As far as end-of-season wraps go, playing in front of a raucous travelling support at The Den is a pretty damn good way to end the season for Ryan Dempsey and his side.

However, despite dominating the game in terms of chances created, it would be Millwall Lionesses who came out on top, a goal in either half earning them the win. It looked as though we might get something from the evening once Luna Alves Etienne levelled early in the second half, but an own goal from Beth Hartigan tipped the game in the hostesses' favour.

Our equaliser had come after Millwall had led at the break through a tremendous goal from Close Burr, and followed big chances for Mia Lockett, Ana de Pellegrin and Erin Corrigan to give us the lead.

The players emerged to a wall of noise from behind them, with the lower tier of the Barry Kitchener Stand packed with 600 fans roaring on both teams, and it would be the travelling Pepper Army who would have the early excitement, and they would feel aggrieved to not be celebrating the awarding of a Hamlet penalty in the 10th minute.

Lockett, sensational throughout her dual-registered spell with us in the second half of this season, darted into the box and was seemingly brought down by a clumsy challenge by Poppy Payne, only for referee Tom Amber to show her a yellow card for an apparent piece of simulation. There was certainly contact, to say it was a dive was scandalous.

Undeterred, the side continued to press their hostesses across the pitch, with Alves Etienne showing glimpses of her talent on the left wing. Indeed it would be Luna who created our next chance, running at Millie Connell before slipping in Ella Wales-Bonner on the edge of the box, but her shot was straight at debutant keeper Wiktoria Gmiterek.

The next huge opportunity also came our way, and Lockett was in the thick of the action again. Corrigan led an attack down the left, before releasing Alves Etienne in front of her. The teenager raced to the edge of the penalty area, before slipping a pass onto Lockett. As she stretched to touch the ball past Gmiterek, the keeper got a slight deflection on Mia's shot, which made the ball trickle agonisingly wide of the post. This would be a crucial moment in the game, as Mia was forced off with an injury, replaced by Hartigan, with Madi Parsonson going into attack.

From the resulting corner, both Brit Saylor and Corrigan came close, before de Pellegrin spurned a big chance for her first goal for the First Team this season. Gifted possession by a sloppy pass, Ana found herself with just Gmiterek to beat, but proceeded to place her effort straight at the goalkeeper. Minutes later, Corrigan rattled the bar with a looping cross from deep, and it seemed just a matter of time before we scored that first goal.

However, three minutes before the break, the hostesses made us pay for the missed chances. A long diagonal ball out of defence saw Angel Reid receive possession, and as she cut into the area, Hartigan produced an important tackle to dispossess Reid, but the ball rolled free to Burr, who took aim and curled an effort over Saskia Reeves-Priestley, who had seen a couple of efforts hit straight at her to this point, and into the roof of the net.

In truth, Millwall should have led by two goals at the break, as Reid once again received a long ball ahead of Hartigan, but bearing down on goal, could only put her shot against Saskia's shin from a few yards out.

Millwall would rue that miss early into the second half as we found our equaliser. De Pellegrin, naturally a forward who like to play wide, picked up the ball on the right wing, and as she reached the byline, cut the ball back to Alves Etienne, who beat Connell to the ball, and then put a shot perfectly into the far corner to spark loud cheers from the Pepper Army.

Chances then dried up for a period for both sides, with probing football being met by resolute defences, and it wouldn't be until the 65th minute for a goalkeeper to be called into action again. It would be Reeves-Priestley coming to the Hamlet's aid, denying Reid at the near post after the forward had burst through challenges from Rhea Gall and Corrigan, but couldn't find the angle to go across the Dulwich custodian to score a second for her side.

That chance would lead to a match-defining spell of pressure from the Lionesses, and they soon forced a sequence of corners. After the Hamlet dealt with the first two, it took a tremendous save from Saskia to turn a header over the bar from the third. However, the fourth one would land the killer blow. An inswinging delivery, it reached the far post where Chana Hinds diverted the ball away from goal, only to see the ball deflect off the leg of Hartigan and roll back over the line, a truly cruel moment for the young Tottenham starlet and her side.

This Hamlet side have shown during the season that they do not roll over and accept defeat though, and in the final fifteen minutes and injury time, would test the resolve of the Millwall backline repeatedly, with ball after ball being swung into the penalty area, but being cleared as the hostesses dug in to complete the league double over the Hamlet, the only side to manage that this season.

Despite the disappointment, the players went straight over to the fans to acknowledge their support, not just for this game, but for the season as a whole, their legacy from this season has been the growth of the Pepper Army, created by playing an exciting brand of football that gets the fans singing. The players also voted the fans as Player of the Match for the constant noise they generated. We know have a wait to see if we can hold onto fourth place, which would be an improvement on last season, and then it's onto July to do it all again!

Millwall Lionesses Line-Up: 1 Wiktoria Gmiterek, 2 Millie Connell, 4 Sophie Chapman, 6 Poppy Payne (3 Jasmine Auguste 65'), 7 Otesha Charles (26 Ellen Napper 86'), 10 Kaydence Kabadaki (8 Chloe Burr 29' (20 Ella Bailey 90')), 11 Jade Keogh, 20 Ella Bailey (21 Melissa Jones 57' (19 Julia Moulton 72')), 22 Grace Seely (c) (10 Kaydence Kabadaki 72' (22 Grace Seely 81')), 23 Angel Reid (6 Poppy Payne 90'), 26 Ellen Napper (18 Maisie Joyce 57')

Goalscorers: Chloe Burr 43', Beth Hartigan (OG) 75'

Yellow Card: Melissa Jones 68'

Dulwich Hamlet Line-Up: 1 Saskia Reeves-Priestley, 2 Madi Parsonson, 4 Chana Hinds, 8 Brit Saylor (c) (7 Olgá Ocran 90'), 10 Luna Alves Etienne (11 Rebecca May 63'), 15 Erin Corrigan, 16 Ella Wales-Bonner, 18 Ana de Pellegrin (20 Minnie Cruttwell 90'), 19 Mia Lockett (12 Beth Hartigan 33'), 21 Lily Price, 22 Rhea Gall

Unused Substitution: 13 Amy Jenkins

Goalscorer: Luna Alves Etienne 47'

Yellow Cards: Mia Lockett 10', Erin Corrigan 54'

Referee: Tom Amber
Attendance: 600

The Hamlet ended a barren run of form in fine style on the South Coast, beating fellow top four hopefuls Saltdean United 3-0 at Hill Park.

After Naomi Robinson headed past her own goalkeeper in the fourth minute, captain Brit Saylor added goals in either half to seal the three points, both goals coming from the penalty spot.

A below-par performance a week earlier against Dartford saw us reach an unwanted fourth consecutive loss, a first since we amalgamated with AFC Phoenix in 2019. It looked to be a hard task as we faced opposition who had not tasted a defeat in the league since October, with Ryan Dempsey also only having 12 players to call upon.

However, any fears of a tough afternoon were blown away as early as the fourth minute. Lily Price found Madi Parsonson with our first corner of the afternoon, and as Madi crossed into the box, Robinson flicked the ball on with her head into the far corner to give us a lead.

We then took the game to our hostesses, with Ana de Pellegrin, leading the line in the absence of Rebecca May, proving to be a real nuisance up front, with the Argentinian facing Blair Hamilton into a low save just three minutes later our goal.

Defensively, the Hamlet excelled throughout, led by a commanding performance by Rhea Gall in the middle, with Saltdean restricted to long-range efforts during the game, one such chance for Lucy Jellett in the ninth minute saw her comfortably clear the bar with an attempted lob as she went through on goal.

De Pellegrin was finding joy against Megan Gates by dragging her out of position to the flank, and after playing a one-two with Minnie Cruttwell, she burst into the area, leaving Gates behind, but Hamilton was equal to the shot. However, in the 18th minute, she would earn her side a spot kick, again, her pace and trickery were too much for Gates, who brought her down. Up stepped Saylor, who gave Hamilton the eyes to find the keepers' left hand corner, and make it five successful penalties out of five this season, six if you include the one in the shootout with Ebbsfleet.

We continued to turn on the after burners, and Cruttwell was unlucky not to open her account for the season just two minutes after our second goal, as she was teed up by de Pellegrin on the edge of the box to hit a fierce drive, only for Hamilton to palm away her effort. The chances would then dry up, with one de Pellegrin shot and a long-range Georgia Bridges free-kick the only ones of note before the break.

The Hamlet, supported by a very healthy contingent of travelling Pepper Army fans, which included Erin Corrigan's parents visiting from Milwaukee, could have made things hard for themselves at the resumption of the game, as Parsonson received a ten minute sin bin for some choice words on the awarding of a free-kick. However, they would defend a barrage of attacks from Saltdean, with de Pellegrin sacrificing her forward role to play as a makeshift right-back whilst Madi remained off the pitch. By the time she returned, Saltdean had not mustered a single shot on goal during that period.

They would then go 3-0 down as we earned a second penalty. Gall launched a free-kick from her own half towards the right-hand side of the box, where Mia Lockett received the ball. Her first touch was a heavy one, and would have gone for a goal-kick, but Hamilton came out and needlessly clattered the forward, with Chris McInnes immediately pointing the spot.

After a lengthy delay, due to angry players and a Saltdean coach on the bench, Saylor was eventually able to take her kick, and opted for the same corner again, beating Hamilton comfortably despite her guessing the right way this time.

Parsonson has made it a habit of scoring long-range efforts in recent weeks, and came close to adding to her collection almost from the restart, but only found the roof of the net from 35 yards or so. Her and Corrigan then combined from the full-back positions to create another chance, but Hamilton got down well to smother the latter's cross to deny a tap in for a Hamlet forward.

With the points sealed, it was all about trying to add some further gloss to the performance, and de Pellegrin was a whisker away from turning home a Lockett drive, and then an Ella Wales-Bonner knock down, but couldn't grab the goal her display ultimately deserved.

Hamilton also denied Saylor a hat-trick by tipping away a rising drive in injury time, before Saltdean almost netted a consolation in the 97th minute, but Caitlin Sullivan flicked over a chance from close range. It would have been particularly cruel on Saskia Reeves-Priestley, who produced her best distribution performance of the season, and her defence, who protected her goal like their lives depended on it throughout the game.

So, three points earned, with one trip to Millwall Lionesses left, with the Hamlet still hopeful of earning a place in the top four come the end of the season.

