Dulwich Hamlet take on the Tanners as Leatherhead return to Champion Hill...

When the bigwigs at FA HQ reached into the old velvet sack and pulled out a pair of balls, one after another, first Dulwich Hamlet then Leatherhead you could have knocked the fans down with a feather. Then again having narrowly avoided being paired together earlier in the season in the FA Cup, perhaps it was of little surprise that somewhere along the line, and with all the brouhaha of last season’s Fetcham Grove encounters still fresh in the mind of supporters of both clubs, it was perhaps preordained that the pair would cross swords sooner or later.

The events of last season have been well chronicled elsewhere, the abandoned game in contentious circumstances with Dulwich leading late on thanks to a brace from Daniel Carr and the subsequent single goal defeat in the unwanted game in its entirety. All that is history now for defeat on that dank night in the Mole valley served only to harden the hearts of the Hamelt in the final run in and clinch the title thanks to Xavier Vidal’s crisp finish in front of the massed ranks of the Champion Hill faithful. Meanwhile the Tanners, despite being buoyed by that second chance victory, found themselves swamped by a backlog of fixtures as the battle for the playoffs entered its end game. There they hung on grimly to the final berth until a last day defeat at home to Faversham town allowed their conquerors to gatecrash the party whilst left to rue what might have been.

The close season saw a number of old faces depart Fetcham Grove, most notably prolific striker Tommy Hutchings who upped sticks for Merstham. Also on the way out were Sam Blackman who left for America and Chris O'Flatery who re-joined Worthing.

However, other fan’s favourites committed themselves to the cause with Supporters’ Player of the Year, defender Jerry Nnamani one of the first to agree terms. Also putting pen to paper was influential striker Tom Bradbrook, a forward capable of unlocking even the most stubborn of defences. Elsewhere at Fetcham Grove the Tanners’ boss, Richard Brady, begin the reconstruction process, busily piecing together the bricks of a squad he hoped might challenge once for promotion. Adam Burchell came in from Kent League double winners, Erith & Belvedere, midfielder Darren Smith made the long switch from Kent coast to Surrey hinterlands moving from Folkestone Invicta whilst another midfield man, Paul Semakula, joined from Billericay Town

Tipped by many in the know as the team to watch, the Tanners did not disappoint at the off, unbeaten in their opening seven games, winning five of those and dumping Tooting out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle. However, as in past seasons the glint of silverware became an unwelcome distraction as the Tanners faltered in the league, knocked from their lofty perch atop Division South by a run of five games without a win that saw them drop below the playoff places. The cup proved a horse of a different colour as Ryman Premier League strugglers Carshalton Athletic were dispatched. Tanners fell behind to a goal scored midway through the first half but they bounced back with an equaliser from Bradbrook before Burchell popped up with a second half winner. Hellenic League side Binfield proved more problematic and it took a stoppage time cracker from Bradbrook to finally break down the walls of Hellenic resistance. Although Cup dreams died on a field in Bedfordshire as the Tanners meekly exited the competition with a crushing defeat away to Southern League Premier side Biggleswade Town. Two goals either side of half time proved decisive for the hosts. Tanners briefly reduced the arrears midway through the second half but the Waders restored their two-goal advantage almost immediately and capped off an emphatic win with two further strikes towards the end of the match.

Sandwiching that humbling defeat were the Trophy victories that set up this afternoon’s encounter, a less than emphatic 4-0 victory over Harlow Town and a come-from-behind win to shock Premier Division Lewes at the Dripping Pan. In the first of those encounters, the Hawks from Essex found themselves thwarted by the exploits of form Maidstone United custodian Deren Ibrahim between the Leatherhead sticks before crumbling at the rear as Kev Terry bagged a brace, complemented by further efforts from Bradbrook, scoring for the eighth game in a row, and Burchell. At Lewes Leatherhead fell behind to an early strike from Nicky Wheeler but were back on level terms after a Smith tucked away a spot kick penalty just before the break. With a quarter hour left a stunning second half sizzler from Dan Parkinson clinching the surprise result.

Having slipped off the pace at the top of the table Brady signalled intent to the rest of the contenders with a couple of high profile signings. First through the door was veteran striker Leroy Griffiths, at 36 well-seasoned in the non-league game and a collector of clubs like Joan Collins collects husbands. Having already had a less than successful spell at Harrow Borough, the move came as a new lease of life to an old trouper who found his goalscoring touch at the weekend with the winner against Crawley Down Gatwick. Meanwhile the return of left back Neil Jenkins, tempted out of retirement by Brady, proved less memorable, Jenkins' return unable not prevent the 5-1 defeat at Biggleswade Town.

As Dulwich were doing battle with Billericay, Leatherhead warmed up for for this afternoon’s clash at Champion Hill by coming from behind to take all three points off Crawley Down Gatwick at the weekend, bouncing back from a midweek defeat on the road at Hythe. Looking susceptible in the rear, the Tanners’ had fallen behind to their promotion rivals after half-an-hour. However the Anvils’ lead lasted barely five minutes as Jamie Coyle headed home an equaliser on 34 minutes, before Griffiths powered home what turned out to be the winning goal just before the interval. The result allowed the Tanners to close the gap on their fifth placed victims, jumping up to sixth in the Ryman Division One South.

Looking ahead to this afternoon’s hotly anticipated clash Leatherhead manager Brady said, “We’re used to playing teams from the Ryman Premier; we’ve played Carshalton and Lewes this season and beaten them.

“Also, having been in the Ryman Premier a couple of seasons ago we know what’s what.”

He added, “I am looking forward to Dulwich, I know the place well, it’s a good set-up there.”

This afternoon’s game kicks off at 3.00 pm at Champion Hill Stadium, Edgar Kail Way, East Dulwich, London SE22 8BD. At the time of writing the pitch is reported as playable and the game should go ahead as planned barring any later changes in conditions.

Before the game why not enjoy a drink or snack in our cosy clubhouse with live sport on the big screens, conveniently situated just a short walk from the turnstiles?

ADMISSION PRICES

• £10 for Adults
• £4 for Concessions (Seniors - 60+, Under 18s, Unemployed (UB40, Full Time Students and Members of the Armed Forces and Blue Light Services. PLEASE present valid ID)
• Under 12s FREE accompanied by a paying adult.

Please remember that as this is an FA Trophy tie then Season Tickets and any discount vouchers are not valid.

Correct change would be appreciated in order to speed admission. Many thanks!

Programmes: £1.50