The latest from Chairman Ben Clasper, from the programme of our Home game against Aylesford FC on Sunday, February 13th.

Unbelievably, considering it is only the middle of February, today is our final home league game of the season. I’m not sure what sort of fixture computer comes up with a run of six away games for a club at the end of the season but that is what is facing us after our cup game at home next weekend.

I’d like to thank you all for the incredible support throughout the season in which we have seen average attendances at the women’s games on Sundays more than double in numbers when compared with our pre-pandemic averages. The atmosphere at Champion Hill has been terrific on match days and it has been particularly encouraging seeing the increase in younger fans who have clearly taken the players to their hearts as bringing more people from the community into football is one of our key aims at Dulwich Hamlet.

The whole match day experience is something that is regularly commented on and the feedback we had from the Dartford players last week about our set up was hugely appreciated, Champion Hill has become a beacon for what can be achieved and the best part is that so much of it has evolved naturally from the team, volunteers and fans rather than been forced by the club itself and that’s something we hope will continue. We do have at least one more home game which will be next Sunday as we have been drawn at home in the Capital Senior Cup to Crystal Palace’s Development Squad and who knows, with a victory on the pitch and another home draw we could be back here for more before the season draws to a close.

Our campaign in the League Cup came to an end last week with Dartford repeating the 4-2 score line from our home league game. We somehow found ourselves 3-0 down despite appearing to at least have matched them in terms of possession and chances. Late on we dared to dream as two goals and a goal line clearance almost completed what would have been a memorable comeback but the finale was a tale of two free kicks, their long range effort looped perfectly into the net whereas their keeper pulled off the save of the game from our own attempt.

It's been a similar story really all season, our performances have often deserved better results and we have regularly faced opposition I can only describe as clinical and have taken their chances rather than dominated games. It is only one person’s opinion but the standard in the league to me seems stronger than prior seasons which I figure is a good thing for the game overall even though it will deny us a third year in a row finishing top of the table. Hopefully we can finish strongly as we go on our away day tour with five games all inside the M25 (including our two South East London derbies) before finishing off in Kent against Aylesford.

I am also pleased to report a positive conclusion to the incident last month in which opposition fans at one of the women’s games stickered the stadium with anti-refugee and pro-Nazi messaging. After providing the club with the CCTV footage the fan that was identified has been banned from all men’s and women’s Millwall games. I was incredibly impressed by the way that Millwall managed the situation throughout and the result is hugely encouraging as it demonstrates the value of focusing on the incident and avoiding the lazy attitudes we see in the media when outrage is directed at clubs rather than individuals. It is far easier for clubs to act decisively and objectively when they are allowed the time to do so and it will also make it easier to separate the clubs who act and will be part of the solution from those who don’t and need more help from the authorities in explaining the importance of their role in their communities.

Thanks again for your support, after two seasons halted prematurely by the pandemic it is a positive step forward to actually complete a full league campaign at home and so our job now is to build on this foundation both on and off the pitch. We are also starting to plan our events around the Women’s Euros which will coincide with our pre-season matches in the summer so we’ll provide updates on those as dates are finalised.

Enjoy the game today.