What the papers said!

Here's the latest from the local & non-league press over the past week

We begin the round-up from over the past week by looking at the ‘Non League Paper’ & our FA Trophy win last Saturday:

After a bright start from Bury, Dulwich Hamlet soon settled in to the game and eventually did enough to progress.
Bury had a good chance to open the scoring on seven minutes when Cemal Ramadan put a corner in the danger area and Phil Weavers thumped his header inches wide of the post.
Dulwich broke forward on 27 minutes in a quick attack but Ryan Moss put his header wide.
With Bury soaking up the pressure and defending well it was a deflected shot that broke the deadlock on 36 minutes, Nyren Clunis firing across goal and a wicked deflection of his shot went in of the far post.
Bury never gave up but found themselves 2-0 down early in the second half, with the Bury back line caught out Ryan Moss netted Dulwich Hamlet’s second goal on 58 minutes.
The difference in quality between the two sides was evident to see but Bury Town’s young side kept fighting on and on 65 minutes Matt Skevington almost pulled one back when he beat the keeper but headed against the bar.
The Blues did half the deficit on 80 minutes when Ramadan chested down a cross and rifled his shot past the keeper and in to the net. Dulwich Hamlet took the win but they were made to work hard for it against a spirited Bury Town side.
STAR MAN: Ryan Moss (Dulwich)
Entertainment: *** (out of five stars)

Two days later the midweek copy of the ‘South London Press’ ran with the Trophy win & the loss of a player:

Dulwich Hamlet saw Daniel Sweeney depart for Maidstone United but showed no signs of missing him as they beat Bury Town 2-1 to reach the second round of the FA Trophy.
Both clubs announced the move on their respective websites on Saturday after Dulwich gave the National League South side permission to speak to him following a seven-day approach. Sweeney watched his new side get knocked out by Bognor Regis Town.
The South Londoners had more important matters to attend to after that and took a 2-0 lead with goals from Nyren Clunis and Ryan Moss either side of half-time. Bury pulled one back through Cemal Ramadan on 80 minutes and Gavin Rose’s side held on.
Dulwich will host wither Burscough or Guiseley in the next round on January 16.
Hamlet host Leiston tonight in an important Ryman League Division One South clash.
(Note: That’s a ‘South London Press’ typo, not ours!)

Yesterday, the weekly ‘Southwark News’ also concentrated on the Trophy, but more on to the next round:

Hamlet gaffer Gavin Rose has said FA Trophy fixtures will play second fiddle to league contests even if Dulwich make further inroads in the competition.
The Pink and Blues made it to the last 32 of the tournament last weekend thanks to a 2-1 away win against Ryman North outfit Bury Town, who were relegated from the Ryman Premier League last season.
The allure of a day out at Wembley Stadium, should Hamlet make the final, however is not enough to turn the head of Rose whose gaze is firmly fixed on promotion from the Ryman Premier League.
He told the News: “At no point would the FA trophy be a higher priority than the league in my opinion. That is not to say we would not put our strongest team out to win a game that would be a one off for that day. But doing well in the league is what is important to us in the long haul this season.”
Speaking about his team’s showing last Saturday he added: “I thought it was a professional performance on a difficult pitch against a team who were better than last season, despite the fact they now play in the league below us now.”
Rose said he said he hoped for nothing more than a home draw in the next round of the competition, a wish he was granted and Hamlet will face Vanarama National League side Guiseley who overcame Evostick Northern Premier side Burscough in a Tuesday night replay.
Midfielder Dan Sweeney has finally departed Champion Hill, for Maidstone United, after weeks of speculation regarding his future.
The ex-Kingstonian man only joined Hamlet in October but after scoring six goals in his first six games interest in him appeared to hit fever pitch.
Rose said: “There has been so much speculation in terms of moving on, including professional clubs, since he joined us and Maidstone were the latest ones to show interest. We took the view that there was so much going on around the player that maybe wasn’t good for him or the team. We said to him to go and talk to them and if he liked what he saw then he should move on. We have to think about the long term of the team and him.”
Dulwich were knocked off top in the Ryman Premier League last Saturday, Tonbridge Angels were above Hamlet and Kingstonian on goal difference, whilst they were in cup action.
On Tuesday Leiston visited Champion Hill for a league fixture and a Nyren Clunis equaliser was enough for Dulwich to secure a point in a 1-1 draw.
The result saw Dulwich retake the league lead from Tonbridge who did not play that evening.

Earlier today, the weekend issue of the ‘South London Press’ hit the shops. The main feature, in what is building up to be an excellent little series of players interviews, features one of our recent signings:

