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Today we play 'catch up' with all the recent news from the 'South London Press' from the past few weeks.
Just over a fortnight ago, on Friday 16th January, the weekend edition of the 'South London Press' was looking forward to our trip down to the coast to play promotion rivals Margate:
NOTHING TO FEAR
Dulwich Hamlet boss Gavin Rose says his side have "nothng to fear" in ther upcoming encounter with Margate, despite their unbeaten league run coming to an end.
The South London side's six match winning streak was halted by s shock 2-1 loss to Leiston at Champion Hill on Wednesday.
The narrow defeat to the Blues, who are currently seventh in the table, leaves Dulwich four points behind their Ryman title-chasing rivals.
Hamlet face Margate, who are currently level on points with league leaders Maidstone United, at Hartsdown Park on Saturday.
"Margate are a good side, but we have nothing to fear as we beat them 2-1the last time we played them," he said. "There are no players in their side that we are especially concerned about. We'll prepare for our game against them in the same way we prepare for all our league matches this season. We just need to be focussed and make sure we take more of the chances we get in front of goal." Michael Abnett has taken a knock, so we currently are missing him as an option which is a shame. Beyond that, we don't have any other injury worries. We'll just keep monitoring the players and checking their fitness levels."
The loss to Leiston was Hamlet's first defeat at home since October. Despite dominating possession for long spells the home side went behind following s swift counter-attackibg move that led to a ninth-minute goal from Blues striker Daniel Block.
Dulwich hit back with a fiercely struck equaliser from Xavier Vidal in the 39th minute. Hamlet started brightly in the second half before going behind in the 60th minute courtsy of a header from Craig Parker and tenacious defending allowed the away side to collect all three points.
"We pressed and we had plenty of chances, but we weren't clinical enough," adds Rose. "We should have taken the chances we had. We need to make sure we are more clinical in the final third and that's something we'll continue to work on."
The following Tuesday, 20th January, the coastal clash made the headlines:
Dulwich close gap on Margate
Dulwich Hamlet shrunk the gap on second-placed Margate to just a point after beating them 2-1 at Hartsdown Park in the Ryman League Premier Division.
Nyren Clunis' 20th-minute opener was cancelled out just nine minutes later by Ryan Moss' header.
It took 11 minutes of the second half for the visitors to get back in front, when Ashley Carew's floated free-kick was nodded home by Ethan Pinnock.
Freddie Ladapo and Jamie Taylor drew saves from Phil Wilson in the closing stages.
Moving on to the weekend copy of the paper, on Friday 23rd, the talk in the 'South London Press' was about the hunt for a striker:
Rose searches pro ranks for forward as Dulwich focus on themselves
Dulwich Hamlet boss Gavin Rose insists his side must not think about anything other than the play-offs because a title challenge would require a huge slip-up by leaders Maidstone United.
Dulwich can go within a point of the Stones if they win at Hampyon & Richmond Borough tomrrow, but the league leaders still have three games in hand.
"We can't be concerned about anything other than winning our games," Rose said. "Maidstone have a good advantage so us and the rest of the chasing pack just have to keep winning and hope it puts pressure on them."
Rose has a clean bill of health for tomorrow's fixture but hopes to have added to his squad with a month-long loan up front from a professional club, with a view to bringing in someone else for the rest of the season as support for Harry Ottaway.
"We've spoken to one or two clubs in League Two," revealed Rose. "Harry was out for a very long time and we don't want to burn him out. We are giving him 60 or 70 minutes at a time to build him up so we need someone who can come in to do a job when Harry is not on the pitch."
Rose expects a tough game for Dulwich despite Hampton & Richmons sitting 17th in th Ryman League Premier Division.
"I haven't seen them since Alan Dowson took over earlier in the season but I know he sets his teams out to be a threat whilst being hard-working and difficult to break down," he said.
So to the following Tuesday, for the midweek copy, which concentrated on our loss in Middlesex:
Dulwich left to rue missed opportunity
Dulwich Hamlet missed a glorious chance to close the gap on Ryman Premier Division leaders Maidstone United on Saturday.
The Stones were beaten 3-0 by Enfield town, but Gavin Rose's side lost 1-0 at Hampton & Richmond Borough and remain four points behind having played two games more than the table-toppers.
The Hamlet controlled possession for most of the match but fell to Charles Moone's 40th-minute strike.
Dulwich visit Maidstone's conquerors Enfield tonight.
While in Friday's weekend edition of the 'South London Press' concentrated on our new signing who had a successful debut at Enfield Town:
Makofo may provide the Serge which Rose needs
Dulwich Hamlet boss Gavin Rose is prioritising results over performances as the business end of the season draws near.
The Champion Hill side have 15 games left in the Ryman League Premier Division and moved into second on Tuesday with a 1-0 win at Enfield Town.
"At the start of the season I am looknig for performance but at this point, if you win but play badly, nobody remembers the performance," Rose said. "We missed an opportunity to capitalise on Maidstone losing last Saturday, but going up to second is significant because it means if Margate [in third] have to get results from their games in hand. There will be a lot of ups and downs and we have to make sure it doesn't happen to us."
Tuesday's winning goal was scored by debutant Serge Makofo, signed on loan for the month from Whitehawk of the Conference South.
Rose had been looking for more firepower up front to help Harry Ottaway and was delighted Makofo got off to such a good start. He needs to get his match fitness up but if he continues in the same way it could be a very good month for us," Rose said. "We had way more shots when we lost to Hampton & Richmond on Saturday but they were more clinical with their one chance. At the top end of the pitch we have been creating chances but not converting them-we need to improve that ratio and Serge can help us to get a better return on the opportunities we are getting.#"I still feel we need one or two more to make us really strong until the end of the season. Harry and Serge are different types of forwards so they will be able to play together if we need them to, which is a bonus if we want to change things up."
Grays Athletic lie in wait at Champion Hill tomorrow. They are in mid-table but Rose feels that does not make them any less dangerous.
"They will be able to play with the pressure off and they are a tricky team to play against anyway," he said.

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