Last week's news round-up

Not reccessarily the best of reading....but hopefully things will pick up...

Slightly later than usual, we start off the coverage from last week with the report from the ‘Non League Paper’, the day after we lost over in Crayford:

VCD Athletic overcame the flu bug running through their squad to stun league leaders Dulwich and give a surprise boost to their hopes of avoiding the drop.
Burly striker Ricky Sappleton was the hat-trick hero as Vickers won the game in the second half despite the weather conditions favouring high-flying Hamlet.
Chances were few and far between until after half an hour a long ball caused hesitation in the Vickers defence, and was crossed low into the box where Ryan Moss tapped in from two yards.
VCD responded five minutes later when Sappleton drove a free-kick low into the corner to level matters.
And they led after another five minutes, Sappleton twisted his way inside Matt Drage before firing home.
However, right on half-time, Dulwich equalised when Nyren Clunis turned on the edge of the area and sent a superb effort past Vickers keeper Rob Budd.
Using the wind well, Dulwich pressed in the second half but VCD’s centre-back pairing Frantz Tchonang and Joseph Bruce gave good protection.
And on 68 minutes Hamlet keeper Phil Wilson was deceived by Nigel Neita’s high delivery from a corner and dropped the ball at Sappleton’s feet, allowing him to gratefully fire home for his hat-trick.
STAR MAN: Ricky Sappleton (VCD Athletic)
ENTERTAINMENT: **** (out of a possible five stars)

The following Tuesday there was big report on the match in the midweek edition of the ‘South London Press’:

Danny Waldren is demanding nothing less than a win at Lewes after Dulwich Hamlet slipped to a shock 3-2 defeat at relegation-threatened VCD Athletic on Saturday.
Ricky Sappleton’s hat-trick meant Gavin Rose’s side dropped to second in the Ryman League Premier Division after a first league reverse in nine games.
Luckily a defeat for East Thurrock United prevented Hamlet from sinking to third. Hampton & Richmond Borough’s win means they are two points clear with a game in hand.
Dulwich led through Ryan Moss’ tap-in just after the half-hour mark but had only been in front for five minutes when Sappleton struck twice within four minutes - the first from a 30-yard free-kick.
Nyren Clunis thumped in a leveller from distance but instead of regrouping at the break, Dulwich’s performance dropped further and they didn’t test VCD keeper Rob Budd. Sappleton’s volley midway through the half was the killer blow.
Waldren pulled no punches in criticism of his side’s performance.
"Saturday’s performance wasn’t just below par, it was far worse than that," he said. "The conditions were terrible and I believe the wind contributed to a couple of their goals but there are no excuses for the way we defended. We’ll do our best to rally ourselves. We just have to keep our heads and keep going. We’ve played VCD twice this season already. We beat them comfortably in the league and the FA Trophy. Given that, I don’t know whether we got complacent and thought all we had to do was show up to win the game. That won’t be a worry going forward - it won’t happen again. We are all experienced enough to know that no game is easy."
Handily for Dulwich, they have an immediate chance to get back on track when they visit table-proppers Lewes tonight - a game that has had to be rescheduled twice because of postponements.
The Rooks are 13 points adrift of safety with just four wins in the league this season.
"Nothing but three points will do," Waldren said. "They are in a worse position than VCD were but we can’t let our mentality from Saturday repeat itself. That result was massively disappointing. We slipped up but there are still 14 games to go and other teams will have their ups and downs. We have to keep gathering points when our rivals drop them. I told the boys after Saturday that I’m not giving up on them, so neither should they. Everyone in that dressing room should be able to look at the person next to them, trust them and believe in them."
Boss Rose branded Hamlet’s attitude a disgrace and warns that if his players don’t redeem themselves tomorrow then changes could be made.
"They really let themselves down badly," he said. "Our mentality towards our opposition showed a lack of respect, which doesn’t bode well for me. It’s not the mentality we have. The boys went totally against our belief in how we treat our opposition. Their mentality let the club down, the supporters down and the management down. We know you can’t win every game but there is a way of going about things. They are grown men and fully understand my feelings about it. At their age if they can’t be motivated for a club like Dulwich Hamlet then they never will. It’s down to individuals to take responsibility. We will give the players the opportunity to redeem themselves because they didn’t live up to the standards we’ve built at this club. The issue is the manner in which they conducted themselves, which I thought was a disgrace."
Jordan Brown’s return from the bench on Saturday means Rose has a fully fit squad to choose from.

Then came last Thursday’s copy of the weekly local, the ‘Southwark News’. Like the previous report from their rivals, they dwelt on the poor performance:

Dulwich boss Gavin Rose labelled his players an ‘embarrassment’ after the promotion chasers fell to a 3-2 defeat against lowly VCD Athletic on Saturday.
In a blow to Hamlet’s automatic promotion hopes from the Ryman Premier League a Ricky Sappleton hat-trick gave the Dartford side a win that moved them out of the relegation zone.
Goals from Ryan Moss and Nyren Clunis could not salvage a point for the Pink and Blues and Rose was scathing in post match comments about his side.
He told the News: “The boys had a terrible attitude seeming to believe they just had to turn up against VCD and get the points.”
Rose added: “VCD to their credit put in a professional performance and they went about their job in the right way. But our players were an embarrassment to the club. It’s up to the players to work out why they went into the game with that attitude but we have expectations at the club and they have to meet them.”
The Hamlet gaffer stated that with one of the club’s biggest budgets ever the players now have to perform week in and week out in the season run in.
He said: “Bringing people in now can have a disruptive effect and the players at the club have a chance to do the job of getting the club promotion. We don’t want to see another blip like Saturday or we might have to bring in people who can do the job. We also have to remember they are human too and although Saturday was negative we have to remember they have done a lot of positive things this season.”
The defeat left Hamlet in second place in the table, after Saturday’s games, with Hampton & Richmond above them by two points and with a game in hand on the Southwark side.
There was good news coming out of the club this week as Rose confirmed that key defender Ethan Pinnock is making a quicker than expected recovery from his pulled groin injury.
The Hamlet boss stated that he should be back in contention for selection in a fortnights time as he is already back jogging in training.
Hamlet hoped to play their twice postponed league fixture against Lewes last night, a game that finished after the News went to press.

