A three goal first half blitzkrieg from the K’s meant there would be no return later to contest the final of the Geoff Harvey Memorial Vase.

The inclement weather curtailed Dulwich Hamlet’s weekend away on the Costa de Tolworth whilst a three goal first half blitzkrieg from the K’s meant there would be no return later to contest the final of the Geoff Harvey Memorial Vase. So no meeting with arch rivals Tooting and Mitcham who suffered defeat at the hands of the hosts in the brunch time curtain raiser. Instead, Kingstonian and the Casuals would clash a fortnight later to decide the destination of the silverware.

Though boasting a number of old and new faces, some still familiar from past Pink and Blue incarnations, some less so, the defence that had been the bedrock of Dulwich’s past campaigns remained intact. Yet infuriatingly the Hamlet were second best over the course of the ninety minutes, though in the eyes of most observers not by the massive margin that the final score line might suggest.

All K’s goals came in a frustrating first half. Opened up too easily Dulwich allowed Andre McCollin to fire home after just 16 minutes as the former Hamlet striker finished off a neat manoeuvre with a clinical finish. Eleven minutes later another of the K’s old guard, Matt Pattison, doubled the lead as he curled home a pearler of a free kick, finding the top corner of the net with Phil Wilson powerless. Six minutes before the break, Dulwich were dumped deeper in trouble as Wilson sliced a hurried drop kick straight to the waiting Pattison who played his gambit with a first time return volley back into the yawning goal.

Dulwich might have sneaked their way back into contention in the closing stages of that half as neophyte Erhan Otzumer, a pocket-sized midfielder, squirmed his way into the box only to be hooked back from behind as he was poised to shoot. Yet no penalty was forthcoming.
The second half brought the regular raft of replacements as both managers ran the gamut of their options. One that was not tactical may yet haunt the Hamlet in the months to come as Gerry Gonnella wretchedly hobbled off with another leg injury.

Teams:
KFC: Rob Tolfrey, Aaron Goode, Dominic Sterling, Keiran Murphy, Tom Hutchinson, Karl Murray, Matt Pattison, Saheed Sankoh, Craig Mullen, Andre McCollin, Dean Lodge
Substitutes used: Charles Ofusu-Hene, Louis Bragg, Allan Tait, Wade Small, Sam Clayton, Goma Lambu, Matt Somner

Hamlet: Phil Wilson, Kalvin Morath-Gibbs, Dean Carpenter, Peter Adeniyi, Lewis Goncalves, Ethan Pinnock, Ellis Green, Gerry Gonnella, Baffour Kodua, Dominic Weston, Erhan Otzumer
Subs: Taylor Thomas, Nick Goncalves, Vernon Francis, Eku Deen, Xavier Vidal, Ahmed Deen, Joshua Turner.

Attendance: 162