We are through to the next round of the Women's FA Cup!

Match report by Gen Williams

Sunday 6th September 2020
FA Cup Preliminary Round

After the weirdest of summers, with the fate of football as we know it hanging in the balance, the Hamlet women returned to the pitch on Sunday for their first home match of the season, and set out their stall with a thumping 6-1 win over Margate. It was notably our first women’s match with three female match officials.

Returning fans to the stands remains a “Maybe? Possibly? Not yet!” scenario, and Sunday’s match, like August’s demanding gauntlet of pre-season fixtures, was played behind closed doors. Undeterred, our girls brought an organised line-up to this FA Cup preliminary with Margate, and a trio of new signings added some extra spice to the squad. Striker Sophie Manzi started her Dulwich tenure at full throttle, with four pre-season goals, an auspicious start indeed, while defenders Sarah Walters and Alex Newman bring international level experience to Dulwich.

Though last season ended abruptly, the team set a high bar in their debut months at Champion Hill, dominating for much of the season and finishing top of the table, so all eyes are on them for the year ahead. Margate sit two tiers below them in Division 1 East of the South East Counties Women’s Football League. However this ambitious team finished second in their table last season, and have slain opponents in the higher leagues before, so this draw left no room for complacency.

That point was proved soundly in the opening minute, as Kara Richardson disarmed Hamlet keeper Kate Aldridge to snatch the first goal. Dulwich regained their balance, equalising in the 4th minute with a tasty goal from Manzi. Within the first twenty minutes, Dulwich had settled into a rhythm, and though Margate tried to sneak through the wings, Ali Rowe guarded the flanks with airtight precision.

Dulwich accelerated toward half-time - it was clear that Margate were tiring, and clinging on for the break. The intermission came too late to save them; after a flurry of attempts, Liz Wicks put a ball past keeper Lauren Watson in the 44th minute.

For Margate, the second half was an exercise in damage limitation. The quickfire onslaught before half-time spaced out into a fullscale demolition. Dulwich piled on the pressure from the front - Rosie Stone delighted in harassing Margate’s back line, and a keeper fumble handed Manzi her second goal of the game at the 61st minute.

Both sides lost focus for a spell, but substitutions freshened both line-ups, with Lucy Monkman and Michaella Williams replacing a hard-working Sarah Milner and Havana McElvaine. An audacious free kick from the wing threatened Dulwich, but Aldridge defused it with a clean save. The Hamlet battering ram found its way home in the last minutes of the game, with a trio of goals that burst through the remains of Margate’s defence.

In the 83rd minute, Saskia Philip nabbed the most stylish goal of the game, a soaring cross that went literally above and beyond to land squarely in the corner of the net. Ella Wales-Bonner joined at the 85th and immediately followed with, surely, the final goal at 88 minutes? But no, Manzi had a closing point to make a minute later, netting a debut Hamlet hat-trick with Monkman providing her third assist of the game.

The 6-1 score could have been higher; Dulwich created many more chances than they seized, and credit must go to Margate’s overworked keeper who juggled what felt like a multi-ball assault at times. Ultimately, though, Margate were outrun by a Hamlet squad with strong chemistry and great expectations. A fine and celebratory start to the season for Dulwich, who meet Hackney in the second round of FA Cup preliminaries on Sunday September 20th.

Next home match: 13th September, vs Aylesford.

Dulwich Hamlet:
5 Roisin Stone; 8 Brittany Saylor (capt); 9 Sophie Manzi; 10 Elizabeth Wicks; 12 Ceylon Hickman; 17 Sarah Milner; 18 Havana McElvaine; 20 Harriet Crofts; 21 Alison Rowe; 22 Joanne Gibson; 23 Kate Aldridge
Subs used: 7 Saskia Philip (for Wicks 60); 3 Michaella Williams (for McElvaine 73); 14 Lucy Monkman (for Milner 79); 16 Ella Wales Bonner (for Stone 83); 2 Alex Newman (for Rowe 87)
Subs not used: None

Margate:
1 Lauren Watson; 2 Lily Kemp; 3 Lucy Paris; 4 Rebecca Slevin (capt); 5 Nicole Adams; 10 Kara Richardson; 11 Shannon King; 14 Kerry Grant; 15 Jessica Laker; 16 Wiktoria Bukowska; 17 Emerald Scannell;
Subs used: 18 Annabelle Ashby (for King 19); 9 Ashleigh Brookes (for Laker 70);
Subs not used: 8 Robyn Smitherman

Referee: Beth Archer
Assistant referees: Jawahir Roble, Reanna Rhodes

Photo: Liam Asman