Walton Casuals on the radar next as Dulwich Hamlet look to get back to winning ways..

Walton Casuals might be the new incumbents of the broom wagon after Tooting recent spurt away from the bottom spot but Dulwich boss Gavin Rose will not be talking the Stags lightly this afternoon in a game vital to get things back on track after a recent run of disappointing results that put the kibosh on an early assault on the summit. Bruising home encounters with the hard men of Kent in the past seven days have seen the Hamlet pick up just one point out of a possible six whilst adding to an eye watering injury list that has placed severe strain on a stretched squad. However, Rose is anything but downbeat, preferring to see this as an opportunity for some of his up and coming youngsters to make their mark in Pink and Blue.

The Casuals season started badly with double defeats in the league and a premature exit from the FA Cup at the hands of Thamesmead Town after a replay. However, they showed their mettle with a battling draw at home to highflying Crawley Down Gatwick before bagging their first win of the season away to Worthing where the Stags came out on top in a seesaw seven-goal thriller. A corner seemed to have been turned as Mick Sullivan’s men followed that up with a hardy performance away to Ramsgate, shutting out their opponents in a single goal victory. However the next there Saturdays saw a trio of defeats suffering, the defence that had been so solid at Ramsgate leaking nine goals over three games.

Back to winning ways in a battle of the basement as Tooting were sent packing 2-0 but a similar reverse at the hands of impecunious Horsham following by a five-goal demolition at home to stuttering Burgess Hill Town sent the Stags tumbling back into the relegation zone. A modicum of relief came in the Surrey Cup as the goals flew in left, right and centre, a dogging Raynes Park Vale eventually beaten in extra time by a 102nd goal from Liam Holden.

Yet the web of relegation could not be escaped in midweek though Casuals did inch a little closer to Horsham after a creditable 1-1 draw with Sittingbourne in Kent.

Still in this strange season, clubs becalmed together as if trapped in the Sargasso Sea, a decent run of form from the Stags could lift them up among the frontrunners, a mere eight points separated them from Dulwich currently lying in sixth spot, themselves just one win away from the current leaders, Maidstone. And to look at the quality and experience in the Stags ranks one does wonder why they struggle. The likes of Colin Hartburn, Matt York and Jon Boswell in defence drip with experience. Central midfielder Craig Lewington, a stalwart of the club for longer than most of us care to remember, takes no prisoners in the middle of the park whilst up front Sol Patterson-Bohner, late of this parish and back with the Stags for the nth time, has been joined by pacy wingman Ray Freeman, recently arrived from Chipstead. Along with Patterson-Bohner, the Dulwich connection also sees former Champion Hill favourite, Mr Daniel Carroll alongside manager Sullivan in the dugout as his number two.

This afternoon’s game takes place at the Waterside Stadium in Walton-on-Thames, kicking off at 3.00 pm. The ground is approximately two miles from Hersham Station, behind Elmbridge Leisure Centre. A 564 bus runs from Hersham Station to the Leisure Centre but please be advised that this runs only once an hour on Saturdays.