Dartford v Dulwich Hamlet Sat 1 Apr 2023

[Clare]

50/50 winning number 09143 - claimed
Golden Goal 7 minutes - claimed

[BRASSNECK]

I thought Don'twatch Hamlet Fans were supposed to be a nice friendly sporting bunch:-


https://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/ ... 23.381301/

I really hope that weird lot get relegated along with Hungerford.

[Mark Sweet]

I thought Don'twatch Hamlet Fans were supposed to be a nice friendly sporting bunch:-


https://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/ ... 23.381301/

We looked poor? What game was he watching.

[KSTDART]

What a fantastic performance that was , when we play with 2 up front it makes such a difference and we are so much better. Chin making his debut looks like a great signing as did Dunn .
Motm will go to Wall his hatrick who definitely benefited having a strike partner alongside him

The keeper had the ball so I stopped recording just as he then spilled the ball so I messed the first goal up but got all the others .

[DA Mikey]

Wall had to get MOTM for his three goals (was it a perfect hat trick?), although their 5 was very good for us today!
Some good performances out there, Dulwich were poor though.
Maidstone’s relegation confirmed, Ebbsfleet all but crowned champions. Hefty win by Oxford means realistically only they and Chelmsford can tangle with us for 2nd spot, although we are right in the driving seat.
Perhaps the Wall / Harvey partnership up top will yield a nice late tally for us, especially with the midfield gelling together as well as it did today. We know we can put any team in this division to the sword at PP, which is why that runner-up place is so important. For all of us ready to embrace an extremely tough time in the National Premier, that is.

COYD

[rick]

[Park Life]

A very comfortable and deserved victory today and just what we needed, with a clean sheet and both forwards scoring you couldn't have wrote a better script.

Other than a one on one in the second half which Ben blocked I can't recall Don'twatch Hamlet causing us any problems whatsoever, they were never in the game and posed no threat against our well organised defence.

Very important we got a result today and I think Dowse picked a team with this in mind and this showed in the first half as we controlled the game without dominating, but went in at HT with a deserved single goal lead.

Second half though we took the shackles off and stepped it up and cruised to victory with some good football and plenty of goals.

Luke Coulson put in a performance which on a normal week could easily have won MOTM but when your centre forward scores a well deserved hat-trick it's an easy decision. Well done to Alex, he looked a different player today.

[rick]

Match Report by Chris Palmer

Dartford returned to winning ways in style, as a hat-trick and Man of The Match performance from Alex Wall ensured a comprehensive victory over Dulwich Hamlet on a cold afternoon at Bericote Powerhouse Princes Park.

As 1,202 supporters started to get themselves as comfortable as possible in the cold conditions, they didn’t have long to wait before the Darts sent them into ecstatic cheers with an early goal.

It was a harmless set of circumstances that led to the opener, or so Dulwich Hamlet thought…! They failed to clear the first attacking move of the game inside their own box, and Harvey Bradbury pounced to feed the ball straight towards Alex Wall. And Wall, with plenty of time, calmly slotted the ball home to net his ninth league goal of the season after just seven minutes.

Sadly, the goal failed to light the spark the first forty-five needed, as both sides were unable to break the scrappy play that took place in large quantities. However, when opportunities were created, it was the Darts who created them.

Luke Coulson and Richard Chin were looking threatening on the flanks, as Alan Dowson had shuffled his squad following last weekend’s defeat to Chelmsford. And it was the former’s 25th minute corner which found the head of Captain Tom Bonner. Unfortunately, the defender couldn’t quite direct his effort on target on this occasion.

The hosts began to exert their authority on proceedings after the half-hour mark, and only the alertness of goalkeeper Charlie Grainger kept Hamlet in the game. He’d first pull off a fine save to prevent Wall from adding his second of the afternoon (31), before saving more comfortably from Coulson two minutes later.

Another good move was rewarded with a corner with a minute of the half remaining, which Coulson whipped into the box once again. This time he found Maxwell Statham, but he couldn’t keep his header down either and the one-goal advantage remained (44).

As far as the visitors are concerned, the only real chance they created came back in the eighth minute… and it was only a half-chance at that. Deon Woodman managed to get on the end of a corner, but Ben Dudzinski was alert to smother the ball comfortably.

Any words spoken by Hakan Hayrettin at the half-time break were undone by the Darts within five minutes of the restart. And it was Luke Coulson and Alex Wall who punished such sloppy defending… Coulson was on fire this afternoon, making the Hamlet defence look like amateurs. He carved out an opening with some terrific football, before finding Wall with a delightful pass… and Wall’s strike was equally delightful, leaving Grainger with no chance (50).

Three minutes later saw Wall complete a deserved hat-trick in style. Maxwell Statham was the provider on this occasion when his excellent cross from the right-flank was met by a towering header from the Man of The Match, all but securing the points for the hosts.

With his afternoon’s work complete, Wall became the first of Alan Dowson’s substitutions, as he was replaced by Bobby Dunn in the 62nd minute. Dartford’s only other change saw them swap Sam Odaudu with Luke Allen after 76 minutes.

The visitors, meanwhile, would swap Gianni Crichlow with Joshua Fawole (54) and Conor Lawless with Johl Powell (72). Yet, they had still yet to register a clear-cut opportunity let alone a shot on target, such was the Dartford defence’s dominance.

The hosts came close to adding a fourth via Connor Essam in the 64th minute, but the defender’s effort was excellently saved by Grainger, who was certainly the busier goalkeeper this afternoon.

