An even contest turned on the sending off of Concord’s Joe Halsey, with Romain’s first goal for the club setting Hamlet on their way to three points

Dulwich picked up their second league win of the season, beating rock bottom Concord Rangers, with a first goal of the season for Elliot Romain setting the Hamlet on the road to victory.

A goalless game turned on the sending off of Concord’s Joe Halsey in the 40th minute, with the right-back dismissed for two bookable offences within eight minutes. He picked up his first in the 32nd minute, for kicking the ball away, and his second for a foul on the edge of the box on Luke Wanadio.

At half-time Hakan Hayrettin went on the offensive. He made an attacking substitution, bringing on Romain for Finlay Lovatt. The gamble took just five minutes to pay dividends. From a long Jack Ruddy clearance, Adrian Clifton outmuscled his marker to flick the ball on, Adam Dougui, who was making his first league start for the Hamlet, found Romain and the ex- Ebbsfleet forward took a touch, before firing low into the bottom left hand corner of the net from the edge of the box.

Whilst the goal calmed the Hamlet nerves, the 2,588 who were watching on in the South London September sunshine, were not watching a one way contest. From a Khale Da Costa cross Tashae Anderson just couldn’t grow enough to stick it away. And from a Ricky Modeste cross Harrison Day finished smartly, but he was well offside. It was actually the third correctly disallowed goal of the game, with box sides having found the net in the first half, only for the assistant-referee to raise his flag.

For Dulwich, Craig Braham-Barrett, who had come on for Dougui, was linking up well with Jerome Binnom-Williams and he almost made it 2-0 in the 66th minute. Dulwich didn’t have to wait long to double their lead though. In the 70th minute, the Hamlet won a free-kick near the halfway line on the left hand side. Binnom-Williams took it, hitting it diagonally towards the box. Michael Chambers rose highest and he headed it across goal and into the bottom left hand corner of the net.

That goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of The Beach Boys, who are yet to score away from home this season. Only some heroics in from the Beach Boy’s keeper stopped Dulwich from adding a third, with Mason Terry making a string of fine saves to deny Scott, Braham-Barrett and Wanadio. The best of the lot though was an acrobatic diving save to keep out a Binnom-Williams piledriver, which was destined for the net.

Dulwich’s first clean sheet of the season, and first league win since the middle of August lifts them up to 16th in the table, while Concord, who remain goalless away from home this season, stay rooted to the foot of the table with a 100% record that no team wants.

Dulwich Hamlet Line-Up: 1 Jack Ruddy, 2 Dwight Pascal, 4 Sean Bonnett-Johnson, 5 Michael Chambers, 7 Luke Wanadio, 8 Ryley Scott 10 Adam Dougui (3 Craig Braham-Barrett 62’) 11 Finlay Lovatt (19 Elliot Romain 46’), 12 Marvel Ekpiteta 14 Adrian Clifton (9 Danny Mills 71’) 18 Jerome Binnom-Williams (c)

Unused Substitutes: 6 Jerry Gyebi, 16 Ade Shokunbi

Goalscorers: Romain 50', Chambers 70’

Yellow Cards: Ryley Scott 58’, Sean Bonnett-Johnson 60’, Jerome Binnom-Williams 76’

Concord Rangers Line-Up: 1 Mason Terry, 2 Joe Halsey, 3 Max Hudson, 4 Ben Steward, 5 Joe Burton, 6 Teddy Perkins, 7 Ricky Modeste © (12 Joseph Chidyausiku 81’), 8 Montrell Deslandes (14 Jacob Bland 35’), 9 Tashae Anderson (16 Harrison Day 62’), 10 Eren Kinali, 11 Khale Da Costa

Unused Substitutes:, 13 Tommy Woodcock, 15 Matas Skarna,

Red Cards: Halsey 40’ (second yellow card)

Yellow Cards: Halsey 32’