Saltdean United Line-Up: 1 Blair Hamilton, 2 Lillian Tucker, 3 Katie Steer (12 Hannah Sturdy 52'), 4 Amy Sinden, 5 Sienna Howell, 6 Megan Gates, 7 Georgia Bridges (c) (10 Caitlin Sullivan 79'), 8 Naomi Sullivan, 9 Molly Hill (11 Lucy Jellett 88'), 10 Caitlin Sullivan (16 Ruby Melis 56'), 11 Lucy Jellett (14 Chloe Nye 71')

Unused Substitutions: 15 Evie Nebbitt, 17 Charlotte Lewington

Yellow Card: Hannah Sturdy 59'

Dulwich Hamlet Line-Up: 1 Saskia Reeves-Priestley, 2 Madi Parsonson, 4 Chana Hinds, 8 Brit Saylor (c), 15 Erin Corrigan, 16 Ella Wales-Bonner, 18 Ana de Pellegrin, 19 Mia Lockett, 20 Minnie Cruttwell (6 Olgá Ocran 74'), 21 Lily Price, 22 Rhea Gall

Goalscorers: Naomi Robinson 4' (OG), Brit Saylor 19' (pen), 65' (pen)

Yellow Cards: Rhea Gall 43', Madi Parsonson 47' (sin bin), Lily Price 71', Mia Lockett 83', Ella Wales-Bonner 90+6'

Referee: Chris McInnes
Attendance: 76

Dartford left Champion Hill with all three points on Sunday as the Hamlet's poor run of form continued.

Paris Smith and Shauni Griffiths scored in the first fifteen minutes of the second half to put the Darts in the ascendancy, before Madi Parsonson scored late on to reduce arrears in our final home outing of the season.

Injuries, player departures, suspensions and unavailability contributed to Ryan Dempsey only being able to name 13 players in his squad, which included a third first-team appearance for Sharne Harris at left back. Despite us losing our last three games, Dartford also arrived with just one win in their last five outings, and we had won the reverse fixture back in December.

However, the Darts looked threatening early on as they attempted to play a high press. We passed the ball nicely around the defence but consistently gave the ball away when attempting to play the ball into midfield early on, and the visitors had numerous opportunities to capitalise. First, Nicha Dyett broke into the area following a ball over the top, but Rhea Gall, this writer's Hamlet player of the match, made a very timely tackle just as she was about to shoot.

A few moments later, Harris gave away possession with a heavy touch, allowing Griffiths to charge forward, but as she approached the area, she fired high over the bar. Most of the first 20 minutes would be played in the Hamlet half of the field, with the front three for Dartford looking increasingly dangerous, but consistently put their final shots off target.

Eventually we started to have possession further up the pitch, with Lily Price firing wide from distance, before a brilliant challenge from Jo Woodgates prevented Rebecca May from slotting home. Parsonson would tap into her long-range shot ability too to send an effort onto the roof of the net from 30 yards, a warning for the visitors. A minute later, Luna Alves Etienne curled a chance over, the forward jinking into the area to find space.

The Darts continued to get into good areas but were largely restricted to long-range efforts which continued to fly off target, but in the final five minutes of the first half, one freekick from distance was straight down the throat of Saskia Reeves-Priestley. One final chance of the half went our way, with Luna very unlucky to see a defender charge down her goalbound shot.

Things started badly after the break as we went 1-0 down in the 48th minute. The Darts were given a free-kick 25 yards out, which Adele Pearce feigned to shoot from, only to slip a pass through to Griffiths, who in turn cut it back to Smith to tap home. Some questionable marking indeed from the home defence, combined with a well-worked routine.

Things got worse twelve minutes later. Harris produced a heavy touch on the left wing which gifted possession to Griffiths. The forward then played a one-two with Emily Vaughan, and was suddenly through on goal. Unbelievably, there was no sense of urgency from the Hamlet defence to attempt to chase Griffiths back, leaving Reeves-Preistley exposed against the striker and an easy goal was consequently netted.

Only then did we show some urgency going forward, May producing a wicked cross which unfortunately saw no-one gamble at the far post, before Charlton got her body behind a Rosie Stone free kick. It could have got worse for us though, with Saskia producing a fine fingertip save to deny Griffiths from close range, whilst Smith hit the bar from three yards out with a header.

Into the final ten minutes, Charlton was on hand to palm away a curling Gall effort, before the keeper denied Saylor at her near post. There was also time for a flashpoint, as Meghan McKeag elbowed Mya Lewis-Powell in the face, missed by the referee, with Mya kicking out at McKeag as they fell to the ground. The latter fell on top of Mya, knocking her briefly unconscious, and continued to try and shove her. McKeag would walk away with a yellow card.

Our goal came too late in the day to salvage a point, but it was another fine strike in the Parsonson collection, with the 21-year-old firing inside the post from 25 yards out, but we were unable to restart and get the ball downfield again. However, the 376-strong crowd would applaud their side off the field at full time as the curtain came down on our home season.

Dulwich Hamlet Line-Up: 1 Saskia Reeves-Priestley, 2 Madi Parsonson, 4 Chana Hinds, 5 Rosie Stone, 8 Brit Saylor (c), 11 Rebecca May, 17 Luna Alves Etienne, 18 Sharne Harris (13 Ceylon Hickman 76'), 20 Minnie Cruttwell (7 Mya Lewis-Powell 58'), 21 Lily Price, 22 Rhea Gall

Goalscorer: Madi Parsonson 90+6'

Dartford Line-Up: 1 Jade Charlton, 3 Georgie Davis, 7 Elizabeth Adams (c), 8 Shauni Griffiths, 9 Nicha Dyett (16 Shannon Dunham 81'), 10 Emily Vaughan (17 Milly Penfold 66'), 12 Adele Pearce, 17 Charlie Torry (11 Meghan McKeag 46'), 18 Joanne Woodgates, 19 Amy Reader, 23 Paris Smith (6 Emily Read 73')

Goalscorers: Paris Smith 48', Shauni Griffiths 60'

Yellow Card: Meghan McKeag 90+2'

Referee: Iain Bryant
Attendance: 376

A disappointing week for the Hamlet ended in a surprise defeat to AFC Acorns, as a goal in either half condemned us to a third successive loss.

Jade Page lofted a cross over Saskia Reeves-Priestley to give the hostesses an 8th minute lead, before Lauren Tyler converted an extremely dubious penalty in the second half. Our misery was compounded with the dismissal of Mia Lockett for two yellow cards.

The Hamlet arrived at the game in the knowledge that club record-scorer Sophie Manzi had decided to leave Champion Hill, whilst Ella Wales-Bonner also dropped out from midweek. Brit Saylor and Luna Alves Etienne started in their place.

The game's first chance brought the game's first goal. A long throw by Page was headed back her way by Erin Corrigan, with the full-back then sending a deep cross into the box and over the head of Saskia Reeves-Priestley to put Acorns ahead.

On a slow pitch complete with long grass and bobbles, the Hamlet struggled to play their fluent passing game, whilst the Acorns defence repelled us staunchly. We did almost level things up immediately as Corrigan forced Lauren Graves into a save from a freekick, although the offside flag was also raised.

Patient build-up play generated a good opening for us, as Corrigan released the pacy Alves Etienne, with the youngster crossing into Lockett, who blazed over the bar. Madi Parsonson then had to keep her wits about her to distract Sam Phillips as she raced through on goal, before both Ellie Pace and the excellent Chloe Higham also came close.

We ended the half with a bit more urgency in our play, Saylor chancing her arm from distance to keep Graves busy, before Alves Etienne almost produced our goal of the season. Receiving a long diagonal pass, the diminutive forward turned a defender beautifully, before curling the ball towards the roof of the net. Unfortunately for her, Graves was able to tip the shot over the crossbar, with the corner also failing to bear fruit.

Parsonson flashed an early chance wide as we began the second half, before a bizarre penalty was awarded by Dave Goater in the 54th minute. A free kick from Tyler was sent into the area, with Goater blowing his whistle almost as soon as the ball left her boot, seemingly for a foul by Saylor, even the Acorns players did not appeal for the penalty.

Tyler was the one to take, dispatching her penalty high into the net to give us a real uphill struggle. Our comeback would rest on getting back into the game quickly, but just past the hour mark, a change we did carve out was quickly snuffed out by Alicia MacLeod as May looked to pull the trigger.

The job became harder still in the 73rd minute when Mia Lockett was sent from the field. Already cautioned for kicking the ball at an opponent lying on the ground, Mia was shown a bizarre second yellow card for seemingly trying to return the ball to Acorns to restart the game. Having watched the replay numerous times, this writer and the management team remain none the wiser on the decision.

With Hamlet fans apoplectic, the strain was getting to Mr Goater, who then incredibly threatened to abandon the game as he did not like the way the crowd was speaking to him!

On the pitch, we continued to plug away without real reward, May firing an easy shot from distance straight at Graves before Parsonson whipped a free kick over the bar. Acorns had yet to keep a clean sheet in the league all season, and were indebted to Graves as the game reached injury time as she smartly denied Parsonson at the near post and all but extinguished our hopes of an unlikely comeback.

There was still just about time for May to glance a header wide, but Acorns were fully deserving of their win as we endured a rare blank in front of goal. After recently going eight unbeaten, three defeats in a row has damaged our season run-in, with Dartford to come next up.

AFC Acorns Line-Up: 1 Lauren Graves, 2 Alicia MacLeod, 3 Chloe Higham, 4 Janine Daly (c), 5 Ava Hutson, 7 Ellie Pace, 8 Hazel Barnett, 9 Lauren Tyler (17 Ellie Livingstone 57'), 11 Jade Page, 12 Pamela McDonnell (6 Ella Lazenby 71'), 14 Sam Phillips (10 Rebecca Nesbitt 59')

Unused Substitution: 1 Emily Hudson

Goalscorers: Jade Page 8', Lauren Tyler 54' (pen)

Yellow Card: Hazel Barnett 68'

Dulwich Hamlet Line-Up: 1 Saskia Reeves-Priestley, 2 Madi Parsonson, 4 Chana Hinds, 5 Rosie Stone (7 Mya Lewis-Powell 80'), 8 Brit Saylor (c), 11 Rebecca May, 12 Beth Hartigan (18 Ana de Pellegrin 71'), 15 Erin Corrigan, 17 Luna Alves Etienne (22 Rhea Gall 60'), 19 Mia Lockett, 21 Lily Price

Yellow Cards: Brit Saylor 54', Mia Lockett 61', 73', Madi Parsonson 76'

Red Card: Mia Lockett 73'

Referee: Dave Goater
Attendance: 98

Our hopes of a first trophy as Dulwich Hamlet Women ended on a wet night at Champion Hill as Tier 4 London Seaward won our Combined Counties Midweek Cup quarter-final.

After a goalless first half, Sam Lanza and Maisie Cannon pounced on defensive errors after the break, before Brit Saylor gave us hope with a penalty. There would also be controversy as the Hamlet were seemingly denied another spot kick deep into injury time.

