Match Preview vs Billericay Town (A)

It's familiar opposition for the Hamlet tomorrow as they end October with a trip to Essex

Last season’s Isthmian Premier Division top two meet at The AGP Arena tomorrow as Dulwich Hamlet travel to Billericay Town.

It has been an emotional week for everyone concerned with Dulwich Hamlet Football Club after the news came through on Tuesday that they could return to Champion Hill after a seven month exile. Work to return the ground to its former glory has already begun, and we all have our fingers crossed that we can return in time for the game with Torquay United scheduled for December 1st, their FA Cup commitments pending.

On the pitch The Hamlet’s four game unbeaten streak in the National League South came to an end in frustrating and controversial circumstances at Dartford last Saturday, with referee Ryan Atkin missing a clear handball in the buildup to the Darts’ opening goal, before awarding a penalty to the home side despite what looked like a blatant dive from Jamie Philpot, with Charlie Sheringham dispatching the spotkick for the winning goal. Dipo Akinyemi had fired The Hamlet into an early lead with his eighth goal of the season. They currently sit in 16th position with 17 points from 13 games.

Top-of-the-table Billericay earned a First Round spot in the FA Cup for successive seasons on Wednesday night, with Sam Deering scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win against seventh tier Taunton Town in a replay. They will now travel to Chesterfield on November 10th, and come into this game in excellent form, as they are unbeaten in their last eight games in all competitions, and have ten points from their last four league games. Just as he did in the Isthmian League last season, striker Jake Robinson leads the scoring charts in the league, with 12 goals already notched up.

Amongst the ranks of the away side are two former Hamlet skippers in Danny Waldren and Rickie Hayles, the latter joining in the summer after captaining the side in the playoff final against Hendon in May. Dean Brennan has also brought in four new players within the past couple of weeks, with striker Ross Lafayette arriving from Sutton United, as well as defenders Joe Coveney, Ethan Stewart and Calaum Jahraldo-Martin. The latter was part of the Dulwich side which was crowned Isthmian League Division One South champions in 2013.

In the first game since being told they can return to Champion Hill, The Hamlet will have fond memories of their last game at The AGP Arena, which fell on the day where they were locked out of their home. On an emotional night, debutant goalkeeper Corey Addai produced an outstanding performance to repel attack after attack, whilst the returning Dipo Akinyemi netted twice in a 3-1 win which many fans will agree was one of the best results of the season. Indeed Dulwich have won on the last two trips to the ground. Overall, The Blues have the better head-to-head record, winning 15 of the previous 29 meetings to Dulwich’s 10, and have 8 wins from 15 at home, with Dulwich winning 5 times there.

Kick off is at 3pm at The AGP Arena with admission at £13 adults, £9 concessions, £3 for U18s and £1 for U11s. There will as always be live commentary of the game from 2:50pm on mixlr.com/dulwichhamletradio as well as highlights on the club's YouTube channel on Monday.

Tom Bale