Hamlet vs Sporting Bengal Unites (LSC) Tuesday 19.12.23, 7:45pm

[Al Crane]

Pressured Haydn into making sure the game was on at half 1 and promised I’d do divots with him.

Always happy for an extra pair of hands on a match day. Surprisingly quite a therapeutic job!

Advertise then if the club does need help? There was a time when the Club couldn't afford to pay Jordans to tend to the pitch at half-time and we got a volunteer to do it.

 

[kwardgk]

Advertise then if the club does need help? There was a time when the Club couldn't afford to pay Jordans to tend to the pitch at half-time and we got a volunteer to do it.

It’s on the list of things to be shared in the new year don't worry

 

[Pink Panther]

Pretty much agree with all that, particularly the first point which, along with developing a winning mentality, were the key reasons I could see for Hak to play a strong side. Matches are better than training sessions imo and several of our first choice players have missed out on that without a game for another 6 days.

Defence still leaves me very concerned. 1 clean sheet in the last 15. Parry and Gyebi looking nothing like the quality we expected from them, and I saw nothing that convinced me Okpolokpo is any better than any of the other experiments we've had at full back. Hopefully Harrison Hatfull is part of the answer.

The side salads need to go out on loan / dual registration and play at a level which matches their current ability and get them used to mens football before being as integrated as they are with our first team as they aren't getting much football, and when they do, they're not effective enough.

The club will need to work hard next year to entice me to come to a game like this again.

It was an ideal chance to get a quick win under our belts after the long unbeaten league run ended on Saturday, but instead we shot ourselves in the foot with a chaotic defensive performance from an XI that had never really played together before, and probably never will again now we have no more cup matches until next September.

This was the third time running we've conceded 3 goals at home in a London Senior Cup tie against lower Division opponents. It happened last season against Athletic Newham and Cray Wanderers. We managed to win both those games, and might even have won this one too with steadier finishing at the end when Sporting Bengal were on the ropes. I watch league matches at their level several times a season and they're a decent side. There was some good individual quality in that team and they played with a commitment and cohesion that comes from winning regularly, which has taken them to the top of their league, yet Hamlet still scored three good goals against them. Admittedly our third took a deflection, but it was still a powerful 25 yard strike from Binnom-Williams that would have tested the keeper, and he also made a couple of other taxing saves from efforts that wouldn't have disgraced him had they beaten him. It's what happens when we don't have the ball that worries me.

Hamlet made a slow start but were unlucky not to take the lead when Jeffrey cut inside to rattle the crossbar with a trademark rising shot from the edge of the box that bounced down and away. The first setback came almost immediately, when Sporting took the lead from a near post corner that got bobbled around between a thicket of players in the goalmouth for what seemed like ages before ending up in the net. Allen equalised with a crisp left footed drive from 15 yards after the ball was laid back to him from the right, then Clifton fired us ahead from similar range after a corner had been knocked back to him. At this stage everything seemed to be clicking into place, but then we just lost all momentum when the second half began.

Sporting's equaliser was a confusion of erratic defending and indecisive officiating. I'm certain their #7 was yards offside as a long pass was played beyond him, but of course the flag never goes up until the attacker plays the ball these days, yet defenders have to play to the whistle. Binnom-Williams got there first but was now on the ball in a tight spot and under pressure. His first clearance was ineffective, another attempted clearance rebounded off a defender into the path of a forward who stuck it in the net. Now the flag went up for offside but the referee instantly overruled his assistant without speaking to him and gave the goal. Was the flag for the original pass? Did the ref decide the ball had been played to the scorer by a defender, therefore couldn't be offside? I was under the impression offside could only be negated by a defender deliberately playing the ball towards his own goal, and that deflections or miscued clearances under pressure that benefit an offside player don't count, but the way the rules are constantly tinkered with it's anyone's guess these days. If that was maybe a little unlucky the visitors' third goal was embarrassing, as they strung passes around with our defence looking all at sea, before a forward converted a low far post cross from a tight angle inside the six yard box. Binnom-Williams' equaliser set up an exciting finish, but we lost out on kicks from the penalty mark after Dougui was unable to beat the keeper with our first effort. Binnom-Williams, Pingling and Allen all converted successfully, but our visitors (going first) were successful with all of theirs to win the shootout 5-3.

Team (4-2-3-1): Edwards - Okpolopko, Parry, Gyebi, Binnom-Williams(c) - Bonnett-Johnson, Allen - Hansson, Ayuk, Jeffrey - Clifton. Subs: Dougui (for Hansson), Pingling (for Clifton), Shokunbi (for Bonnett-Johnson), Braham-Barrett (for Jeffrey), Chambers (not used). Estimated attendance: 350

It's hard to pick any positives out of that. Binnom-Williams and Jeffrey were fit enough to return after missing the last two games injured. Otherwise I though Alfie Allen did well, at least in the first half. He's a classy player with excellent technical skills who can pass accurately over distance with either foot, and he took his goal well, but he turned 21 last month and hasn't played any open age football apart from his handful of appearances for us. He has to play regularly, he can't just be kicking his heels on the sidelines, it's a complete waste of a real talent who can potentially play much higher than the Isthmian League in the long term. I know it's difficult to integrate inexperienced players into a team when promotion is the priority, and play-offs give false hope to everyone who thinks they have an outside chance of sneaking into 5th place, but if it's not for us he should go out on loan to someone else.

 

[editor]

Pics from Tuesday night's embarrassment:

In photos: Dulwich Hamlet crash out of the London Senior Cup at the hands of lower league Sporting Bengal, Tues 19th Dec 2023

There was bugger all Christmas cheer on offer at Champion Hill on Tuesday night as Dulwich Hamlet found themselves dumped out of their last cup competition, with Essex Senior League team Sporting …

www.brixtonbuzz.com

 

[editor]

Estimated attendance: 350

FYI, the Hamlet site says 472

 

[Paula_G]

FYI, the Hamlet site says 472

122 queuing in the bar for a drink?

 

[Pink Panther]

One for the masochists: