacious, long free kick a minute later threatened to double the lead, but returning keeper Klaudia Kovacs threw hands and it scraped the top of the post.

Asia Harbour-Brown, and Rhea Gall - back with the Hamlet after six months living in Argentina - worked hard to set up new channels of attack, but couldn’t find connections and the chances fizzled out, including a cross from Gall into the box that could have lit the Hill on fire if it had found its way home. Dulwich increased the pressure, but Millwall responded physically, hauling Hannah Baptiste down in front of the box, and attracting the ref’s attention after Milly Penfold pulled Gall to the ground. Hawkins escaped down the left wing with the ball and an idea, but met Gall - the collision handed Millwall a free kick but their aerial plan was badly positioned and came to nothing. Another volley from the Millwall frontline was closed down by Kovacs, alert to the danger and ready to stop them.

It was a frustrating half for Dulwich, kept in midfield and denied chances by Millwall. Against the visitors’ strong keeper, a coordinated attack and some serious pressing was needed, with either a battering ram assault to exhaust her or some devious routes into the box, but the Hamlet weren’t good enough in transition and handed over the ball too many times. Dulwich’s last chance of the first half came just before the whistle, as Monkman spotted an opportunity in the box but didn’t have the support to help her get round her mark.

Dulwich returned with new ideas; Sarah Walters’ clever defending shut down a Millwall attack, and a lightning wing run from Harbour-Brown sent the ball into the box only to be defused by Millwall’s defence. Manzi spanked a shot over the heads of the defenders which Monkman raced to finish, but Wiggins was there first. Millwall looked for a route down the wing but Walters and Chana Hinds denied them, while Harbour-Brown scouted more chances. But what Dulwich brought in hope, Millwall matched in confidence. In the 59th minute, Chloe Burr zipped into the box and buried a goal - Hinds fought to block her but couldn’t close it down. Millwall were on a roll, and made it 3-0 two minutes later - Burr again with a torpedo from outside the box.

Dulwich, who never go quietly, fought to rebalance the situation. A great tackle from Manzi gave the newly subbed-in Sas Philp a chance - she kept it in play, and Manzi booted a shot straight at goal - a beaut, but disallowed by a linesman with an offside flag and no sense of fun. Undeterred, Manzi tried to create some surprise with a neat sideways kick to outfox her mark.

Dulwich’s second half was full of smart little flourishes like that - Monkman’s wasp-like ability to zoom in and attack from nowhere, Manzi’s all-round excellence on the ball - but collectively the team seemed to suffer from shortsightedness with how to weaponise that skill. The connections weren’t there, the passing wasn’t thoughtful enough. It felt reactive when they most urgently needed to plan and build an attack.

In the final fifteen, Harbour-Brown - with seemingly endless energy - kept the pressure up, partnering with Zoe Elmore to create in midfield and change the outcome, but Millwall were everywhere they turned, hoovering up every possibility. Walters and Gall saw Millwall trying for a fourth and saw them off, communicating well with Kovacs. Weirdly, Millwall - who should have been enjoying themselves - showed some temper, as Maisie Joyce shoved Elmore to the ground. A furious Champion Hill crowd roared “off! off!”, and Millwall took Joyce and her yellow card off the field immediately.

Millwall were still after a fourth goal, but Harbour-Brown whipped round and headed them off at the pass. Gall fired a free kick to Manzi, which Millwall scooped up, but Hinds got forward and kept it in play. Monki had a chance to finish it but Millwall’s keeper dived and covered it, determined to keep her sheet clean. More temper from Millwall went unchecked this time, Milly Penfold fully shoving Harbour-Brown to the floor, to the ref’s indifference, though he penalised Philp for a tackle seconds later, handing Millwall a free kick that came to nothing. The six minutes of added time felt like twelve, with Dulwich looking outrun. There were still chances for them, including a beautiful shot from Philp, which looked on target but clipped wide of the post, but Millwall had the game wrapped up.

Dulwich have some figuring out to do. As ever, there’s a wealth of talent and tenacity, as they showed in flamboyant recent wins over London Seaward and Denham United, but they need to improve their communication and transition, and position better to support the chances they create. Too many times, one or another player seemed to be out front on their own, against a solid team who took every chance they got, with a brick wall of a keeper giving them the foundation for a hard-to-beat approach.

Attendance: 472

Dulwich Hamlet FCW:
1 Klaudia Kovacs; 3 Rhea Gall; 4 Chana Hinds; 6 Sarah Walters; 9 Sophie Manzi; 10 Anna Jowle; 14 Lucy Monkman; 15 Hannah Baptiste; 17 Anna Stones; 18 Asia Harbour-Brown; 20 Minnie Crutwell;

Subs:
7 Sas Philp; 11 Zoe Elmore; 21 Jazmine Lacrette; 22 Joanna Gibson

Millwall Lionesses:
1 Chrissie Wiggins; 2 Millie Connell; 3 Elizabeth O’Callaghan; 5 Jordan Butler; 6 Amy Nash; 8 Libby Stubbs; 11 Lucy Bolitho; 12 Chloe Burr; 16 Milly Penfold; 17 Maisie Joyce; 19 Molly Hawkins;

Subs:
9 Ellie Hinkley; 10 Lottie Ivison; 13 Serena Hand; 15 Aiofe Saunders; 20 Kaydence Kabadaki

Referee:
Gary Strangwood

Assistant refs:
Mark Casswell
Grisha Zeigermaher

Photo:[ Liam Asman