Sunday 3 October 2021

With five minutes left on the clock, Dulwich Hamlet looked certain to qualify for the next round of the Vitality Women's FA Cup. Sophie Manzi's goal had given Dulwich a late lead against Herne Bay and raucous celebrations followed from the 283-strong crowd, who all assumed that would be it. Football however can be a cruel game, and Gemma Shepherd's late equaliser took the game to penalties which Hamlet would go on to lose 3-2.

Credit must go to Herne Bay, whose pre-match preparations were disrupted when their team bus broke down on the M20. With kick off delayed, the Hamlet players were left to warm up on the pitch with no opposition in sight. Once the game got going, it was Dulwich who started brightest, with Saskia Philp heading just over after a nice delivery from Zoe Elmore.

Sophie Manzi is a striker who just loves scoring, and has 7 goals in 7 Cup appearances for Dulwich. She had the ball in the back of the net in the first half, following a lovely ball from Asia Harbour Brown, but the linesman flagged for offside. For the untrained eye, it certainly looked very tight.

Manager Ryan Dempsey made two changes after the break, bringing on Hannah Baptiste and Rosie Stone for Jo Gibson and Elmore. Baptiste was at the centre of Dulwich's driving play in the second half, and had a decent shot deflected wide in the 66th minute. It was Manzi though who gave Dulwich a late lead, following great work by Lucy Monkman from a short corner, to pick out her teammate in the box.

That lead was sadly short-lived, as Herne Bay countered and Gemma Shepherd made a composed finish to equalise. With the score now 1-1, the game was heading to penalties. Goalkeeper Mia North rose to the occasion, and did well to save Herne Bay's second penalty. However, despite Manzi and Monkman scoring their spot kicks for Dulwich, Herne Bay edged the shootout to win it 3-2.

Dulwich are next in action on Sunday 17th October, when they take on Ashford Town (Middlesex) at Champion Hill.

Attendance: 283

Dulwich Hamlet:
1 Mia North; 2 Madi Parsonson, 4 Chana Hinds, 6 Sarah Walters, 18 Asia Harbour Brown; 7 Sas Philp, 11 Zoe Elmore, 14 Lucy Monkman, 16 Ella Wales-Bonner, 22 Jo Gibson; 9 Sophie Manzi.

Subs:
5 Rosie Stone, 13 Ceylon Hickman, 15 Hannah Baptiste, Jazmine Lacrette.

Herne Bay
Jemma Louise Barton, Katie Cooper, Sarah Cooper, Kate Foster, Sophie Gifford, Erin MacLennan, Alice Phillips, Gemma Shepherd, Lillian Tucker, Jasmin West, Lauren Williams.

Subs:
Harriett Chapman, Rosie Hague, Evie Taylor-Ryall.

Photo: Liam Asman