Match Report | Ashford United 1 Dulwich Hamlet 2
Sunday the 31st of August, the Dulwich Hamlet Reserves made the journey south to Kent for their second league match of the 25/26 season against Ashford United.
Even before the game began, both teams noticed the heavy winds blowing training equipment and footballs out of position. Brief rain showers and patches of sun continued throughout the warm up.
The game began without either team taking control. Both sides took turns attacking and initially Ashford pressed high, looking energetic. Beynon, Asagba, and Walcott continued to deny Ashford and eventually the play moved back toward the center of the pitch.
The game felt undecided and despite the width of the pitch, the central areas seemed crowded. Stones, Glaze, and Saylor worked hard winning tackles, but it was still difficult to move forward. A few times, Beynon looked to find De Pellegrin and Sessay over the top, but they weren’t able to complete a successful attack.
Eventually Dulwich began to settle in and move the ball around the back line, finding Miranda and Smale on the wings. Outside of the middle, play began to look more cohesive and both Miranda and Smale had opportunities to drive forward. Ashford’s line dropped back and began to give up more space in the channels.
In the 33rd minute, Dulwich won a corner on the right hand side. Sessay whipped a zinger straight into the center of the six, where Beynon was able to convert with a perfect header straight into the back of the net.
This lead galvanized Dulwich to attack with more confidence. Shortly after, Dulwich won another corner and Sessay looked to repeat her assist, but the attackers in the box were foiled by Ashford’s defence.
The first half was riddled by stoppages caused by rough collisions and the referee awarded five minutes of overtime. In the 46th minute Miranda sent in a cross from well wide on the right hand side, which took a deflection from a defender and found the back of the net.
Dulwich led at half-time 2-0.
After the break Crutwell came on for Saylor, allowing for Beynon to shift to midfield. The midfield looked composed in the beginning of the second half and Dulwich continued to press high. However, Ashford solidified their defense and continued to stymie Dulwich’s attempts. Ashford’s goalie was particularly effective, coming out multiple times to claim crosses and clear long balls.
Manager Bellfield made two more changes early on in the second half, with Davila coming on for Miranda and Kelly for Smale. The game continued back and forth. One of Dulwich’s chances came from Cruttwell, who struck from well outside the area—barely missing, just outside the near post.
In answer, Ashford’s goal came from a powerful ball hit from nearly half field. No one on the pitch seemed to expect it and it caught West out, making the score 2-1.
Dulwich made two more changes, with Theodoreson exchanging for Asagba and Sinclair for Sessay.
As Ashford gained hope, the game became more intense, resulting in fouls and more stoppages. In one instance, Sinclair did well to hold up play in the final third and drew a foul. Cruttwell’s delivery on the set piece was dangerous, but Dulwich couldn’t manage to get a head on it.
Ashford kept attacking, but Crutwell, Theodoreson, and Walcott continued to deny. For the most part, West had very little to do in goal, with the defense keeping the ball well away. The referee determined six additional minutes, but the score stayed 2-1 and Dulwich was pleased to walk away with the win.
The players voted Captain Anna Stones as player of the match again for excellent work in the midfield, winning aerial challenges, and maintaining her quality and energy throughout the game.
Plan your trip | Cambridge United vs Dulwich Hamlet | 31/08/25
It's our 3rd awayday of the season as we head to visit Cambridge United on matchday 3 of the FAWNL season.
STADIUM ADDRESS:
St Neots Town Football Club, Kester Way, St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, PE19 6SL
TICKETS:
Tickets are available online for this fixture, you can purchase your tickets here. They are priced at £5 for adults and U18s go free.
ARE DOGS ALLOWED?
Yes, dogs are allowed into St Neots, we ask that they're kept on a lead throughout their time inside the stadium.
TRAVEL INFORMATION:
Direct trains are available from London Kings Cross every hour. This is the only direct route available. St Neots train station is a short 5 minute walk from the stadium.
PUBS WE RECOMMEND:
Most of the pubs available are around a 30 minute walk from the stadium. One of our top suggestions is the Coach Horse which has a large amount of locally sourced drinks and food available.
They also have a large beer garden available. The Pig n Falcon is also another pub serving locally sourced drinks with the potential for live music too! These are just our top tips for pubs to enjoy before the game.
CAN'T JOIN US BUT WANT TO FOLLOW THE MATCH?
We'll have coverage of the match live on our Match Centre from 13:50. Follow along here.
NEXT AT CHAMPION HILL:
We return to Champion Hill on Sunday 7th September as we host Crystal Palace on matchday 2 of the FAWNL League Cup group stages. You can get your tickets here.
MATCH PREVIEW | Cambridge United vs Dulwich Hamlet | FAWNL | 31/08/25
The Hamlet head to Cambridgeshire on Sunday afternoon to take on in form Cambridge United on matchday 3 of the FAWNL season.
