Hamlet head to Braintree in the hope of putting previous pain behind them.

Gavin Rose’s men return to action after a week out to face yet another struggling Essex based club in the Vanarama National League South. This time out for Dulwich it’s a trip to The Cressing Road Stadium to take on Ryan Maxwell’s Braintree. The Hamlet won’t be hoping for a repeat of their most recent result, however, as they look to rectify the 2-1 home defeat suffered at the hands of Billericay.

Anderson Pinto and Kweku Lucan were both beneficiaries from some tentative Dulwich defending on the day, as the bottom placed Blues went into the break two goals to the good. Darren McQueen did manage to pull one back in front of a record attendance, however on what was an emotional day for many inside Champion Hill, it would be a shock victory for the visitors.

Despite defeat, Dulwich sit second in the form table with ten points from their previous five fixtures, and only current runaway leaders and other Hamlet conquerors, Dartford, sit above them. By contrast, Braintree are at the other end of the spectrum, with The Iron winless since the second game of the season. A Luke Holness Hattrick was enough for a comfortable sole three points of the campaign at fellow strugglers Hemel Hempstead to follow on from an opening day draw to Oxford City. Back-to-back stalemates with Dorking and Billericay complete their current six-point haul, however Braintree haven’t managed to add to it after six consecutive defeats have put a resounding halt to what appeared to be a pretty solid start to the campaign.

Last year’s abandoned season meant the two teams didn’t face off against one another, yet the year prior did manage to see both side’s travel to each other before the campaign’s eventual curtailment. On both occasion’s it was the hosts who came out on top. Braintree overturned a Danny Mills opener for The Hamlet thanks to goals from Ade Cole and Alfie Cerulli. But Dulwich got their revenge back at Champion Hill in a 6-0 rout. Quade Taylor, Danny Mills, and a brace from both Shamir Mullings and Jeffrey Monakana completed a mauling in Southeast London.

Prior to the most recent 2-1 league defeat, the only other time Dulwich have made the trip to Braintree was to face off in the Fourth Round of The FA Trophy. A goalless draw at The Cressing Road Stadium meant a replay was required. Dulwich proceeded to run away with a healthy 5-2 victory in a match which saw Braintree go down to 10. This ensured The Hamlet passage through to the Quarter Final stage where they narrowly lost out to that year’s finalists, Macclesfield Town, in a replay.