Hamlet Reserves exit League Cup after a spirited display in West London

The festive period quickly became a distant memory for the Reserves Team as we focussed on the first game back against Fulham in the League Cup. With a juicy carrot to chase, as the winner would face Dulwich Hamlet First Team - so the potential for a very local derby!

Despite Fulham being a strong contender in the league above, we arrived at Motspur Park ‘up for the cup’ after winning our last 4 games in a row.

Whistle blew. Both teams started strong with Dulwich defending solidly and having a couple of chances on the break.

After a fairly even 20 minutes, Fulham managed to find a goal through a well taken free-kick at the edge of the box. Which Sophie Manzi, doubled 8 minutes later (boooo).

To stop the wind in their sails, we changed formation and soon after - Abigail Woollen drove into the box and slotted in a wonderfully placed ball in the corner.. 2-1.. game on!

About 5 minutes later, our youngster Polly Lear doubled our lead with a very composed finish - and just in the nick of the half time whistle.

The next 45 mins we’re huge. Both teams gave it their all - but some fab saves (and some double saves) from Gwyn and overall solid defending left it level at 2-2.

Into extra time we go! The crowd kept cheering past 90 minutes and in the cold as we continued to battle it out for another 30 minutes. Unfortunately, Fulham managed to nick a scrappy third goal and from then on, became master time-wasters. When the whistle blew – every single Fulham player fell to the floor – showing how much of a fight we made it.

Although we came so close (mainly to the Dulwich x Dulwich half and half pepper army scarves) we left with our heads held high, knowing we can compete at a higher level and feeling more determined than ever to win the league.

Best of luck to our first team - we’ll be cheering you on for extra levels of spice!