Sunday 7th November 2021

Spirits were high at Champion Hill after Wednesday night’s rollocking 9-0 win over London Seaward, but Fulham presented a tougher challenge. The visitors have only been beaten once this season, and occupy second place in the table, while Dulwich’s fortunes have been a little bumpier lately. Several key Dulwich players are out of action; there’s no shortage of skill in the active roster, with some bright young talent shining this season, but perhaps their collective chemistry needs work. The team that stepped out to meet Fulham were a far more cohesive unit, paying attention to defence and trying to create chances, but the secret sauce was missing, and allowed Fulham to walk away with a frustrating victory.

With captain Brit Saylor out injured, striker Sophie Manzi took the armband. The opening minutes were all about the midfield, with Anna Jowle making her mark in her home debut, challenging her way through the centre and putting pressure on Fulham’s core. The teams felt evenly matched, both trying to convert corners but meeting defensive walls they couldn’t break past. It was even-stevens in the stands too, with a 2021 record crowd of 473 bringing the noise on both sides – Dulwich fans screaming for their favourites (a returning Lucy Monkman got screams of approval from young supporters every time she touched the ball) while Fulham fans brought flags and warlike spirit.

A poised 13th minute save from Fulham’s Edie Kelly warned of the calibre Dulwich were facing – dipping and bouncing the ball tidily off her knee. Undeterred, Dulwich worked to build momentum. Sas Philp charged through midfield to set Monkman up, but Monki found herself without support at the front to carry it through. Monkman’s second try met the same problem – a recurring theme, often finding herself alone and facing three defenders with nobody to distract them.

Fulham’s Ellie Olds had ideas about landing an early blow, beating speedy Chana Hinds into the box, but her aim was wide and her strike soared past the side netting. Monkman and Stone volleyed back and forth to generate something exploitable, but that Fulham backline stunted their hopes. Claiming a foul, Fulham chanced a free kick, with Monkman, Rosie Stone and Hinds in the wall, but it bounced straight off the corner post and over the back.

Fulham tried to break the stalemate, first with a shot from Helen Ogle that Saskia Reeves-Priestley easily closed down, then with a dangerous run from midfield, cleared away by a vigilant Hinds. Ogle regained and tried to finish it, but Reeves-Priestley extinguished her chances with a brilliant save. With the first half fading, the intensity ramped up, culminating in a nasty collision in midfield – Manzi was down with a hard knock to the head, but quickly on her feet again and back in the game. Fulham tried to capitalise on the distraction and sneak one through, and Harriet Crofts saved Dulwich’s bacon, denying the visitors a chance in the box.

One suspects there was a fiery half-time talk in the Fulham dressing room. Though their chances were more focused and dangerous, Dulwich had denied them the chance to convert. The visitors returned with a vengeance, Ogle nabbing the goal she’d been after, and securing a 47th minute lead. Dulwich needed to regroup rapidly, but Fulham had found their fighting feet. Reeves-Priestley delivered a stonking save at 55 minutes, yet moments later the ball was at the feet of Annie Thomas who seized the moment and doubled Fulham’s lead. We longed to see this kind of opportunism from Dulwich, to beat Kelly with the element of surprise in the box if they couldn’t find a more deliberate route round their backline.

Looking to cauterise the wound, Dulwich subbed off Jowle and Philp as soon as they picked up yellow cards, and doubled down on defence. A fine intercept in the box from Sarah Walters stopped Fulham claiming their third, and Crofts and Asia headed off another attempt. They stabilised the game, but could they find the equalisers?

Two huge attempts in the 70s confirmed the fire still in the Hamlet bellies, but Fulham looked more certain of their fortunes, enjoying their lead and batting away the hosts’ attack. As the crowd screamed, a beautiful slice of action from Dulwich carried the ball up the field to Monkman, who barrelled it to Manzi – but she couldn’t drive it home. Fulham kept trying to drive another nail in, but with never-say-die flair, Hinds and Reeves-Priestley denied them any more satisfaction. A killer save from Reeves-Priestley at the 91st, and a skied follow-up from Fulham offered the game’s final dramatic flourishes.

It was a hard result for Dulwich, who defended well throughout but came unstuck in the face of Fulham’s post-break turbo mode and couldn’t match their attack. Fulham are formidable, and Dulwich didn’t make their job easy, but the Hamlet have some of their own figuring out to do, to rediscover their mojo and find their way back up the table where they belong. Their tenacity did serious damage control – and the faith of the 473-strong crowd also deserves a word. An audience of that size, at this level in the women’s game (and indeed in much of the men’s game) tells us something life-affirming about the growth of women’s football in the UK, and the pull of Champion Hill for football fans of all allegiances. Though the score was disappointing, that is not – and it’s something to treat as a foundation as Dulwich regroup and relight their spark.

Dulwich play Whyteleafe away on 14 November, and London Seaward at home on 21 November.

Attendance: 473

Dulwich Hamlet FCW:

1 Saskia Reeves-Priestley; 4 Chana Hinds; 5 Rosie Stone; 6 Sarah Walters; 7 Sas Philp; 9 Sophie Manzi (capt); 10 Anna Jowle; 14 Lucy Monkman; 18 Asia Harbour-Brown; 20 Harriet Crofts; 22 Jo Gibson

Subs:
15 Hannah Baptiste; 19 Jordan Williamson; 21 Jazmine Lacrette

Fulham FCW:

1 Edie Kelly; 3 Tessa Allen; 5 Mary Southgate; 7 Helen Ogle; 8 Becky Stormer; 9 Gemma Taylor; 10 Lilly Lambird;14 Tia Foreman; 20 Kate Foster; 21 Oana Negrea; 23 Ellie Olds

Subs:
2 Emily Bird; 11 Annie Thomas; 13 Emma Marlow; 15 Sophie Modak; 27 Megalie Mendes

Referee: Mick Stevens
Photo: Liam Asman