That match was covered in the following day’s weekend copy of the ‘South London Press’, which ran one of their by now customary player features, talking to Damian Scannell:

Anything less than winning the Ryman League Premier Division will be a failure by Dulwich Hamlet in Damian Scannell’s eyes-even if they go up via the play-offs.
The Champion Hill outfit are locked in what is effectively a five-way battle for top spot that will seal promotion to the National League South.
Gavin Rose’s side were flying on an eight-match unbeaten run but were below par as they were brought down to earth by a defeat to struggling VCD Athletic last Saturday.
Rose read the riot act and slammed his side’s attitude towards the opponents.
But their hopes were set back still further on Wednesday when they were beaten 3-1 at bottom club Lewes.
The hosts opened the scoring in the 30th minute through the unmarked Jonteh Smith. Jordan Brown’s backpass was short, allowing Alex Laing to round Phil Wilson , and score. Danny Waldron’s 62nd-minute goal from a Nyren Clunis cross gave them hope at 2-1 but six minutes later, James Hammond over Wilson from 25 yards out.
It was also a missed opportunity, because leaders Hampton & Richmond, who had a game in hand, were held at Leatherhead.
“We are under-achieving,” said Scannell. “We’ve got the players and the support to win the league. We will be disappointed if we don’t go up as champions, even if we were to get there through the play-offs. We have to take what Gavin said on board. He won’t let us forget the VCD game. In training on Monday we worked on things that went wrong. We have to better at this stage in the season and get points on the board, no matter what. I’ve never been involved in a title race this tight for so long-normally teams start to spread out by now. It will become clearer at the end of March-we need to be top or within a couple of points. It might help us being off the top for a bit because it could take a bit of attention away from us and take the pressure off.”
Scannell feels that Dulwich’s reputation as a good footballing side and the huge crowds that are now flocking to Champion Hill makes life more difficult for the SE22 club.
“We are a scalp for teams,” he said. “It can be frustrating because sides seem to double their efforts against us. Teams know we like to get the ball down and play, so try to unsettle us by kicking it longer. We could mix it with them but Gavin wants us to play a certain way and it’s working for us.”
Scannell has professional pedigree after spells with Southend, Brentford (on loan) and Dagenham between 2008 and 2011.
He said: “When football is your job, that work ethic is drilled into you and you don’t lose it. I took my professional attitude into non-league. The training Gavin and Junior Kadi do is as good as at any professional club I’ve been at.”
He signed for Dulwich in the summer from Bromley-but it was a move that had been on the cards for several months already. He even had a brief loan spell at Champion Hill from then-Conference South side Fisher Athletic.
“I spoke to Gavin as early as the previous Christmas,” he said. “I had joined Bromley that summer but I just didn’t get on with their manager and we fell out early on. I ended up going on loan to Sutton. But I had heard good things about Dulwich-the style of play, the training and the squad, and was always interested in coming at some point. I’m really pleased to have finally got here. Danny Waldren moved before I did in the summer and I am good friends with him from Bromley. He is a top guy and a top player-he was another reason I came here. Dulwich is a local club for me and I love it. I’d like to see myself as part of the bigger picture-helping this team get to the next level and at least compete there.”
Scannell lives in Catford but was born in Croydon. His brother Sean-now at Huddersfield Town in the Championship-played 130 league games over five years at Crystal Palace.
“Sean has come to watch me a couple of times this year, even though he is up north now,” Scannell said. “Even though I am five years older than him, I am still grateful for advice from him because he is at such a good level. I have things to offer him too because I am more experienced-things like looking after yourself properly.”
Scannell plies his trade mainly as a number 10, although used to operate the wide areas.
“There is less running now so it’s easier on my legs now I am older,” he said. “ I can control the game more if I drop deeper to help the midfield.”
Farnborough visit Champion Hill tomorrow in the third of four consecutive league fixtures against the four teams in the relegation zone.
Financial demeanours mean the Surrey side (Website note: They are actually from Hampshire) will be relegated at the end of the season regardless of their final position. If they finish in the drop zone, they will be demoted two divisions to the Combined Counties Premier Division.
But the fact every game is a dead rubber for them doesn’t make them any less dangerous according to Scannell. “They have nothing to play for so they may play with more freedom,” he said. “The pressure is off for them.”
Scannell has one eye on life after football, even though he is still planning on staying in the game for a few more years. He recently qualified as a personal trainer and wants to help other footballers at this level.
“I’ve set up my own training space,” he said. “This is my plan for when I retire. I want to give non-league players one-to-one sessions to work on the technical and physical sides of the game. Being a non-league player for such a long time myself, I believe they deserve the opportunity to train at a professional standard too as much as anyone else, to give them a chance to develop.”