DULWICH HAMLET 3 HUNGERFORD TOWN 1 Vanarama National League South SUNDAY 12 September 2021

Hamlet belatedly saw off a combative Hungerford Town team with two late goals in an action-packed game. This was a match the hosts could easily have won by a more convincing scoreline, having surrendered an early lead before wasting a pair of second half penalty kicks.

It took Hamlet less than ten minutes to take the lead when AJ Harris-Sealy played a quick pass into the box for Darren McQueen, tightly marked with his back to goal, and the diminutive forward spun sharply to fire a right footed shot low inside the keeper’s left-hand post. The Crusaders, as Hungerford are nicknamed, were not shy about breaking up the play with tactical fouls but it was Hamlet captain for the day Michael Timlin who collected the game’s first yellow card for tripping an opponent in the 27th minute. Hamlet came within a whisker of doubling their lead just before the half hour mark when a foul on Harris-Sealy, beyond the left corner of the penalty box, allowed Gio McGregor a shooting chance but his free kick rebounded from the foot of the far post. Just four minutes later the visitors levelled the scores when a long throw into the Hamlet penalty area reached veteran defender Keith Emmerson, who had the time and space to control the ball before shooting into the net. Only three more minutes had elapsed when Hamlet rattled the goalframe a second time. On this occasion it was Harris-Sealy who stepped up, but his stunning strike was fractionally too high. Hungerford stretched the Hamlet defence on a rare counterattack in the 39th minute as Nana Kyei aimed a dangerous dipping cross into the goal area from the right wing but Charlie Grainger was alert to get down and smother it safely. The final action of the first half saw Hamlet go close again as Jordan Green made an electrifying run into the right side of the Hungerford box, offloading the ball to Harris-Sealy a split second before getting flattened by a desperate challenge, but the latter could only shoot wide of the near post.

The Crusaders began the second half as they meant to go on, captain James Rusby receiving a yellow card within a minute of the resumption for unceremoniously felling McQueen. By now Hungerford were largely restricted to hopeful shots from outside the penalty box. The Hamlet defence made light of the absence of injured skipper Jack Holland, while newly recruited defensive reinforcements Jaydn Mundle-Smith and Miquel Scarlett both remained unused on the substitutes' bench.

Having scored in the tenth minute of the first half, Hamlet were close to repeating the feat in the second, as great interplay on the left between McQueen and Harris-Sealy led to the latter picking out Danny Mills in the centre with a well flighted cross, but the tall striker’s header was blocked in the goalmouth. Within a minute Hamlet again threatened to open up the Crusaders’ defence down the left wing. This time full back Andre Blackman joined the attack with a lovely through pass to release McQueen, but his fierce shot hit the side netting just wide of the near post. Referee Ben Atkinson might have been less ready than many of his colleagues to show his yellow card, but he demonstrated no such reservations in awarding penalties. In the 64th minute Emmerson and Mills tangled inside the box, falling together, and Mr Atkinson pointed to the spot. McQueen stepped up to the mark but chipped his shot over the target, much to the dismay of an expectant home crowd. Just seven minutes later Mills was again the focal point of a penalty box infringement, held back by Rusby as he stretched to meet a far post cross from the right. This time it was McGregor who stepped forward for the opportunity to restore Hamlet’s lead, but his firm shot was far too close to keeper Luke Cairney who held the ball safely low to his right. Many of a Hamlet persuasion felt the wheels falling off at this point, thinking it inevitable that the hosts would be fully punished for their profligacy by another goal at the wrong end. Thankfully the men on the pitch wearing pink and blue were made of stronger stuff. With eleven minutes to go the protagonists' roles in the second penalty drama were reversed. This time Cairney slipped up, failing to hold onto a shot from Harris-Sealy, allowing McGregor to pounce on the slip to atone for his earlier failure and whip the ball into the net from six yards out. Five minutes later McGregor was the architect of a third Hamlet goal, launching a long high free kick to the far post from the right-hand touchline, and Mills swooped like a falcon snatching its prey to power an unstoppable header wide of an exposed Cairney and into the net. A third Hamlet penalty looked imminent when substitute Deon Moore raced into the box from the right wing and went down under a challenge as he was poised to cross from the byline, but on this occasion Mr Atkinson deemed the incident simulation and brandished his sparingly used yellow card instead. Hungerford’s desire to keep battling to the end was confined largely to some further abrasive challenges, one of which saw Matt Partridge dismissed for felling an opponent near the touchline on the halfway line during stoppage time.

Hamlet were ultimately rewarded for manager Gavin Rose’s adventurous selection of the quicksilver trio of Green, McQueen and Harris-Sealy, a combination that gave the visiting defence a tough time with their fast footwork, in support of target man Mills as well as giving the largest Hamlet crowd of the season plenty of thrilling moments. This win lifts Hamlet to seventh position in the embryonic league table with a game in hand on most other clubs. The next league fixture will be away to Chelmsford City on Saturday week, following the FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round tie at home to Bedfont Sports this coming Saturday.

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Hamlet Team (4-2-3-1): Grainger - Barnum-Bobb, Taylor, Sterling, Blackman - McGregor, Timlin (c) - Green, McQueen, Harris-Sealy - Mills. Substitutes: Moore (for Green 66), Dayton (for Harris-Sealy 85), Kandi (for McQueen 88), Mundle-Smith, Scarlett (not used).

Attendance: 2,011

Report by Richard Watts