Rebecca May replaced Rhea Gall in our only change from the Ebbsfleet defeat a little more than 48 hours earlier, whilst the visitors made two changes from their weekend clash with Actonians as the two sides locked horns in a cup competition for the fourth consecutive season.

Torrential conditions made for a slippery surface, and Seaward looked to put us on the back foot inside a minute as Rosie Stone was robbed of possession, but Persis Oteng could only steer her shot at Saskia Reeves-Priestley. Our first chance wouldn't have the same accuracy, Ella Wales-Bonner firing wide after swivelling on the edge of the box, Sophie Manzi would also produce a similar effort soon after.

Oteng passed up a big chance to put Seaward ahead midway through the half, as her side broke forward on the counter-attack, with Lanza seeing a shot blocked before she squared the ball to Oteng just four yards out, but the striker fired her shot straight at Reeves-Priestley when it was easier to score.

The sides then traded chances from free kicks, Lucy Cockerill curling one goalwards which was claimed by Saskia, whilst Lily Price saw her effort land on the roof of the net. May also had our first shot on target as she latched on to a cut back, before Giorgia Bracelli ended the half by firing a shot wide.

However, the second half began poorly for Dulwich, as a loose pass by Reeves-Priestley was collected by Megan Burrows, who shifted the ball to Lanza on her right, and the Seaward attacker took aim from outside the box and was able to find the far corner to give them a lead.

Oteng continued to have opportunities as the game wore on, her next one was running on to a flick on to beat Chana Hinds for pace, but couldn't beat Saskia with her early shot, before she benefitted from a poor touch from Stone to find space in the box, but this time dragged her shot wide.

Seward continued to pass up opportunities, Oteng again not able to finish a move as she flicked a shot over the crossbar, and it almost cost them, as Madi Parsonson wrapped her foot around an effort from range, with Seaward keeper Alicia Garwood watching it drop wide of the far corner with relief.

The second goal would arrive in the 73rd minute, as we failed to effectively clear a free kick, with Suzy Davies flicking a pass into the box, which was missed by Erin Corrigan as she attempted to clear, leaving Cannon the simple task of hammering a shot past Saskia.

We quickly responded though, with May leading from the front in helping us to win a penalty in the 77th minute. Chasing down a long ball out of defence, May then turned her attention to a backpass from a defender to slide in on Garwood, forcing the keeper to concede possession to Beth Hartigan. The young defender squared the ball to Wales-Bonner, with her goal bound shot blocked by the arm of Jo Butler. A red card was awarded to the defender, and it was double jeopardy for Seaward as Saylor converted in her usual manner.

The game then opened up as we chased the leveller, and Saskia would deny Oteng for the fourth time in the evening, saving with her boot when Oteng was through on goal, before the striker passed up yet another chance to get herself a goal in successive games when she placed an effort onto the roof of the net.

Deep into injury time came a moment of controversy. Luna Alves Etienne had just seen a shot trickle wide, when on our next attack, a cross from Price flicked off the body of Cockerill onto her arm, and despite everyone in the ground appealing for a spot kick, Robert Carly was unmoved, much to the anger and disgust of the Hamlet players and management. Even the Seaward bench felt that decision went against us afterwards!

However, we could not force penalties for successive rounds and it is Seaward who advance to the final four, leaving us to solely focus on the remainder of our league games.

Dulwich Hamlet Line-Up: 1 Saskia Reeves-Priestley, 2 Madi Parsonson, 4 Chana Hinds, 5 Rosie Stone (8 Brit Saylor 68'), 9 Sophie Manzi (c) (17 Luna Alves Etienne 68'), 11 Rebecca May, 12 Beth Hartigan, 15 Erin Corrigan, 16 Ella Wales-Bonner, 19 Mia Lockett, 21 Lily Price

Unused Substitutions: 10 Hannah Baptiste, 13 Ceylon Hickman, 20 Minnie Cruttwell

Goalscorer: Brit Saylor 77' (pen)

London Seaward Line-Up: 31 Alicia Garwood, 2 Sophie Lee, 3 Mira Hoteit (12 Hattie Simes 85'), 5 Lucy Cockerill, 7 Jo Butler, 8 Giorgia Bracelli (c), 9 Persis Oteng, 10 Sam Lanza, 14 Maisie Cannon, 17 Megan Burrows, 18 Suzy Davies (4 Kate Bradley 79')

Unused Substitutions: 6 Romany Wellington, 11 Niamh Carty

Goalscorers: Sam Lanza 46', Maisie Cannon 73'

Yellow Cards: Megan Burrows 58', Maisie Cannon 90+4'

Red Card: Jo Butler 77'

Referee: Ashley Carly

Lily Price’s consolation goal ten minutes from time wouldn’t be enough as the Hamlet slumped to a 3-1 home defeat against league leaders Ebbsfleet United on Sunday.

Ryan Dempsey’s side were in a good run heading into the game at Champion Hill, but in one of their biggest tests yet in the season, goals from Meg Wood and Amelia Woodgate, as well as an own goal from Saskia Reeves-Priestley condemned them to a first loss in nine games.

It didn’t take the visitors long to show their promotion credentials, as in the sixth minute, Wood took aim from 35-yards out and scored certainly the best goal of the match by firing past a helpless Reeves-Priestley.

The home side continued to struggle as the half went on after conceding, and they almost conceded a second in the 16th minute as Teni Charles went through on-goal, but was prevented from scoring as Beth Hartigan would make a last-ditch challenge in the penalty area.

Despite struggling in the early part of the game, Dulwich were beginning to create opportunities as they grew into the match, searching for the equalising goal, especially when Mia Lockett had a half-chance to score in the 20th minute as she was one-on-one with the keeper, only for Millie Waud to make a well-timed tackle in the area to stop the forward.

With the game beginning to stretch, both teams were finding ways in which to score and within the space of six minutes, it would be Ebbsfleet who would have two key chances to double their lead, especially in the 26th minute as Logan O’Shea’s attempt at the near post was well-saved by Reeves-Priestley diving to her left.

By now Dulwich had done very well to be competitive and stay in the game and had chances towards the end of the first-half make the visitors pay for not taking their chances, firstly from Rhea Gall in the 38th minute, and perhaps a better chance a minute later as Lockett rattled the crossbar from range.

It was Dulwich that started the stronger of the two teams in the second half, playing on the front-foot as they sought to build on their momentum following a strong end to the first half.

Just as the Hamlet were picking up steam, disaster would strike in the 58th minute as the Hamlet frustratingly would concede a second goal. Charley Clifford floated a free kick into the box from deep, which Reeves-Priestley opted to punch. Unfortunately for Saskia and the team, the ball deflected high into the air, spun backwards and evaded both Chana Hinds and Gall to nestle into the back of the net.

With the visitors having breathing space in the match, Dempsey’s side were not giving up without a fight as within four minutes after conceding the second, Sophie Manzi had squandered two decent chances in getting a goal back for the hostesses.

Ebbsfleet on the other hand were ruthless in putting the game out of sight, as in the 68th minute, a long ball forward by Amy Russ was rifled past Reeves-Priestley by Amelia Woodgate, rounding off a swift counter-attack for her side and make it 3-0.

Price came within inches of giving us hope shortly after, as she became the second Hamlet player to strike the woodwork, her shot ricocheting off the crossbar, before Manzi somehow put her rebounded header straight at Courtney Shanly whilst the goalkeeper was on the ground by her left-hand post.

Eventually, the Hamlet would go on and get their consolation goal ten minutes from the end, as a short corner routine came Price's way to net from 25 yards out, but this wouldn’t be enough as Dulwich suffered their first defeat in all competitions since February.

Dulwich Hamlet Line Up: 1 Saskia Reeves-Priestley, 2 Madi Parsonson (18 Ana de Pellegrin 87'), 4 Chana Hinds, 5 Rosie Stone, 9 Sophie Manzi (c) (11 Rebecca May 80'), 12 Beth Hartigan, 15 Erin Corrigan, 16 Ella Wales-Bonner (10 Hannah Baptiste 87'), 19 Mia Lockett (20 Minnie Cruttwell 87'), 21 Lily Price, 22 Rhea Gall

Goalscorer: Lily Price 79'

Ebbsfleet United Line-Up: 1 Courtney Shanly, 3 Millie Waud, 5 Ellie Perkins, 6 Madison Woodgate (2 Casey Iron 55'), 7 Logan O'Shea, 8 Charley Clifford, 9 Amy Russ (6 Madison Woodgate 86'), 10 Meg Wood, 12 Amelia Woodgate (16 Lydia Wills 32'), 14 Teni Charles (12 Amelia Woodgate 66'), 27 Dan Carlton (c)

Unused Substitutes: 4 Vicky Grieve, 13 Ash Naismith, 15 Maddie Reynolds

Goalscorers: Meg Wood 6', Saskia Reeves-Priestley (OG) 58', Amelia Woodgate 69'

Referee: Lucy Clark
Attendance: 308 (+5 dogs)

[b]By David Diangienda

Goals from Erin Corrigan, Brit Saylor and Luna Alves Etienne helped Dulwich earn a 3-0 home league win against AFC Acorns.

The team were coming into this game off the back of consecutive wins in the league as Ryan Dempsey’s side were looking to finish the season on a strong note, and go eight unbeaten in the division.

Sophie Manzi was fit to start after recent struggles with a hamstring injury, whilst Rebecca May was back in the squad after missing the last month with a back injury.

For the first ten minutes of the game, the Hamlet were the more dominant side, enjoying more possession of the ball than their opponents and had a half-chance in the 5th minute as Saylor’s attempt on goal was blocked from close range.

The home side continued to be dominant as the game progresses and were unfortunate not to make the most of a good corner kick from Madi Parsonson, which caused great panic for the AFC Acorns defence, who were able to scramble the ball away.

Mia Lockett, playing wider than last time out, was next to come close, as she sent an effort just over the crossbar.

The away side were creating chances of their own, with Ellie Pace looking dangerous, and they especially gave the home defence a fright 19 minutes in, as we almost conceded a goal following a sloppy pass from the back but were fortunate that Sam Philips couldn’t convert her effort on goal.

Dulwich did however manage to score in the 34th minute. Corrigan intercepted a loose pass high up the field, and after Parsonson played a pass into Manzi, the forward laid the ball off to Erin on the right-hand side of the box, before the defender cut inside and fired a shot off the underside of the crossbar and in for her third goal of the campaign.

Corrigan was then denied a second by a brilliant reaction save by the excellent Lauren Graves, tipping her effort away for a corner as the Hamlet went in 1-0 ahead.

Into the second-half, and the Hamlet continued to push for a second goal as they created a series of chances. The biggest one came in the 59th minute, as Sophie Manzi found herself one-on-one with keeper Graves, but after she took too many touches in the box, she was quickly dispossessed.

