All the news from our local rags...

First up, from Tuesday, was the midweek edition of the 'South London Press', though there wasn't much to read in their non-league column, local rivals Tooting & Mitcham United having the headline with 'Another defeat for Terrors'. Our few lines were:

Second-placed Dulwich Hamlet had their trip to Horsham postponed in the same league due to a waterlogged pitch. Better news for the Hamlet was that third-placed Leatherhead beat league leaders Maidstone United 3-2. Tonight's Isthmian League Cup quarter-final against Ryman Premier League side Kingstonian will be Dulwich's first match in three weeks.

On Thursday the weekly 'Southwark News' led with the postponement:

Hamlet frustrated for third consecutive weekend

Dulwich Hamlet fans, coaches and players suffered a third week of frustration on Saturday, after their away fixture at Horsham was cancelled an hour before kick-off due to a waterlogged pitch.
The previous Saturday saw Hamlet start a game and take a 2-0 lead on the 78 minute away at Leatherhead. However the collapse of a small wall during the goal celebrations saw the ref abandon the contest.
After a herculean effort from supporters and groundstaff the weekend before that it seemed that Dulwich would get a game on at Champion Hill despite the heavy snow, only for the match referee to decide the hard work had not resulted in a safe playing surface.
Despite the inactivity Dulwich's position in the Ryman League South has not suffered. They still sit in second spot just three points off leaders Maidstone, who lost to Leatherhead on Saturday, with two games in hand.
Manager Gavin Rose has taken recent events in his stride. He said: "We are going to have to play these games when they come around. When that happens we just have to focus and do our jobs. There just is nothing we can do about all this and that is what we are saying to the boys and the boys seem relaxed about it all".
One player who has more reason to cheer than others is youngster Abul Mansaray who has been placed under contract by the club, with a little help from the fans run '12th man' scheme.
The scheme sees supporters donate to a fund, regularly or in donation buckets at games, with that cash being made available to Rose to use on his player budget.
Rose said: "Abdul has been with Aspire academy for eighteen months and he is a player who is quick and has good end product too. He is only going to get better and we could have just moved him on from our academy but we thought it would be in everybody's interest to sign him to the club as there has been interest in him from professional clubs already".
He added: "I think maybe the '12th man' scheme had the original idea to bring in another player but they have helped us keep what we have in terms of Abdul and Daniel Carr. With our squad it is just as important to keep the good players we have and we are using the funds to do that, otherwise we just have to get others in".

The 'Southwark News' then ran a piece on the Ryman League Management Committee decision on the Leatherhead postponement:

Leatherhead game replay after League ruling

Hamlet will have to start from scratch against Leatherhead after the Ryman League ruled the abandoned contest between the pair will be replayed.
Dulwich led the abandoned away fixture on January 26 2-0 before the match referee called a halt to proceedings.
He took the decision after a small wall collapsed whilst Hamlet fans celebrated Daniel Carr's second goal of the game on 78 minutes.
Despite only twelve minutes remaining the League decided the whole contest will be replayed, again at Fetcham Grove, at a date to be decided.
Hamlet boss Gavin Rose lays the blame at one man's feed. He said: "I think it was a bad refereeing decision, he did not give enough time to clear the area and in any case the area did not look dangerous. There was no time limit on the day and with the game so near the end he did not need to abandon the game. It was a poor decision". He added: "It's just one of those things and we will just get on with it. There is no point in feeling sorry for ourselves. We just have to play the game when it takes place and do our job to win the points".
On Tuesday evening Hamlet defeated Ryman premier division outfit Kingstonian in the last eight of the League Cup.
Dulwich won 4-1, with Daniel Carr and Erhun Oztumer bagging two goals each, and they will now face Thamesmead Town in the semi-finals at a date to be confirmed.

And so to the weekend edition of the 'South London Press', where we were the main feature on the non-league page:

Dulwich boss insists his side won't take their foot off the gas

KEEP ON WINNING

Dulwich Hamlet boss Gavin Rose is confident that motivation will not be an issue when his side take on Merstham tomorrow.
The Hamlet's opponents are 18th in the Ryman Premier League Division One South table, and the form guide would suggest an easy win for the hosts, who are second and unbeaten in more than three months-especially after such a convincing win against Ryman Premier Division side Kingstonian in the Isthmian League Cup on Tuesday.
But Rose insists his team will be just as focussed tomorrow, especially with the prize at stake. Dulwich are in the midst of a title challenge-although Rose is not allowing himself or his players to think about that fact.
"Motivation is never an issue with us,"he said. "Mentally, it is good for us to try to win every game, regardless of the competition or the league position of the opposition. We know it will be a tough game anyway because Merstham play attractive football and have a good squad-18th is a false position for them and I would expect them to be higher than that at the end of the season."
Dulwich warmed up for the game with a 4-1 victory over Kingstonian at Champion Hill. Daniel Carr and Erhun Oztumer bagged a brace each as the Hamlet looked every bit as strong as their opponents, if not stronger. Carr equalised shortly before half-time after Jack Bartin opened the scoring from long range. A straight red for Kingstonian goalkeeper Louis Bragg at the end of the first half swung the tie in Dulwich's favour, and the second half was a stroll until the hosts' Ryan James was sent off towards the end-but the game was over as a contest long before.
"It's great that we managed to get a game in before the weekend because we haven't played for a couple of weeks due to games being postponed and we needed match practice,"Rose said. "Some of the boys were feeling tired at the end, but they needed the minutes to get back into their stride. If it wasn't for the break we've had we would have used more youngsters. We settled down and played some nice football after starting slowly. The extra man gave us the advantage and once we built up a cushion, we took the pace off- we have to think about other games coming up. It was a real team performance, which is what we are trying to encourage. We now have another fixture to think about which is a bit of a concern so we will look at the squad and what we can do. The boys can't keep playing every Saturday and Tuesday week in, week out, so hopefully we will be able to find a solution."
Rose revealed that youngster Abdul Mansaray has started a trial at League One side Brentford. He last turned out for the Hamlet in a 4-1 London Senior Cup win over Corinthian Casuals. "The news is a testament to our coaching staff," Rose said. "We wish Abdul all the best with that because it is an amazing opportunity."