4th October 2020
Culver Road Stadium
FA Cup First Round Qualifying

To the south coast, amid the ominous swell of Storm Alex, to watch the Hamlet women face down Lancing LFC in the WFA Cup First Round Qualifying. What could go wrong?

Just two weeks ago, South London’s finest were playing on scorched grass under a blazing sun. How quickly things change. Winter is coming, and we could swear we saw an army of White Walkers gathering on the ridges of the South Downs, looming darkly on the horizon behind Lancing’s neatly maintained stadium.

Down on terra firma, Dulwich had two opponents: Lancing LFC and the weather gods. In recent matches, Dulwich Hamlet have consistently had the upper hand in fitness, with a determined, daring frontline to bombard their rivals with shots on goal, and a close-knit midfield and defence outfoxing enemy strikers. Yesterday those advantages exited stage left. Their stamina pushed them through a gruelling first half that might have defeated lesser teams, but they had to be content with treading water rather than taking flight. With horizontal rain and a circular wind whirling off the Downs, Dulwich couldn’t take the well-placed shots that have put high numbers on the scoreboard elsewhere. Lancing, familiar at least with the challenging geography, focused their energy on defence – on balance, probably the best available strategy for them yesterday.

From the start, Dulwich kept the ball in and around the box, but with low visibility and a knot of defenders intent on keeping them at bay, their chances in the first half came to nothing. Saskia Philp saw an opportunity in the 17th minute, but Lancing keeper Molly Towers was ready for her; a follow-up shot was ruled offside. Lucy Monkman and the hardworking Ali Rowe partnered constantly down the left flank, but found their chances thwarted at the edge of the box.

Dulwich were vigilant at the back, Michaella Williams closing down a rare attempt from Lancing, and keeper Klaudia Kovacs seeing off all threats. Though organised in defence, the hosts seemed to lack a frontline. Striker Heidi Tucker was dangerous out front, but found herself unsupported when she reached out toward the Dulwich net. As half-time approached, there was a sense that both teams needed to rethink their approach.

Two subs changed Dulwich’s fortunes. Harriet Crofts joined at the back, shoring up Dulwich’s defences to give them a springboard, and Ella Wales Bonner added some magic in the front midfield. Monkman had a likely moment in front of the box, but an alert Lancing defender diverted it smartly away. Wales Bonner and Philp coordinated a fresh attack, which didn’t bear fruit but energised Dulwich. Lancing formed a familiar defensive circle around the bulk of the box, making it hard for the Hamlet to get anything through the centre; but, supplied by a cross from Philp, Wales Bonner shot a poison dart straight into the back of the net to make it 1-0 at the 62nd minute.

With the stalemate broken, Lancing were stuck doing damage control, as Dulwich kept most of the play in front of the goal for the rest of the second half. Lancing had one dangerous foray into Dulwich’s end but a canny header from Ceylon Hickman saw them off. Their defence deserves credit for holding back the tide – in other circumstances, one might have expected Dulwich to claim another two goals at least. Heidi Tucker took one last desperate stab at scoring in the 89th minute, but luck – and the Hamlet back line – were against her. One final bit of drama – at the 90th minute, the referee pulled a deeply pedantic yellow card on Monkman for timewasting – a decision that drew loud derision even from the Lancing fans.

The final whistle blew, and grey skies settled on Lancing’s FA Cup dreams as Dulwich took the win. No room today for beautiful football, but Dulwich’s dogged mentality and team psychology carried them through to the next FA Cup Qualifying Round against Leyton Orient, to be played on 18th October.

Dulwich Hamlet:
1 Klaudia Kovacs; 3 Michaella Williams; 5 Rosie Stone (capt); 6 Sarah Walters; 7 Saskia Philp; 12 Ceylon Hickman; 13 Jess Hand; 14 Lucy Monkman; 17 Sarah Milner; 21 Ali Rowe; 22 Jo Gibson
Subs: Brittany Saylor; Harriet Crofts; Ella Wales Bonner

Lancing LFC:
1 Molly Towers; 2 Jessica Pike; 3 Amy Longhurst; 4 Lauren Westwood; 5 Charlotte Royston (capt); 6 Poppy Bishop; 7 Heidi Tucker; 8 Ellie Wells; 10 Ella Turvil; 11 Shantelle Gray; 13 Kayleigh Thaxter
Subs: Ivana Risteska; Amy Davey; Megan Carey; Amber Hazelwood; Billie Jo Cobb; Kirsty Jenman

Referees: Joseph Johnson; Karen Dare; Ethan Gamon

Photo: Liam Asman