Some five minutes later after that chance from Manzi and substitute Rosie Stone almost got a surprising second goal of the game as her free-kick just went over the bar.

The Hamlet’s hard work and persistence would pay off in the end as in the 69th minute, a clever turn by Saylor saw her tripped by a defender, and the captain got up and would convert her penalty casually into the bottom right corner to make it 2-0 and give the hosts some breathing space in the game.

From here, it would be one way traffic for the home side as they continued to get themselves into goalscoring positions. Graves palmed another free kick onto the crossbar before a foul was awarded as Saylor attempted to scramble the loose ball home, before halftime sub Alves Etienne had a great chance to score her first ever goal for the club in the 85th minute, but she blazed her effort from close range over the bar, the ball hitting a bobble as it reached her.

Another chance came three minutes later for the hostsesses to get that all important third goal missed as Manzi again tirelessly worked hard to make a run in behind, before attempting to square the ball in the area for Rebecca May, only for the keeper to parry the pass away for a corner.

The Pink and Blue Army were able to grab the third goal and earn all three points in stoppage time, and it was Alves Etienne who provided it, as a great ball from Manzi found the player in the penalty area, and the winger brilliantly controlled the ball and smashed the ball into the back of the net.

This win means that the team are ahead of Fulham in fourth place and with five games to go, the club is in a strong position to finish the league season on a high.

Dulwich Hamlet Line-Up: 1 Saskia Reeves-Priestley, 2 Madi Parsonson, 4 Chana Hinds (17 Luna Ales Etienne 46'), 8 Brit Saylor (c), 9 Sophie Manzi (11 Rebecca May 63'), 10 Hannah Baptiste (5 Rosie Stone 63'), 13 Ceylon Hickman (9 Sophie Manzi 81'), 15 Erin Corrigan, 19 Mia Lockett (20 Minnie Cruttwell 75'), 21 Lily Price, 22 Rhea Gall

Unused Substitutions: 13 Amy Jenkins

Goalscorers: Erin Corrigan 34', Brit Saylor 70' (pen), Luna Alves Etienne 90+1'

AFC Acorns Line-Up: 1 Lauren Graves, 2 Alicia Macleod, 3 Chloe Higham, 4 Janine Daly (c), 5 Ava Hutson (16 Ella Lazenby 86'), 6 Charlotte Virley (5 Ava Hutson 89'), 7 Ellie Pace, 8 Hazel Barnett, 11 Jade Page, 14 Sam Phillips (12 Pamela McDonnell 51'), 17 Ellie Livingstone (9 Lauren Tyler 73')

Referee: Martin Etheridge
Attendance: 339 + 6 dogs

Madi Parsonson became just the second player in our short history to score in four successive games as her brace helped us to a 3-1 victory over Enfield Town.

Her first goal on the stroke of half-time saw her stand alongside our record goalscorer Sophie Manzi in reaching this achievement, with Sophie only earning this record herself in February.

Lily Price had put us ahead in fortuitous circumstances in the 20th minute, before Parsonson's second in the 68th minute settled any nerves after Katie O'Leary had reduced the deficit early in the second half.

The win for Ryan Dempsey's side made it seven unbeaten in the league, and saw us rise to fourth in the table.

With Manzi injured, Mia Lockett was used as the middle of a front three, with Minnie Cruttwell rewarded for her sensational cameo at Aylesford by being given a start. Hannah Baptiste replaced Rosie Stone in the other change from the 5-1 win in Kent a week earlier.

Similar to recent games with Saltdean and Aylesford, we set about trying to grab an early goal or two, with Rhea Gall being denied in the first two minutes by debutant Enfield goalkeeper Teresa Murphy, although the offside flag was swiftly raised, before Lockett beat the offside trap to race through on goal a moment later, but couldn't convert this opening into a goal.

Chana Hinds then had a header cleared off the line and Brit Saylor glanced the resulting corner wide, all of this coming within the first five minutes. Murphy was swiftly into action again shortly afterwards as she smothered a shot by Cruttwell at the far post following a lovely cross from Parsonson.

Enfield arrived without having claimed a point since Jodie Whitford-Stark took the reins, but had come close to doing so in games against us and Millwall, but proved to be a goalscoring threat as captain Leah Littlechild burst her way forward, before hitting a rising shot which cannoned off the outside of Saskia Reeves-Priestley's right post.

However, the Hamlet deserved a goal, and it duly arrived in the 20th minute. The visitors lost possession deep in their half, and although Lockett had momentarily been dispossessed, but the ball trickled free to Price some 30 yards out. The midfielder has developed a reputation for long-range goals following strikes against Winchester and Bexhill earlier in the season, and she took aim again, and although Murphy caught the ball, the momentum of the shot carried her back over the goal line and a goal was awarded.

The game settled down after this, with Cruttwell seeing another shot blocked by a covering defender after excellent build-up from Lockett, and after both sides enjoyed periods of possession without creating chances of note, we added that crucial goal through Parsonson.

Gall sent a long ball out of defence, which was flicked on by the head of captain Saylor, with Parsonson the runner in behind. Despite it being on her supposed weaker foot, Moose took the shot on first time and put the ball into the far corner to extend the lead and get a share of the record.

Ryan Dempsey said afterwards that he anticipated a fast start to the second half by Enfield, and that was exactly what happened, with Javine McKnight causing problems for Hinds down the right wing, not many can say they have done that this season. It was through the work of McKnight that Enfield came back into the game, as she won a foot race with Hinds to charge down the right, with her cross finished off at the near post by O'Leary for her ninth of the season, and first league goal since October.

This sparked a reaction from the Hamlet, who had been sluggish prior to that goal, and we very nearly came to making it 3-1 on the hour mark, as Lockett slipped in Cruttwell to her right, and opting to go for the early shot, Minnie saw her effort saved low by Murphy before Baptiste put the follow up off target.

Ella Wales-Bonner had made an excellent impact off the bench a week earlier at Aylesford, and within three minutes of coming on, played a pivotal role once again. Receiving the ball in the centre of midfield from Hinds, Ella floated a pass over the head of Holly Holt to Parsonson, and although Murphy denied her first shot, Madi lifted her second high into the net to give us that two goal cushion once more.

The big question now was whether Moose could secure her hat trick in the remaining 22 minutes. Half the ground thought she had six minutes later when, receiving a loose ball 20 yards out, she hit a thunderous drive first time which cannoned down off the crossbar and bounced to safety with Murphy well-beaten.

Wales-Bonner was next to try her luck from distance, being teed up by Madi after the 21-year-old burst down the wing and picked her out on the edge of the box, but Murphy, later nominated as Enfield's Player of the Match by the Hamlet staff, got down to her right to deny the midfielder.

Then came a moment of despair and hilarity in equal measures. Parsonson took a short corner on the left hand side and after receiving the ball back by Price, one had one thing in mind, to shoot. She hit a fierce drive from 19 yards out, which looked destined to sail into the far corner, only for Gall to nod it on and over the crossbar, cue sheepish grins, especially as she was offside!

So it ultimately wasn't to be for Moose, but another stellar performance in the attacking third from our number 2 nonetheless, pivotal to extending our unbeaten run.

Dulwich Hamlet Line-Up: 1 Saskia Reeves-Priestley, 2 Madi Parsonson, 4 Chana Hinds, 8 Brit Saylor (c), 10 Hannah Baptiste (16 Ella Wales-Bonner 65'), 12 Beth Hartigan, 13 Ceylon Hickman (15 Erin Corrigan 71'), 19 Mia Lockett, 20 Minnie Cruttwell (17 Luna Alves Etienne 65'), 21 Lily Price, 22 Rhea Gall

Goalscorers: Lily Price 20', Madi Parsonson 45+1', 68'

Enfield Town Line-Up: 1 Teresa Murphy, 2 Sheryce Slater, 3 Holly Holt (11 Beth Lloyd 82'), 4 Brionne Fowle (12 Rebecca Evans 90+5'), 7 Samantha Malyon (15 Keira Stewart 64'), 11 Beth Lloyd (10 Javine McKnight 30'), 12 Rebecca Evans (8 Kirstie Jackson 58'), 14 Katie O'Leary, 16 Lauren Cann (17 Georgia Eaton 46'), 20 Leah Littlechild (c), 23 Claire Ford

Goalscorer: Katie O'Leary 53'

Yellow Card: Georgia Eaton 75'

Referee: Lanray Alapafujah
Attendance: 276 (+4 dogs)

Mia Lockett produced one of the great individual performances of the season on Sunday as the Hamlet extended their unbeaten league run to six games.

Her treble was our first in the league this season, and was supplemented by further stupendous efforts by Chana Hinds and Madi Parsonson, the latter scoring in three successive games. It was also a special afternoon for Ceylon Hickman, who became the seventh player to reach 50 games for the first team.

With Ryan Dempsey unable to travel to the game, it was Jamie Broughton leading the side from the dugout with Mike Parsonson, and they would have been very happy with the start the side made.

Wary of Aylesford's pressing nature in the early exchanges of our FA Cup win there earlier in the campaign, we looked to get about the home defence, with Lockett in particular giving Jade Folkard a particularly torrid time down the Hamlet right.

We had already had half chances through Sophie Manzi and Lockett, who had seen a lob over keeper Sade Rider almost put us ahead, when the two combined in devastating fashion. Manzi was released down the left channel, before producing a sumptuous pass with the outside of her foot into the six yard-box, where Lockett ran on to meet it and put her shot into the roof of the net.

One became two almost from the kick off, as Hinds, playing as a makeshift left back for the afternoon, won possession high on the left wing, before cutting infield and sending an effort over the head of Rider from 20 yards for her fifth goal of the season and goals in back-to-back league games.

It was one-way traffic as the Hamlet went for the jugular, Parsonson, Manzi and Lockett continuously looking menacing across the front line, whilst Hinds and Beth Hartigan supported the attacks ably on both flanks. Just before the half-hour mark, Lockett came close again when Brit Saylor found her with a cross, Lockett's header being saved by Rider.

We then had a spell where we were sloppier in possession, although Hickman and Rhea Gall were continuously winning back the ball whenever Aylesford found themselves in any promising positions. Indeed we could have gained a 3-0 lead when Saylor was played in over the top, with the captain opting to volley a shot first time, when she had more time than she realised, and Rider again got down low to save.

We would get a rude awakening in the 40th minute, as Aylesford claimed a goal back out of nowhere. Alison Draper received the ball in the left channel, and sent a shot towards our near post, where Saskia Reeves-Priestley made an uncharacteristic error and parried the ball behind her goal line, despite her best efforts to chase back and claw it out.

In an effort to shake things up, Ella Wales-Bonner replaced Rosie Stone at the interval, but the first fifteen minutes of the second half would be marred by lengthy stoppages due to injuries to home players Wiktoria Bukowska and Chloe Francis. In between those breaks in play, Francis had threatened to equalise following a mazy run as Aylesford sensed a real opportunity to get back on level terms.

The second stoppage halted their momentum though, and the arrival of Minnie Cruttwell into the game in the 67th minute to replace the injured Manzi would turn the tide in our favour once and for all.

Already given Draper problems, she would assist the third goal in the 71st minute as she was released down the right, sent in a cross to the near post, where Lockett, now playing in the number nine role, was on hand to head past Rider and restore the two goal cushion.

Just as was the case in the first half, we scored a quick fire double, as four minutes later, Wales-Bonner held onto possession by the left-hand corner, before slotting a pass back to Parsonson 20 yards out. Madi let fly with an effort, which faded away from Rider and into the top left corner for a truly magnificent goal, and ensure she would score in a third successive game following strikes against Sutton and Ebbsfleet in the last week.

With the points now in the bag, it was simply a question of whether we could extend the lead further, and if Lockett could grab her hat trick. Both her and Parsonson had missed further chances, Rider thwarting Lockett with another save, but she could not prevent her forever. With a minute of normal time remaining, Cruttwell again was the architect for a goal down the right, sending an early through ball into the path of Lockett, with the on-loan AFC Wimbledon loanee keeping her composure to finish high beyond Rider, despite the keeper getting a touch on the shot.

14 points from their last six games, the side are currently playing some seriously good football, and will hope to extend that run with the visit of Enfield Town to Champion Hill next Sunday.

Aylesford Line-Up: 1 Sade Rider, 2 Becky Burnham, 3 Jade Folkard (5 Alison Draper 31' (3 Jade Folkard 90')), 6 Stacey Glover (14 Imogen Armstrong 63'), 7 Brittany Harper, 8 Atlanta McLean (15 Kara Richardson 46'), 10 Chloe Francis (9 Beth Hulme 87'), 11 Wiktoria Bukowska (8 Atlanta McLean 50'), 12 Chloe Fowler, 18 Penny Dellaway (9 Beth Hulme 31' (4 Ella Abbott 84')), 20 Alex Witham (6 Stacey Glover 84')

Goalscorer: Alison Draper 40'

Yellow Card: Chloe Fowler 64'

Dulwich Hamlet Line-Up: 1 Saskia Reeves-Priestley, 2 Madi Parsonson, 5 Rosie Stone (16 Ella Wales-Bonner 46'), 7 Chana Hinds, 8 Brit Saylor (10 Hannah Baptiste 80'), 9 Sophie Manzi (20 Minnie Cruttwell 67'), 12 Beth Hartigan, 13 Ceylon Hickman, 19 Mia Lockett, 21 Lily Price, 22 Rhea Gall

Goalscorers: Mia Lockett 10', 71', 89', Chana Hinds 12', Madi Parsonson 75'

Referee: Michael Colderoy

Minnie Cruttwell was the heroine as she scored the winning penalty as the Hamlet beat Ebbsfleet United 7-6 on spot kicks to reach the quarter-finals of the Combined Counties Midweek Women's Cup.

In a tremendous game of football, Meg Wood had given the Fleet the lead, only for Mia Lockett to level. Madi Parsonson then put us ahead with 12 minutes remaining, before a stunning solo effort from Ellie Perkins sent the game to penalties.

Saskia Reeves-Priestley saved the first effort from Amelia Woodgate, whilst Ceylon Hickman had our fourth effort saved. Deep into sudden death, Chloe Francis struck the bar, before Cruttwell calmly converted our eighth spotkick to win the tie.

Following their extraordinary 4-4 draw in the league against Sutton United, the Hamlet were looking to put that behind them as they looked to advance against a side top of the London & South-East Regional Premier Division.

The first seven minutes were somewhat a cagey affair between the two teams as they looked to establish dominance, but it was the Hamlet via Sophie Manzi who had two great chances to take the lead but couldn’t do so.

The visitors were beginning to grow in confidence during the game and after forcing Reeves-Priestley into making a vital save, the away side’s effort were rewarded in the 13th minute as a mix up in the penalty area from an Ebbsfleet corner allowed Wood to be unmarked on the near post and put the ball into the back of the net.

The Fleet continued to pile the pressure on the home side shortly after scoring and continuously found themselves in dangerous positions as the half went on and by the half hour mark it seemed like the visitors had restricted the Hamlet in finding their groove in attack.

Just when things were starting to slip away, Dulwich equalised to make it 1-1 in the match in the 30th minute. A great pass from Ella Wales-Bonner played in Lockett, who was cool, calm, and collected in the penalty area to place the ball in the bottom right corner to score.

Whilst the hostesses did well to lift the atmosphere in the stadium after equalising, they almost undid all the hard work they had done in getting back into the game, as a couple of minutes before half-time, Reeves-Priestley on two occasions was almost caught out in her own area by Fleet attackers.

After the start of the second-half, the game started to fizzle out during a ten minute period in which both teams struggled to secure a stronghold in the game, with the away side mainly resorting to half-chances.

However, Lockett was a constant threat for Dulwich throughout, especially using her pace to make runs in behind, which was especially evident in the 57th minute as she was one-on-one with Ash Naismith, only for her effort to be saved on a tight angle.

And Lockett was involved in the thick of the action again as Dulwich had a big chance a few minutes later to take the lead as Mia squared the ball to Manzi in the penalty area, who couldn’t convert her effort towards goal as her shot was saved from close-range.

The tempo of the game started to slow down a little for about twenty minutes as possession continuously changed between the two teams, signalling perhaps the respect the two sides have for each other.

An extraordinary set of events occurred within a space of two minutes as both teams scored second goals. Dulwich scored in the 78th minute, with Brit Saylor seeing a shot blocked, and as the ball spun to Manzi, she teed up Parsonson to her left to net a goal in consecutive games. However, almost from the restart, Perkins received possession in her own half, advanced some 50 yards with the ball, and lobbed it over Reeves-Priestley to level matters.

Perhaps the Hamlet felt they should have won the game in normal time as Lockett had a chance three minutes from time, as a great bit of play from Hickman found the attacker in the penalty area, but she couldn’t direct her effort on-goal.

And so to penalties, with Reeves-Priestley making that stunning save diving to her right to give us the early advantage. The next six were converted, before Hickman saw Naismith get down low to keep out her attempt. Maddie Reynolds scored their fifth attempt, meaning Saylor had to do so to keep us in the contest, and she duly obliged.

The shootout continued into sudden death, where the away side had their eighth penalty hit the bar through Francis, giving Cruttwell the opportunity to win the game with hers, and help Dulwich reach the last eight in dramatic circumstances.

Dulwich Hamlet Line-Up: 1 Saskia Reeves-Priestley, 2 Madi Parsonson, 4 Chana Hinds (13 Ceylon Hickman 65'), 9 Sophie Manzi (c) (20 Minnie Cruttwell 87'), 10 Hannah Baptiste (8 Brit Saylor 65'), 12 Beth Hartigan, 15 Erin Corrigan, 16 Ella Wales-Bonner, 19 Mia Lockett, 21 Lily Price, 22 Rhea Gall

Unused Substitution: 7 Alyssa Miranda

Goalscorers: Mia Lockett 30', Madi Parsonson 78'

Ebbsfleet United 'A' Line-Up: 13 Ash Naismith, 3 Stef Simmons (14 Maddie Reynolds 86'), 4 Vicky Grieve, 5 Ellie Perkins, 7 Logan O'Shea (c), 8 Charley Clifford, 9 Amelia Woodgate, 10 Meg Wood, 15 Teni Charles, 16 Chloe Francis, 17 Madison Woodgate

Unused Substitutions: 18 Ellie George, 27 Holly Theobald

Goalscorers: Meg Wood 13', Ellie Perkins 80'

Penalties: A Woodgate (saved 0-0); Lockett (scored 0-1); Charles (scored 1-1); Parsonson (scored 1-2); Clifford (scored 2-2); Gall (scored 2-3), Wood (scored 3-3), Hickman (saved 3-3), Reynolds (scored 4-3), Saylor (scored 4-4), Perkins (scored 5-4), Price (scored 5-5), M Woodgate (scored 6-5), Corrigan (scored 6-6), Francis (missed 6-6), Cruttwell (scored 6-7)

Referee: Lucy Clark
Attendance: 88

Teenager Beth Hartigan netted her first Hamlet goal with the very last kick of the game to earn a share of the spoils against Sutton United, with the game ending 4-4.

The Hamlet were at one point cruising to victory when they went 3-1 ahead, and at another point were crashing to defeat as the hostesses led 4-3 deep into injury time, as Lily Dent's second of the afternoon looked to have won it for United.

She had opened the scoring through a controversial penalty in the first half, only for Chana Hinds to head in an equaliser. Brit Saylor's eighth goal of a productive season put us ahead after the restart, before Madi Parsonson curled in a third.

Some poor defending allowed Jasmine Backhurst to pull one back in the 71st minute, with centre-back Ella Meehan restoring parity with a tremendous long-range strike, before those late goals from Dent and Hartigan.

The majority of the early play was in the Sutton half as Luna Alves Etienne and Mia Lockett looked to use their blistering pace to good effect, with the former assisting Saylor for the first chance of the game, which she whipped wide.

Rosie Stone would cause problems all afternoon with her set pieces, crossing for Hinds for our first half equaliser and also providing the free kick which was eventually turned home by Hartigan, whilst Saylor and Sophie Manzi would also come close from her corner kicks. She would send our second chance of the game over the bar from 30 yards, with her next effort being held by Zoe McNulty.

The game was also marred by atrocious officiating, namely referee Anthony Green and assistant William White. The first moment of controversy was a chance for the hostesses midway through the half, when Green got in the way of Saylor when she tried to receive a pass. Rather than halting the game for a restart, he allowed play to continue and as Sutton broke, it took a strong hand from Saskia Reeves-Priestley to deny Olivia Watson as she went through on goal.

His baffling management of the game continued in the 36th minute when he awarded Sutton a penalty. Dent attempted a bicycle kick from a free kick, her effort being blocked by Lily Price less than a yard away and with her arms by her side. Green saw enough to award a spot kick, which was duly dispatched by Dent.

Rather than feel sorry for themselves, the Hamlet swiftly responded with Hinds heading in her fourth goal of the season, and ensuring she would score in both fixtures between the sides this season.

Two minutes into the second half and we took the lead. Lockett has become quickly known for her direct approach and to try and beat players, and she would bomb past two Sutton defenders before crossing from the right for Saylor to tap in from close range.

Saylor should have been allowed a chance to net her second soon after, as a long ball by Parsonson saw her sprint through on goal unopposed, only for a terrible offside call from linesman White, who decided he could get a good view of the call despite being twenty yards deeper than the Sutton defence, and with Saylor a good five yards onside when the pass was made. The fact that the opposite official, Keith Slaughter, who had a fine game, was questioning these decisions to onlookers spoke volumes.

Parsonson would ensure we would score a third, finishing from 20 yards out after a brilliant one-two with Price, before Sutton roared back into the game. In the 71st minute, Laila Malcolm produced a wonderful through ball, which was collected by Backhurst on the right side of the area. The Hamlet defence waited for an offside flag, which, correctly, was not raised, and Backhurst had the simple job of beating an exposed Reeves-Priestley.

Six minutes later, the Us were level. Ella Wales-Bonner, making her 50th Hamlet appearance, rushed a clearance which was picked up by Meehan 30 yards out, with the centre back sending a howitzer over Reeves-Priestley to level the game.

The lack of consistency from Green then reared its ugly head. Stone had forced McNulty into a tremendous fingertip save onto the post, and as the ball rolled free, Wales-Bonner sent a shot goalwards which appeared to strike the arm of Gabriella Howell as she attempted to block. Replays suggested afterwards that it was more of a clearcut handball than the one Price had been penalised for, but the decision maker was unmoved.

Sutton though were finishing the game strongly, and Reeves-Priestley made a two-handed save to tip a Backhurst half-volley over, but was powerless to stop Dent from curling in what appeared to be the winner in the 90th minute. However, the drama would not be quite over, and with the Hamlet packing the penalty area from the final Stone freekick, the ball was deflected across goal by Ceylon Hickman, and Hartigan threw herself at the ball to ensure we would leave with a point and go five undefeated in the league.

Sutton United Line-Up: 1 Zoe McNulty, 2 Sophie Modak, 3 Ella Meehan, 4 Fern Colepio (c) (7 Abbie Measures 64'), 5 Eloise Williams, 6 Caitlin Savage (9 Sarah Chapman 65'), 8 Gabriella Howell, 15 Laila Malcolm, 18 Jasmine Backhurst, 19 Lily Dent, 26 Olivia Watson

Unused Substitutions: 12 Sacha Brinkley, 13 Emma Marlow, 57 Aya Mirjan

Goalscorers: Lily Dent (pen) 36', 90', Jasmine Backhurst 71', Ella Meehan 77'

Yellow Card: Eloise Williams 42'

Dulwich Hamlet Line-Up: 1 Saskia Reeves-Priestley, 2 Madi Parsonson, 4 Chana Hinds, 5 Rosie Stone, 8 Brit Saylor (c), 9 Sophie Manzi, 12 Beth Hartigan, 13 Ceylon Hickman, 18 Luna Alves Etienne (20 Minnie Cruttwell 69'), 19 Mia Lockett, 21 Lily Price (16 Ella Wales-Bonner 69')

Unused Substitutions: 10 Hannah Baptiste, 22 Rhea Gall

Goalscorers: Chana Hinds 40', Brit Saylor 47', Madi Parsonson 63', Beth Hartigan 90+4'

Yellow Cards: Chana Hinds 56', Sophie Manzi 74'

Referee: Anthony Green
Attendance: 35

The coastal opponents are a tough side who don’t quit, and Sunday’s meeting was no exception. Mid-table Saltdean United are only one point behind Dulwich, and were visibly determined to show them a good time. Although Dulwich threw down the gauntlet early to establish the upper hand, Saltdean clawed their way back and dug in grimly, insisting on sharing the points.

Things looked rosy for the Hamlet in the opening minutes. Recent signing Mia Lockett, who’s been making a name for herself on the frontline in the last month, gave us the lead in the 1st minute, with a neat debut goal for the club slid in from the right. Saltdean immediately got to work trying to find an equaliser, but Dulwich maintained a high press and pushed them back into their own half. The visitors fought back a little too furiously, handing Dulwich a penalty in the 11th minute. Who stepped up? Sophie Manzi, of course, burying it easily and claiming the record of being the first DHFCW player to score in four consecutive games.

Saltdean responded in organised fashion, giving defender Beth Hartigan and stalwart keeper Saskia Reeves-Priestley plenty to do. Chances for Saltdean at 17 and 19 minutes, including a serious threat from skipper Georgia Bridges, who’d trouble the Hamlet later, sent Dulwich hearts racing, but they held the lead. Luna Alves Etienne, another recent Dulwich signing, made herself a problem on the right: fast and shrewd with an eye for cracks in the Saltdean defence. She punished one such opening with a beauty of a shot - Saltdean keeper Blair Hamilton leapt out to meet it but it was wide by a whisker.

The intensity of Saltdean’s play was building up though, and Bridges caught Dulwich by surprise in the 33rd minute to notch a goal for the visitors, firing in a free kick from some 40 yards out. It was the opening they needed; moments later, Molly Hill closed the gap at 37 minutes with a sneaky close range finish - a frustrating goal for Dulwich after failing to clear out a corner effectively. With Saltdean determined to overtake Dulwich, Ceylon Hickman stemmed the flow, clearing the ball out of the box as Saltdean chanced their arm again. New Saltdean signing Lucy Jellett, fresh from racking up goals at Millwall, looked hungry to score, but the Dulwich backline would yield no further.

Halftime gave the pink’n’blue a chance to regroup and re-strategise. As the game resumed, they focused on controlling the pace more. Saltdean pressured them with reaches into the box and a long-range free kick but Reeves-Priestley kept the goal under lock and key. Her heroism came at a cost, needing treatment after using her forehead as a brick wall, but happily for Dulwich, she was able to play on.

Lockett offered a shot into the side netting. Her versatility proved to be an ongoing issue for Saltdean, tracking back and causing them hassle in midfield, forcing them to make mistakes and give up free kicks. At 65 minutes she barrelled a stonker of a shot into the Saltdean box, scraped clear by Hamilton’s fingertips. Dulwich had Saltdean under pressure - keeping their keeper busy, whilst Chana Hinds controlled the play at the halfway line and won footraces down the flanks, drawing multiple players to deal with her. With Saltdean looking less sure of themselves, it looked like Dulwich might wrest back the lead. Both teams fielded subs to try and tip the balance of play - Chloe Nye on for Saltdean, and the trusty Minnie Cruttwell on for Dulwich. A final burst of energy from Saltdean, and a couple of leaky moments in the Dulwich defence, threatened to be the decider, with a Saltdean attacker outrunning Hickman in the box and forcing a block from Reeves-Priestley. Would indecisive clearing be Dulwich’s undoing? Not today. The Hamlet still had ideas in the tank, Manzi chesting a possibility towards Lockett - which Hamilton, off her line, was ready to shut down - and Rosie Stone fielding a free kick. Chana wrestled to create something with it but two Saltdean defenders doggedly stopped her, closing the afternoon at 2-2.

[b]What worked:[/b]
[b][i]Lots of ideas from the frontline[/i][/b]
Whether in the lead or fighting to keep the scales level, Dulwich had no shortage of firepower. Manzi and Lockett, after their early success, kept the chances coming and pressured Saltdean to the last.

[b][i]Saskia Reeves-Priestley[/i][/b]
Dulwich’s keeper had her work cut out for her, but despite an unlucky five minutes in the first half, kept her focus. She’s more than a reactive keeper; her quick reflexes and ability to anticipate Saltdean even when they overcame Dulwich’s defence in lightning moments, were the difference today between a draw and a loss.

[b][i]Second-half mentality[/i][/b]
It’s frustrating to hand back an early lead before half-time comes, but Dulwich didn’t let it unbalance them. Playing the long game, they outlasted Saltdean’s burst of confidence. Longtime Hamlet fans know one of this team’s greatest strengths is their psychology - a never-say-die approach and an ability to regroup under pressure. Today’s game was a textbook example.

[b]What didn’t work:[/b]

[b][i]Letting Saltdean breathe[/i][/b]
Saltdean’s intensity was clear from the start - uncowed by Dulwich’s two early goals, they had a ferocious first half. Like Dulwich, they’re a team that seize opportunities in split seconds, and needed to be contained better. Little errors like not clearing out a corner effectively cost Dulwich dearly.

[b]The view from the bench:[/b]
Ryan Dempsey spoke with pride about how his side handled the Saltdean threat in the second half, letting the visitors run themselves down: [i]“We wanted to be more positive and aggressive in & out of possession, which I felt we were in the second half. We looked like the fitter team which was pleasing to see. We felt that we were the only team that wanted to win the game in the second half. We need to improve on our decision-making in the final third to create more clear-cut chances.”[/i]

Dulwich Hamlet Line-up: 1 Saskia Reeves-Priestley, 2 Madi Parsonson, 4 Chana Hinds, 5 Rosie Stone, 9 Sophie Manzi (c), 12 Beth Hartigan, 13 Ceylon Hickman, 15 Erin Corrigan, 17 Luna Alves Etienne (20 Minnie Cruttwell 74'), 19 Mia Lockett, 21 Lily Price

Goalscorers: Mia Lockett 1', Sophie Manzi (pen) 11'

Yellow Card: Madi Parsonson 55'

Saltdean United Line-Up: 1 Blair Hamilton, 2 Lillian Tucker, 3 Evie Nebbitt, 4 Amy Sinden, 5 Sienna Howell, 6 Megan Gates, 7 Ruby Melis (11 Madeline Hotston 74'), 8 Georgia Bridges (c), 9 Molly Hill (15 Faye Williams 80'), 10 Amy Green, 11 Madeline Hotston (14 Lucy Jellett 35' (12 Chloe Nye 68'))

Unused Substitutions: 16 Maya Pritchard, 17 Malak Taher

Goalscorers: Georgia Bridges 33', Molly Hill 37'

Referee: Mark Sullivan
Attendance: 318 (+5 dogs)

The Hamlet earned three points over Enfield Town the hard way on Sunday, scoring twice in the second half to turn the game on its head.

Trailing through Olivia Syson's 15th minute strike, Erin Corrigan levelled just minutes after a stunning goal line clearance from Ceylon Hickman, before Sophie Manzi converted a penalty just three minutes from time. The win meant we had three successive victories in the league for the first time since 2021.

Rosie Stone returned to the midfield after missing the defeat at Dartford, replacing Minnie Cruttwell in the only change to the side. Beth Hartigan returned to the heart of the defence with Madi Parsonson back on the wing. The hosts were welcoming manager Jodie Whitford-Stark to the dugout for the first time, and made seven changes from a side which lost 10-0 at Dorking Wanderers a fortnight previously.

It was a fairly tame start to the game as the Hamlet struggled to adapt to a highly bobbly surface on the QEII pitch, Mia Lockett firing one early chance high and wide, whilst both Manzi and Lily Price hit shots on target from outside the box at Cristina Blundell as we probed a defence that had shipped 22 goals in its last four outings.

