Dulwich Hamlet vs Bedfont Sports FA Cup Second Round Qualifying, Saturday 18th September 2021

Dulwich Hamlet enter the 2021/22 FA Cup this weekend where they will host Isthmian
League South Central Division side, Bedfont Sports, in the Second Round Qualifying at
Champion Hill.

After what eventually turned out to be a super Sunday at Champion Hill Gavin Rose and his
troops must now navigate their attention away from the bread and butter that is the
Vanarama National League South as they play their first match in this year’s instalment of
football’s oldest club competition- The FA Cup.

Sunday’s action-packed fixture against Hungerford Town saw the woodwork struck twice as
well as two missed penalties, and it was looking like double trouble for Dulwich. That was
until a poacher’s goal from Gio McGregor and a trademark header from Danny Mills helped
The Hamlet on their way to a 3-1 victory and leave them just inside the playoff positions on
8 points heading into this FA Cup weekend.

Bedfont Sports lie one place outside the playoffs in their respected division after four
matches played. The Eagles most recent outing brought their first defeat of the season,
when the Greater London outfit suffered a narrow 2-1 loss at Bracknell Town via a Seb
Bowerman brace. Bedfont Sports had to overcome a replay in the First Round Qualifying
against lower league opponents, Spelthorne Sports, to reach this stage after the pair played
an initial 1-1 draw. Bedfont would conqueror the Combined Counties League Premier
Division South side on their own home turf in the replay to set up this weekend’s tie.
With Saturday’s visitors only being established in 2002 this signifies the club’s best
performance in the competition to date, with the prior record being the Preliminary Round
on four separate occasions. Not only will it be uncharted territory in competition terms for
The Eagles, but it will also be a first visit to Champion Hill in what marks an inaugural fixture
against Dulwich for Paul Johnson’s men.

The Hamlet will look to the magical run to the First-Round Proper back in November 2019
for inspiration, when the BBC cameras came to Champion Hill to broadcast to a global
audience the tie against Carlisle United. Rose’s men will hope to emulate that sort of fairy
tale story rather than last season’s underwhelming performance when they crashed out at
Eastbourne Borough in the Fourth Round Qualifying

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Preview by Owen Leworthy