Ryan Moss is ready to re-establish his reputation as one of the most deadly marksmen in the Ryman League.
The striker joined Dulwich Hamlet from Margate in November and had notched two goals in seven appearances-including what turned out to be the clincher in the 2-1 FA Trophy win at Bury Town last weekend.
He scored-and got an assist-against Gavin Rose’s side in the Ryman Premier play-off semi-final last May before going on to net the winner in the final against Hendon.
Those were two of 22 strikes last season, following 25 for Kingstonian the year before as they too reached the play-offs –although they were unsuccessful in their play-off bid.
!I’ve got a great record over the last few seasons,” the 29-year-old he said. “That speaks for itself. Perhaps Dulwich have missed someone who troubles the top end of the goal-scoring charts. If you want to go up you need someone who is going to guarantee you those goals. I’ve scored in a lot of big games too. Every striker wants to get 20. I came in a bit late, so to get near that number would be great. I will be very happy if I can get to 15 as long as I’m scoring important goals. I’m not exactly looking for a pro career anymore. If we are grinding out wins, I’m happy. The play-off semi last year is a source of banter with the lads. It was a strange period with it being postponed for weeks. I’ve been in play-offs four times and failed in three. It was only last year I had success-it was nice to get over that stumbling block. I hope not to be in the play-offs again- it’d be great to win the league for once and at Dulwich I believe we can do that.”
Moss was one of only a few players to remain at Margate as they spent big to overhaul their squad for a crack at the National League South.
!When I came back for the new season there were only four or five of us left from the team that got promoted,” he said. “The writing was on the wall then really. A club with that much money is always looking to bring in players of a higher level so it wasn’t a surprise. I felt with what I had done for the club that I deserved the respect of a good run in the side, but I only started three league games. I had not started in two months. A few clubs in the Ryman League were interested because of my record, but Dulwich is one of the biggest non-league clubs that I’ve always thought I’d fancy myself at. Margate wanted to wait but I forced the issue because I wanted to play. They accepted that I deserved that respect after what I’d done for them. They agreed to a mutual cancellation of my contract. It’s worked out great. I live just over half-an-hour from the stadium. I was travelling two hours to Margate to not play, which felt like a real slog. This is a relief for me. It’s important for me to be close to my family.”
Moss has also played for Dorchester Town, Bashley, AFC Totton and Havant & Waterlooville in non-league.
He has one appearance to his name for Bournemouth aged 17, under Sean O’Driscoll, but believes what he learned in that pro environment has given him footballing lessons that he hopes to pass on to Dulwich’s youngsters.
“Discipline is such a massive thing,” he said. “The guys here who have been at Football League clubs as youngsters have that. Footballers get a bad reputation but one thing they do have is a real work ethic and people don’t get to see that every day in training. Those who have dropped down to non-league tend to keep that. O’Driscoll had huge attention to detail – everything had to be perfect. You learn from that and you don’t lose it. Then you try and pass it on. I want to have a really good non-league career –even when you are a semi-pro, you still want to get to the highest level you can. I want to be here for a few years and help Dulwich get to Conference level.
“Bournemouth were flying in League One so it was always going to be hard to break through, but I appreciated my time there. There are a lot of players at a high level now, like Danny Ings, Charlie Austin and Jamie Vardy, who came from non-league – so clubs up there are starting to pay more attention to this level. There is every chance those young players could get spotted.”
Moss is enjoying life in SE22 and feels he is starting to gel with the side. “It’s been an easy changing room to settle into,” he said. “Everyone wants to work hard. The tempo in training is of such high quality-probably the best I’ve seen in non-league. I have to adapt and hopefully I will kick on. It can be difficult when you join a new club-there is expectation. It’s taken me a few weeks to get match fit because of a lack of football. It was great to score early on against Bognor Regis. Then we had a couple of iffy results. I’m getting used to it. We played with a diamond at Margate but here it’s 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 depending on whether or not we are in possession. I’m settling into the system. Last Saturday was the first time I felt like I really clicked with the team. I like to mix it up. I’m powerful, quick and good in the air. There are a lot of technically good players at Dulwich so I don’t need to worry about that-I just need to get in the right areas and take my chances.”
Moss must have one of the most unique jobs of a non-league footballer. He is a senior anatomical pathology technician, managing a mortuary in Walthamstow. His role includes determining a person’s cause of death. “I deal with everything from still-born babies to people in their hundreds,” he said. “Football is a great relief from that sort of work. I have a great job but every day for me is a realisation that life is short and you have to make the most of your opportunities.”

There was also a smaller article, in the ‘South London Press’ today, about a departing player:

Dulwich Hamlet boss Gavin Rose has suggested that Daniel Sweeney has not advanced his career by moving to Maidstone United.
Sweeney left Champion Hill for the National League South side last weekend after weeks of speculation about his future, although he had only joined Dulwich from Kingstonian in October. He alerted clubs with blistering form that saw him score six times in his first six games.
He trained twice with Championship Reading-he was fined for the second trip after Rose claimed he didn’t get permission-and Charlton Athletic were also interested.
Rose insisted he would never get in the way of a player who wants to move on, but did question if Maidstone was the right club for a player of his ability, despite them being a league above the Champion Hill side.
“We have a tradition here of moving people on and helping them and we will never stand in their way,” said Rose. “My first job is to make Dulwich Hamlet as good a side as I can, but it’s nice if lads go on and do well for themselves. He was destined to move on, and he had representatives trying to move him on at the drop of a hat and that probably unsettled him. He probably had suitors at a higher level ready to take him, and I mean no disrespect to Maidstone, but it may a bit of a step sideways. However, if that gets him to where he wants to be then I wish him all the best for the future.”
Rose will assess the next few results to see if his side need to replace Sweeney. “We have players to fill the gap since he departed, and if we need to bring someone in then we will,” he said. “We’ve been dropping points lately and if we continue to do so we may look at possibly getting someone in.”
Dulwich visit Grays Athletic tomorrow in the Ryman League Premier Division.
Only goal difference is keeping then top of the table after an inspired performance from Leiston keeper Ashlee Jones meant the Champion Hill clash ended 1-1 on Tuesday.
Hamlet dominated possession and controlled large phases of the match but, despite creating several chances, they could not find the all-important second goal.
Gareth Heath scored from the visitors’ only meaningful attack of the first half, and Ryan Moss headed against the post before Nyren Clunis equalised after the break.