Carshalton Athletic v Hamlet (Isthmian League) Easter Monday 01.04.24 (3pm)

[editor]

Pics of the shitshow:

In photos: Dulwich Hamlet crash and burn at Carshalton Athletic, Bank Holiday Monday, 1st April 2024

Short of a statistical miracle, Dulwich Hamlet’s already-feint hopes of reaching the play offs fizzled into the ether with a poor performance against a strong Carshalton Athletic. Losing 0-3 …

www.brixtonbuzz.com

 

[StephenMac]

Not a 'Hak out' post by any means, but I hope Pete Adeniyi gets a shot at managing the Hamlet one day. His Merstham excursion aside, he seems to get the best out of presumably quite limited resources. Watched them a fair bit pre-Covid as an alternative to a rammed Champion Hill, and his sides always seem to have a great mix of industry and flair. Football that's easy on the eye but quite incisive, rather than being pretty for the sake of it.

I get the disappointment from yesterday, not least because of two of the three goals being proper head in hands moments, but Carshalton deserve rather more respect than I think they're being given.

Also appreciate that as a part-timer at best these days, my disappointment won't have compared to those doing the home and away week in, week out thing. You have my sympathy but my guess is that Hak will shake things up in the summer and have a proper tilt at the title next season. Meanwhile, there are worse places to play and watch football than the Isthmian.

 

[muel18]

Our last 5 league defeats had all been followed by a win in the next game, but after Saturday's late collapse against Billericay this was a step backwards. A flat, error ridden performance that could easily have resulted in a heavier defeat. It was our 4th game in 9 days (Carshalton had an extra day's rest after playing on Friday, while neither they nor Billericay had played last Tuesday) and we just looked to be running on empty.

We could have been behind after barely 60 seconds when an unmarked forward missed a chance that looked easier to score, and we were hanging on for most of a goalless first half before mustering a few chances of our own shortly before the break.

I expected us to be more competitive in the second half, but Carshalton took the lead when a tackle inside the box sent the ball away from goal, only for a forward to lash a ferocious shot high into the net from an angle. We never looked like equalising after that. Constable missed taking an overhit indirect free kick above his head, conceding a needless corner, and the next deadball delivery was headed home by an unmarked opponent from the edge of the six yard box. The third goal was an embarrassing mix up between Chambers and Constable, as our keeper advanced too far to receive a backpass that rolled past him into the net.

Our recent wins have owed much to tactical discipline and restricting our opponents to few real chances, but we were nowhere near that level today against an attractive and cohesive footballing side with some useful individuals, including three who have worn our colours. Dom Vose, playing against us for the third different opponents this season after stints with Hastings and Margate, found the time and speed to use his undoubted technical skills. Aaron Jones in goal seemed more troubled by a niggling leg injury that twice required treatment from the physio than by our attacking play. One time pre-season triallist Lexus Beeden ("the Japanese Mercedes") looked swift and sound at centre back.

The 4 teams already occupying the play-off places behind Hornchurch all won, so even a win for ourselves would have been of limited value with only 4 games left and several rivals having at least one game in hand.

I just hope we can regroup in time to give a good account of ourselves at home to Enfield on saturday, before we conclude the season with trips to Canvey Island and Folkestone, then Cray at home on the final day.

I was really impressed with Beeden, strong and composed I don’t think anyone got close to getting the better of him

 

[KPMG]

I am encouraged by the positive posts of people on the forum whose views I respect but, although it may be a minority, I know there are others who hold similar opinions to mine.

This is the 6th year of poor quality football played by the Hamlet and something needs to happen to ensure that we don’t suffer a 7th.

The management assembled this sizeable squad themselves and, although there may have been the initial uncertainty over whether the management team were staying, surely they wouldn’t have delayed the overhaul of the squad, for the clubs benefit if not their own as well.

There is talk of a decent core of players who could be retained; personally I can only think of 3 or 4 players that I would want to stay and my fear is that, if the club is hoping to keep large parts of the squad together, those 3 or 4 will leave for teams playing better football. Many in our squad seem slow, deliberate and willing to take unnecessary risks that have cost us, and could have cost us more.

As someone said our recent wins have owed much to tactical discipline and restricting our opponents to few real chances; I think that is a positive way of saying we were able to grind out results which is a poor spectacle compared to teams like Carshalton who play attractive and cohesive football with many skilful individuals.

I also hope that someone like Pete Adeniyi gets a shot at managing the Hamlet one day, and my call would be for the club and the current management team to start developing Danny Mills to take over, if he wants to go into management. He is someone who not only dies for the club each week, when he speaks it is clear he understands the game well.