However, it would be the hostesses who went ahead through Syson's tenth goal of the campaign. Rosie Stone lost possession cheaply to Samantha Malyon in midfield, and she played a ball up to Syson in attack. The number 9 played a one-two with Malyon again before bursting into the area. Hitting a rising shot, Syson watched as Saskia Reeves-Priestley got two hands to the ball, but could not prevent it from hitting the back of the net.

This goal brought panic to the Hamlet defence as the next few minutes saw wayward back passes, rushed clearances and general bedlam as Enfield chased a second, but eventually the movement of Manzi and Rebecca May, combined with Parsonson on the flank, began to push the home side back. Despite this, our best chance of the half would come from a free kick some 35 yards out in the 29th minute. Stone, who has scored two in the New London Lionesses win, looped a high ball towards goal from the right wing, which Blundell did really well to parry away with two hands on her line.

Then came chances for the American duo in the Hamlet side, Corrigan sending a Stone cross off target, before Brit Saylor found herself in acres of space in the penalty area, but was wild with her effort, her yells of frustration heard in all corners of the ground. We would then make an enforced change, as May limped off to be replaced by Luna Alves Etienne, May the victim of a tremendous recovery challenge by Claire Ford as she bore down on the area.

Chana Hinds was also introduced at the break as Ryan Dempsey juggled his formation, scrapping the preferred 5-3-2 for a 5-2-3, with Hinds playing on the right, a move that would bear plenty of fruit in the second half. Luna was showing the confidence of youth by beating Enfield players with stepovers, and her fellow substitute Hinds had the first chance of the second half but fired over.

Then came the biggest moment of the game in the 56th minute. Syson was threaded in down the right, and looked to shoot across Reeves-Priestley. The goalkeeper, unaware that the shot was going off target, got down to parry the ball back into a dangerous area, and Malyon came onto the loose ball first time to send a shot goalwards. Somehow, Hickman managed to charge across the goal line and get her head on the shot to turn over the crossbar in a remarkable piece of defending. It was a moment that would change the course of the afternoon.

Two minutes later, we had levelled the game. A corner from Stone was not dealt with adequately, and the ball dropped to Manzi. Somehow, the striker managed to dig out a shot through a throng of players, seeing the ball strike the base of the post, before the rebound was converted from two yards by Erin Corrigan, her first league goal in pink and blue.

It was the Hamlet who then had the wind in their sails with Enfield dropping deeper and seemingly looking for a point whilst looking to play on the counter, and Lockett couldn't finish off an Alves Etienne cutback. This almost proved costly, but Reeves-Priestley was on hand to make a big save as an Enfield attacker cut into the penalty area and unleashed a thunderous drive, with Saskia getting her body behind the ball. Moments later she was a mere spectator as Katie O'Leary clipped the bar from distance.

Corrigan had so nearly scored again from another Stone set piece but had headed over from close range, before we earned a penalty in fairly controversial manner. It seemed that a low ball into the box from the right was well-dealt with by Danielle Smith under pressure from Lockett, sliding in to clear, only for the referee to blow his whistle and point to the spot, saying that Lockett had been fouled. Cue ecstasy from our bench, and sheer anger in the home dugout.

Manzi stepped up, and squeezed it underneath Blundell to give us a lead for the first time in the game, just going slightly to the goalkeeper's left. Both her and Hinds also passed up moments to extend the lead in injury time as we looked to seal the three points once and for all, but full time soon came, and with it, a very nice victory and performance indeed!

Enfield Town Line-Up: 1 Cristina Blundell, 2 Sheryce Slater (9 Olivia Syson 80'), 4 Brionne Fowle, 5 Samantha Malyon, 6 Danielle Smith, 9 Olivia Syson (15 Keira Stewart 60'), 10 Natasha Cohen (11 Stavroulle Windell 85'), 12 Rebecca Evans (24 Lucy Loomes 71'), 14 Katie O'Leary (12 Rebecca Evans 85'), 20 Leah Littlechild (c), 23 Claire Ford

Unused Substitution: 8 Jodie Whitford-Stark

Goalscorer: Olivia Syson 15'

Yellow Card: Olivia Syson 90+4'

Dulwich Hamlet Line-Up: 1 Saskia Reeves-Priestley, 2 Madi Parsonson, 5 Rosie Stone, 8 Brit Saylor (c), 9 Sophie Manzi, 11 Rebecca May (17 Luna Alves Etienne 45+4'), 12 Bethany Hartigan, 13 Ceylon Hickman, 15 Erin Corrigan, 19 Mia Lockett, 21 Lily Price (4 Chana Hinds 46')

Unused Substitutions: 20 Minnie Cruttwell, 22 Rhea Gall

Goalscorers: Erin Corrigan 58', Sophie Manzi (pen) 87'

Referee: Lanray Alapafujah
Attendance: 60

Sophie Manzi's consolation goal wasn’t enough as the Hamlet crashed out of the League Cup at the quarter-final stage following a 3-1 away defeat at Dartford.

Emily Vaughan, Elizabeth Adams and Nicha Dyett did the damage for the home side at Princes Park.

Ryan Dempsey’s side were looking to build on from their 2-0 win against Ebbsfleet United in the previous round, with the team having a good opportunity to potentially advance into the semi-finals of the competition, playing against a side they had beaten in December.

Beth Hartigan returned to the side following illness, whilst Minnie Cruttwell also came into the starting XI from the side that swept aside New London Lionesses a week previously, with Ella Wales-Bonner and Rhea Gall both missing, but there was positive news for Ryan Dempsey, with Chana Hinds back in the squad after missing the previous five games.

The first ten minutes of the game were a chaotic and fiery affair, which would remain a constant throughout the game, but it was the Hamlet that was on the attack first in the match as Rebecca May twice delivered crosses across the face of goal without success within the first two minutes from the right flank.

Dulwich continued to apply pressure on the Dartford defence as Hartigan chested down a ball and volleyed her effort from outside the penalty area wide of the goal in the fifth minute.

However, the hostesses were beginning to grow in the game with the home side finding openings in the Hamlet defence and almost capitalising on set-pieces during the process.

The home side’s persistence paid off in the 17th minute, as Emily Vaughan latched onto a long ball to go through on goal, and put her team in front as she curled her effort into the bottom left corner past goalkeeper Saskia Reeves-Priestley.

Things started to get worse for Dempsey’s side as Dartford were relentless for the rest of the first-half, with Elizabeth Adams on two occasions coming close to adding a second goal in the game.

It would be Adams again two minutes into the second half who would score and make it 2-0 for Dartford as Shauni Griffiths showed great skill on the right flank, before sending in a low cross for Adams to shoot into the far corner across Reeves-Priestley.

Despite the Pepper Army being two goals down and having struggled to impose their presence, they were giving it a good go, but Mia Lockett’s long-ball into the penalty area didn’t come off as well as everybody on the Hamlet bench would have liked.

With the home side failing to capitalise on opportunities to put the game to bed, it could have been costly if their goalkeeper Jade Charlton wasn’t quick to come out of the penalty to clear the ball following a dangerous cross from deep by Brit Saylor.

Erin Corrigan would count herself unlucky not to get herself on the scoresheet in the 71st minute as her header from a corner kick was cleared off the line by a defender.

Any chance of the Hamlet getting back into the game were over in the 75th minute, as the home side added a third goal via Nicha Dyett’s great finish in the penalty area, the striker receiving a through ball from Griffiths before smashing home.

The Hamlet managed to grab a consolation goal in the 88th minute to make it 3-1 as Manzi chested an effort inside the near post following a great free-kick into the box by Madi Parsonson.

Deep in injury time, Lockett squandered a great opportunity to get another goal for the Hamlet, but it wouldn’t be enough in the end as the team crashed out of the League Cup, whilst the Darts advance to play Sport London e Benfica in the semi-final.

Dartford Line-Up: 1 Jade Charlton, 3 Georgie Davis, 7 Elizabeth Adams (c) (12 Adele Pearce 84'), 8 Shauni Griffiths (7 Elizabeth Adams 90+1'), 9 Nicha Dyett, 10 Emily Vaughan, 11 Megan McKeag (5 Rachel Ahern 28'), 12 Adele Pearce (11 Meghan McKeag 76'), 17 Charlie Torry, 19 Amy Reader, 23 Paris Smith

Unused Substitution: 13 Lily Bennett

Goalscorers: Emily Vaughan 17', Elizabeth Adams 47', Nicha Dyett 75'

Yellow Card: Georgie Davis 36'

Dulwich Hamlet Line-Up: 1 Saskia Reeves-Priestley, 2 Madi Parsonson, 8 Brit Saylor (c), 9 Sophie Manzi, 11 Rebecca May, 12 Beth Hartigan (18 Ana de Pellegrin 80'), 13 Ceylon Hickman, 15 Erin Corrigan, 19 Mia Lockett, 20 Minnie Cruttwell (4 Chana Hinds 46'), 21 Lily Price

Unused Substitution: 14 Lucy Monkman

Goalscorer: Sophie Manzi 88'

Referee: Tony Woods

Following their League Cup win last week, Dulwich Hamlet returned to league play with a resounding defeat of New London Lionesses. It’s reasonable to assume the beleaguered side arrived at Champion Hill with some trepidation. While the Hamlet had notched up four league wins and three draws so far this season, New London Lionesses languish in the relegation zone, suffering a painful ten losses. Sunday’s game continued the trend, as the hosts punished the visitors for ninety minutes straight.

The writing was on the wall from the start. Sophie Manzi battered in a decisive goal in the 5th minute, before the Lionesses could get their legs under them. As they were reeling from that, Ella Wales-Bonner snuck a 9th minute follow-up in at close range. The Lionesses looked to collect themselves, but only ten minutes in, Dulwich had set up shop in the visitor’s half and were selling lemonade and raffle tickets. Long balls from skipper Brit Saylor set up the front line to pressure the Lionesses’ defence, while new arrival and Wimbledon dual-registrant Mia Lockett made her presence felt early and threatened the Lionesses netting. It seemed NLL keeper Avril Clark was struggling with an injury, as a defender took her goal kicks, and by the 20th minute she had been subbed off. The Hamlet thwarted the visitors’ attempts to gain ground - their footsteps into the Dulwich half were rare and brief, and swiftly corrected by the Dulwich backline. Rebecca May returned the favour, leading NLL on a merry dance through the 18 yard box before being hauled down by a desperate defender. Madi Parsonson made a welcome return on the wing, leaving NLL’s Imogen Dawe with nowhere to go.