The Hamlet picked up their 1st league win of the season last weekend as they defeated Chesham United 2-0 at Champion Hill.
Lauren Heria scored on her home debut with a tidy finish hitting the back of the net off the far post. Natalie Taylor then opened her account for the season with a low driven strike into the bottom corner inside 20 minutes. Chesham caused few problems for the Hamlet defence as Saskia Reeves Priestley picked up a clean sheet on her 1st start of the season.
This weekend's hosts Cambridge United also secured their 1st win of the season last time out. They swept one of the divisions new teams aside with ease, putting 5 into the back of the Luton Town net.
Before that they fell to defeat against Real Bedford in the 1st match of the FAWNL Cup. On the opening day they also lost 2-1 to Fulham at Motspur Park.
SQUAD NEWS:
Tia Searle remains out injured following the injury she picked up to her right knee against London Bees in the FAWNL Cup. Apart from that Maria Tavares will have a full squad available to pick from as she looks to pick up her 2nd league win of the season and her sides 1st away victory.
CAN'T JOIN US BUT WANT TO FOLLOW THE MATCH?
We'll have coverage of the match live on our Match Centre from 13:50. Follow along here.
NEXT AT CHAMPION HILL:
We return to SE22 on Sunday 7th September as we host Crystal Palace on matchday 2 of the FAWNL Cup. Tickets are available here.
Match Report | Dulwich Hamlet 5 Soccer Elite Academy 1
The 2025/2026 season commenced for Dulwich Hamlet Reserves on Sunday the 24th of August. Our last win of preseason, as well as excitement over promising new signings set a positive tone in trainings preceding the match.
Despite missing a handful of last season’s starters to injury, university, and promotion to first team we were optimistic beginning the new season.
The game began with Soccer Elite’s kick-off. For the first few minutes, they moved the ball well through midfield. Dulwich pressed high and made a few interceptions and tackles, but initially struggled to connect and progress the game.
A few times in the beginning of the first half, Soccer Elite found success playing over the top to their striker. Dulwich conceded a few corners early on, but were able to win the ball in the air and play out. However, before long Soccer Elite again made a fast break forward down our right side and their striker finished neatly past Virgilio into the far corner.
It seemed like this was the wake-up call we needed and the Dulwich attack rapidly began to click. Wingers Davila and Miranda connected well with strikers Heyndrickx and Sessay and the forward play looked promising, but Dulwich’s response ultimately came from midfielder, Captain Anna Stones.
Driving forward on the right, Stones took on three opponents singlehandedly and finished neatly across goal into the left far corner.
Minutes later, Dulwich won a corner on our left hand side. Sessay’s delivery curled neatly across the penalty area at the perfect height for Stones to convert again with a header.
While Soccer Elite created some opportunities to counter, defenders Theodoresen, Asagba, and Smale adapted well after Dulwich initially conceded and prevented Soccer Elite from being able to form another decisive attack.
The first half ended with Dulwich having gained a slim lead. After the break, Dulwich came out looking far more fluid in possession with midfielders Stones, Saylor, and Glaze linking neatly to move the ball out to the wings. It was terrific having erstwhile first team captain Brittany Saylor back playing for the club as well and her encouragement and communication helped organize and motivate the team.
Given the heat of the day, Manager Bellfield got fresh legs on the pitch shortly after half-time. New signing Isabel Sinclair made an instant impact on the right wing by delivering a perfect cross to Sessay who was able to control and finish, putting Dulwich up 3-1. Wing back Kelly, returned from injury, also made a brilliant contribution on the left-wing, playing a negative cross to Glaze who marked her debut for the club with a neat finish.
Regardless of the score, Soccer Elite continued looking forward, but Dulwich’s back line was able to stifle their chances. New signing, center back Jade Asagba looked cool, calm, and collected in her debut and took care of any pressure coming our way.
The cherry on top of this Sunday, however, was Anna Stones’ hat trick. She finished from outside the area, again finding the far left corner making the final score 5-1.
Taking notes from this game, the Dulwich Hamlet Reserves look forward to get straight back into training and continue improving upon this result in the 25/26 season.
It starts tomorrow, women's home league football returns
The wait is almost over, since ending Real Bedford's incredible unbeaten run on the final day of the league season at Champion Hill in April we return to action in the women's National League tomorrow.
We managed to finish a couple of places above our visitors Chesham United last time out but with home victories for both teams in our games last season there was little to separate the sides so it will be good opportunity to see how we have progressed..
Whilst there will be a lot of familiar faces in the team it's an all new line-up in the dug out as Maria takes charge of a home competitive fixture for the first time and I hope you will all be able to come down and show your support for the players and the management team.
Kick off is 2.00pm. Doors open at 1.00pm. Link to tickets is below:
https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Tickets/SelectType?fixtureId=13218
Address
Champion Hill Stadium,
Edgar Kail Way,
East Dulwich,
London.
SE22 8BD.
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