 

[editor]

Many in our squad seem slow, deliberate and willing to take unnecessary risks that have cost us, and could have cost us more.

Constable truly can't get enough of taking unnecessary risks!

 

[AveryDave]

I am encouraged by the positive posts of people on the forum whose views I respect but, although it may be a minority, I know there are others who hold similar opinions to mine.

This is the 6th year of poor quality football played by the Hamlet and something needs to happen to ensure that we don’t suffer a 7th.

The management assembled this sizeable squad themselves and, although there may have been the initial uncertainty over whether the management team were staying, surely they wouldn’t have delayed the overhaul of the squad, for the clubs benefit if not their own as well.

There is talk of a decent core of players who could be retained; personally I can only think of 3 or 4 players that I would want to stay and my fear is that, if the club is hoping to keep large parts of the squad together, those 3 or 4 will leave for teams playing better football. Many in our squad seem slow, deliberate and willing to take unnecessary risks that have cost us, and could have cost us more.

As someone said our recent wins have owed much to tactical discipline and restricting our opponents to few real chances; I think that is a positive way of saying we were able to grind out results which is a poor spectacle compared to teams like Carshalton who play attractive and cohesive football with many skilful individuals.

I also hope that someone like Pete Adeniyi gets a shot at managing the Hamlet one day, and my call would be for the club and the current management team to start developing Danny Mills to take over, if he wants to go into management. He is someone who not only dies for the club each week, when he speaks it is clear he understands the game well.

Hayrettin’s preferred style of play seems to sacrifice possession in favour of being organised, forcing turnovers from the opposition, and using pace to break and create opportunities.

When it works, it’s highly effective. When it doesn’t, we tend to look very ordinary or worse. He’s had success with it before, and across the season it’s probably worked more often than it hasn’t - but I guess what we’re going to find out is if he can form a squad that can do that across 42 games and not just fits and spurts.

Personally I’d love to see a team of swashbuckling dandies week in week out, and that can also challenge for the top spots in this league. But I’d swap the latter for the former if only one out of the two was on offer.

 

[scousedom]

The key is having both isn’t it. What impressed me so much about the Gav side that finished second and which they didn’t get the credit for was their ability to grind when it mattered - particularly when the move to the Tooting minefield of a pitch made slick football more difficult. I’m not saying they suddenly became Allardycean, but there were a fair few hard fought-out wins in that run-in.

I don’t think a team can ever rely on one style to get it to the top of the league, unless you have significantly higher resources - you’ve got to be able to grind but you’ve got to be able to play too. From what people say, and from what I’ve seen the few low attendance games I’ve gone to this season, that’s the problem here. And I think it’s harder to be the losing grinder than the losing baller - more fans have more patience if you’re entertaining, and more fans are more entertained by skills than sweat.

 

[editor]

I don’t think a team can ever rely on one style to get it to the top of the league, unless you have significantly higher resources - you’ve got to be able to grind but you’ve got to be able to play too. From what people say, and from what I’ve seen the few low attendance games I’ve gone to this season, that’s the problem here. And I think it’s harder to be the losing grinder than the losing baller - more fans have more patience if you’re entertaining, and more fans are more entertained by skills than sweat.

Monday's game really wasn't an entertaining affair and I don't hold out a lot of hope for the rest of this season for anyone looking to be entertained by the football Hamlet are serving up right now.

 

[Ben Caldecourt]

Monday was my first league game I'd watched this season due to other commitments and all I can do is echo the above.

From where I was standing, it looked as though if we couldn't get Wanadio and Jeffrey into the game then we looked a bit stumped for ideas. Mills will be Mills and win everything he possibly can, but it wasn't overly effective. Bradley Williams and Luke Read did a good job of keeping them both out the game and what I found interesting was when Wanadio and Jeffrey swapped wings in the first half, so did the opposition full backs. We couldn't get to terms with Bradley Williams playing an inverted role too meaning more often than not he picked up the ball in the middle of the pitch unmarked, once we did figure that out their centre half (Lexus Beeden) was then peeling wider with time to play as a slow Mills was the one to close him down.

I was impressed with Carshalton. Adeniyi had obviously done his homework and put together a plan that their side executed perfectly.

Constable to me looked like a car crash waiting to happen. Ojemen didn't quite look at the level, but I'm not too sure how regularly he was playing at Dover so may not be quite fit yet. Shokunbi did a lot of running around with very little success and if the ball goes by Ricketts he looked very easy to take out of the game.

Just an opinion of what I saw for my only 90 mins of the season and I'm sure there's a lot more to it! But it looked like if the oppo works harder than us and can minimise our counter attacks, we're not very appealing on the eye.