At the 27th minute, Lockett launched a rocket at the box. Sub keeper Sarah Jackett repelled it unconvincingly, and Manzi scented blood, tapping it home to take the Hamlet to 3-0. It was now or never for the Lionesses, who needed to find a foothold or plummet. Defender Ania Koscielska, who impressed throughout, saved her team from a 4-0 disaster with a whip-sharp header in the box. Encouraged, NLL caught Dulwich by surprise in the next minute, as Jade Slater, another standout player for her team, landed a cross at the feet of Eleonor Premfors, who finished from the penalty area. The audacious goal would be the only one scored by the Lionesses, as Dulwich rounded furiously and countered with a stinging attack. Parsonson dominated the top corner, using it as a vantage point to send pot-shots into the box, and Saylor, enjoying playing further up the field than usual, returned a hopeful NLL ball to Wales-Bonner, who whistled a dangerous shot just wide of the post with a light touch from Jackett.

The other side of the half, Dulwich maintained their pressure, while the Lionesses fought to keep them at bay. Only a swift intercept from Dani Dunkley stopped the pink’n’blue from notching a fourth goal in the 46th minute. Rebecca May and Wales-Bonner peppered the box with shots, though their efforts cleared the bar, while Saylor’s chance landed in the arms of the keeper. But with this much pressure on the visitors, and how little room they had to return fire, it seemed inevitable that the Hamlet numbers would climb. It was nearly a hat-trick for Manzi, with only the flag thwarting her efforts. Time to ban the offside rule? We think so.

It would fall to two subs to double the Hamlet score; first, Rosie Stone, booting in a stonker of a goal off a free kick in the 74th minute. Olgá Ocran, who made her Hamlet debut last week, netted the fifth with a very neat volley at 77 minutes. With the clock ticking down, could the Lionesses make it to the end without further horrors? Not on Stone’s watch. Why settle for one goal off a free kick when you can claim two? As the 81st minute ticked over, she launched a missile from way back on the left flank, slamming it into the back of the net: Stone by name, stone cold by nature.

Ocran took a knock minutes later and was helped off the field, and with minutes left to salvage something from the game, the redoubtable Koscielska pushed deep into the Dulwich half trying to create a last chance for her crew. Polina Avramova carried it forward but Saskia Reeves-Priestley sent her packing. She closed the game in extra time with a final touch a third of the way up the field: an appropriate tableau given how little the Lionesses saw of the Dulwich half, thanks to a committed and ferocious performance from the Hamlet.

[b]What worked: [/b]
[b][i]Launching into the game like Usain Bolt[/i][/b]
Slicing the scoreboard with two early goals is a ruthless and effective way to kneecap your opponents. Dulwich put the Lionesses on the back foot from the very start, and kept the pressure on.

[b][i]Constant pressure at the front[/i][/b]
When your whole team have to target their energy at defence and damage control, it’s a nightmare to try and get control of the game. Dulwich kept the game so high up the field that breakaway attackers found themselves isolated and unable to pose a threat, making it easy for Dulwich to shut them down, while two braces in one game speak to a confident attacking strategy across the team.

[b][i]Impressive efforts from new players[/i][/b]
Olgá Ocran got limited minutes last week, but made her mark this week with an opportunistic, deft goal, and Mia Lockett proved herself a serious force upfront, while late sub Luna Alves Etienne put in a shift on the left wing.

[b]What didn’t work: [/b]
[b][i]A minor slow-down in the first half[/i][/b]
There was little to criticise in the Hamlet’s performance, but they did give the Lionesses room to score near the break. Still, they kept the opponents locked in their own half, and even when the Lionesses forced through an answering goal, Dulwich kept their cool, maintained pressure and systematically dismantled their guests.

[b][i]The view from the bench:[/i][/b]
Manager Ryan Dempsey was pleased with his squad’s performance, but ever the ambitious leader, he saw room for improvement: [i]“We started off well which we wanted to do and put pressure on NLL from kick-off. After scoring two quickly, we stopped doing the aspects of the game we needed to do – move the ball quickly, be proactive in transition – and started to be sloppy in our decisions.”[/i]

He also talked about how Dulwich progressed their strategy after the early lead: [i]“We tried to change the midfield and get Brit and Ella higher up the pitch to help us progress the ball into better positions to receive and play forward.”[/i]

[b]Dulwich Hamlet are away to Dartford on 12 February, and return to Champion Hill against Saltdean United on 26 February.[/b]

Dulwich Hamlet Line-Up: 1 Saskia Reeves-Priestley, 2 Madi Parsonson (20 Minnie Cruttwell 62'), 8 Brit Saylor (c) (5 Rosie Stone 69') 9 Sophie Manzi, 11 Rebecca May, 13 Ceylon Hickman, 15 Erin Corrigan, 16 Ella Wales-Bonner (6 Olgá Ocran 62' (8 Brit Saylor 88')), 19 Mia Lockett (17 Luna Alves Etienne 69'), 21 Lily Price, 22 Rhea Gall

Unused Substitutions: 14 Lucy Monkman

Goalscorers: Sophie Manzi 5', 27', Ella Wales-Bonner 9', Rosie Stone 74', 82', Olgá Ocran 77'

New London Lionesses: 1 Avril Clark (1 Sarah Jackett 20'), 2 Dani Dunkley, 4 Polina Avramova; 5 Lauren Worthy (12 Elisia Moreno 34' (10 Natalia Davila 57')), 6 Becca Neil, 7 Eleonor Premfors (5 Lauren Worthy 57' (8 Helene Rognas 85')), 8 Helene Rognas (10 Natalia Davila 18' (8 Helene Rognas 44' (7 Eleonor Premfors 69'))), 9 Jade Slater (11 Imogen Dawe 85'), 11 Imogen Dawe (25 Amanda O'Neill 75'), 23 Ania Koscielska (c), 25 Amanda O’Neill (12 Elisia Moreno 69')

Goalscorer: Eleonor Premfors 31'

Referee: Lucy Clark
Attendance:416 (+6 dogs)

Goals from Ceylon Hickman and Rebecca May was enough to send Dulwich Hamlet to the quarter-finals of the London & South East Regional Women’s League Cup following a 2-0 home win over Ebbsfleet United.

Dulwich, who were looking to bounce back with a home win after being knocked out the Capital Senior Cup against Actonians a couple of weeks ago, were dealt with a blow before kick-off after Mia Cruickshank was injured in the warm-up. This meant a full debut for Sharne Harris, whilst Beth Hartigan also made her first start for the club.

The home side were the more dominant of the two teams in the opening five minutes of the game with May forcing the Ebbsfleet goalkeeper to make the first save of the game.

Ebbsfleet, who largely soaked up pressure early in the first-half, would get their first shot on-target as Amy Russ in the tenth minute audaciously tried to catch keeper Saskia Reeves-Priestley out when shooting from range.

The home team continued to be the more threatening of the sides, and created another half-chance, however Lily Price’s cross wasn’t enough to find a player in the penalty area to put the ball into the back of the net.

The away side were starting to grow into the game and their patient approach almost paid off as Meg Wood’s effort from outside the penalty area in the twentieth minute just went over the bar. And a few minutes later Ebbsfleet almost made Dulwich pay for their complacency at the back as Erin Corrigan’s misplaced pass was intercepted, but Russ couldn’t capitalise on the mistake.

As the half went on, the two teams lacked quality in the final third as they struggled to break the deadlock in the game, however there was however another half-chance for the Hamlet two minutes before half-time as a great ball from May into Ella Wales-Bonner saw her win a corner. From it, a quick corner routine into the area found captain Brit Saylor whose glancing header was quickly cleared by the Ebbsfleet defence with May lurking.

The tempo of the game increased at the beginning of the second-half as both Dulwich and Ebbsfleet looked to get the first goal of the game. Lydia Wills of the away side would count herself unlucky not to get a goal as a through ball to the attacker was brilliantly blocked by Hartigan.

Ebbsfleet were again on the attack in the 52nd minute as some Logan O’Shea trickery caused havoc for the Hamlet defence, but her cut back was intercepted in the penalty area. Minutes later, it was the turn of the home side to turn on the style as Rebecca May was through on goal but couldn’t guide her effort into the back of the net.

The game was slowly beginning to turn for Ryan Dempsey’s side as Minnie Cruttwell put a great ball in to the danger area for Brit Saylor, who attempted to find the onrushing Corrigan, only for Stef Simmons to make an important goal-line clearance to keep her team level.

Dulwich’s persistence finally paid off from the resulting corner though as in the 57th minute, Hickman would score her first ever goal for the team as her long-range effort was guided into the bottom left corner, sparking jubilant celebrations on the pitch, in the stands, and from her parents listening on the radio in Spain!

The Fleet's best chance to equalise would come in the 69th minute, as O'Shea went through on goal, only for Reeves-Priestley to deny her with her legs, and saved the follow-up shot for good measure too.

A minute later, we would go on and get that all important second goal in the game following a counter-attack in which Sophie Manzi carried the ball forwards and slotted the ball through for May to be through on goal and poke past Courtney Shanly to give us breathing space.

In a quick turn of events, Ebbsfleet almost conceded a third goal in the tie in the 79th minute as defender Ellie Perkins almost turned the ball into the back of her own net, before almost scoring themselves forty-five seconds later, as Amelia Woodgate’s effort from outside the penalty area struck the bar.

May had a chance to make it 3-0 for the Hamlet three minutes from time and kill off the game but her effort was saved smartly by Shanly after she was one-on-one with the Ebbsfleet keeper, before an audacious back heel from Manzi was thwarted too. But the two goals would be enough for the team as they advanced to the quarter-finals of the League Cup, and will travel to Dartford on February 12th for that clash.

Dulwich Hamlet Line-Up: 1 Saskia Reeves-Priestley, 3 Sharne Harris (14 Lucy Monkman 68’) 8 Brit Saylor (c), 9 Sophie Manzi, 11 Rebecca May, 12 Beth Hartigan, 13 Ceylon Hickman, 15 Erin Corrigan, 16 Ella Wales-Bonner (5 Rosie Stone 77'), 20 Minnie Cruttwell (22 Rhea Gall 66'), 21 Lily Price (6 Olga Ocran 83’)

Unused Substitution: 18 Mia Cruickshank

Goalscorers: Ceylon Hickman 58', Rebecca May 70'

Ebbsfleet United Line-Up: 1 Courtney Shanly, 3 Millie Waud, 4 Vicky Grieve, 5 Ellie Perkins, 6 Stef Simmons (14 Madison Woodgate 61’), 7 Logan O’Shea, 8 Charley Clifford, 9 Amy Russ, 10 Meg Wood (12 Amelia Woodgate 35’), 11 Lydia Wills (10 Meg Wood 78'), 27 Dan Carlton (c)

Unused Substitutions: 2 Chloe Francis, 15 Charley Macneil, 16 Holly Theobald

Referee: Grisha Zeigermaher
Attendance: 314 + 7 dogs