In fact, it took until the 84th minute for Dulwich to register their first shot on target. It came via a rare breach of the Dartford defensive line, after Danny Mills sent a neat flick to release substitute Joshua Fawole. He was through one-on-one with Dudzinski, but the Dartford goalkeeper wasn’t going to be denied of a clean sheet this afternoon, as he got down to make the save (83).

The goalkeeper then launched his team forward once again, whereby Statham received the ball before sending another dangerous cross into the Dulwich box. Unfortunately, nobody was able to get on the end of it this time, but the Darts didn’t need to wait much longer for that fourth goal, which duly arrived in the 85th minute.

Harvey Bradbury was the player who got it after receiving the ball inside the Dulwich box, before firing home his second for the Darts. He’d surely be delighted to score on his full debut for the club.

The hosts weren’t finished their, however, and came close to adding a fifth goal deep into stoppage time. Luke Coulson (who’s performance deserved a goal as well) was the man to create it, but his low curling strike was collected by Charlie Grainger.

The day belonged to Alex Wall though, as he collected the match ball after an excellent performance in front of goal. His efforts mean that he’s now Dartford’s top goalscorer, with twelve goals in all competitions so far this season (11 in the league).

The result, meanwhile, sees Dartford maintain second place in the National League South, as the battle for the play-offs rages on.

TEAMS

DARTFORD: Ben Dudzinski, Jordan Wynter, Richard Chin, Connor Essam, Tom Bonner (c), Luke Coulson, Alex Wall, Maxwell Statham, Harvey Bradbury, Sam Odaudu, Jernade Meade.

SUBSTITUTES: Samir Carruthers, Luke Allen, Keiran Murtagh, Bobby Dunn, Malachi Napa.

DULWICH HAMLET: Charlie Grainger, Sanchez Ming, Conor Lawless, David Stephens, Danny Mills, Quade Taylor, George Porter, Deon Woodman, Joe Felix, Kristian Campbell, Gianni Crichlow.

SUBSTITUTES: Frankie Raymond, Aaron Jones, Joshua Fawole, Johl Powell, Ronnie Vint.

By Chris Palmer

[ozymandias]

I get where you're coming from Spike, of course the table doesn't lie. I'm basing my comment on previous performances in which some, even you, had doubts about the standard/quality of the squad and the fact that when we were dropping points no other team could take advantage.
Yes, we are second in the league, but the first 45 minutes today it was very difficult to see who was the bottom four club. I thought that DH was the poorest side I'd seen at PP and will probably go down on that performance. Two quick goals second half saw them off.
I hope we get the second place because we need the crowd to get us over the line in the play-offs.
Thought that Richard Chin added a bit of speed on the right and it was good to see Jordan back. Max had a good game as did Luke Coulson again. I do wonder what the score would have been had we got Samir and Jack in midfield.
Yes, we had goals today but I didn't think it was a great match. Alex scored two good goals and I'm glad that Harvey got his goal.
My MOTM Chinny for adding a bit of sparkle.
COYD's

[rick]

[Lennylenny]

Great result, and Alex Wall is someone whoon his day is unplayable, Naidstone coming straight back down shows how hard it is hard going up, but it can be done.

[KentC]

Wasn’t at the game so can’t comment on the performance.
Absolutely made up with the result. Oxford breathing down our necks but it’s in our hands. Can’t wait for Eastbourne. squeaky bum time.

[Park Life]

[Spike]

I get where you're coming from Spike, of course the table doesn't lie. I'm basing my comment on previous performances in which some, even you, had doubts about the standard/quality of the squad and the fact that when we were dropping points no other team could take advantage.

Ozy, my objection was specifically to your comment "Dowse needs a miracle" to get promotion. If you'd said that at the start of the season I might have gone along with it but from where we are now, promotion is not only possible, it is very much within our grasp.

We are second with 73 points and the season is coming to its end. EITHER Oxford or Chelmsford could theoretically make 86 points, but as they have to play each other, one of them at least is going to finish with 84 or less. Also, Oxford are 6/1 against to win at Ebbsfleet next Friday when the Fleet will have the champagne on ice as they need just a point to mathematically secure the title. Realistically, unless one or both of these remaining two suddenly embark on a run of results above and beyond anything they have achieved all season, neither is going to win ALL of their remaining games. I think 10 points from our remaining 7 games, would be enough for us to cement 2nd place and even allowing for our erratic form, this a modest target that is well within our grasp. In fact, if we maintain our points per game average until the end of the season we should finish on 86. This is why the bookies have us as strong favourites for 2nd place. In that event, the prospect of a semi-final and final both at home will probably again see us as the bookies favourites for promotion.

We've had some very good performances and some very poor ones and yes we are erratic, but the league table is proof that we are less erratic than everyone below us. I'm not saying we WILL go up, but from the position we are in currently, I think it's not unreasonable to say we have a slightly better chance than anyone else.

For promotion to happen, we need to keep ticking over at the same rate, a little bit of luck and a couple of good home wins in the play-offs when it really matters. Sure it won't be easy but that my friend, would not constitute a miracle.

[Spike]

As for today's game, the first half was a tough watch but Dulwich never really posed any threat to our goal and once we got in front it felt comfortable. Second half was one way traffic and it was good to see Alex get his hat-trick and the inevitable MOTM. On any other day I think Richard Chin would have won the vote as he was buzzing all day and wore me out just watching him. So much energy and enthusiasm, the fans are surely going to take to this guy. This was a thorough and competent performance and a well deserved 3 points.

We are closing in on that 2nd place.

[The Duke]

Interesting tactical line up from Dowse today with 8 [incl GK] recognised defenders and 3 attackers incl 2 up top , obviously it worked as 4-0 shows , I was very impressed with Richard Chin and it was easy to see the benefits of being a full time , fit , energetic and hungry footballer , hope the lad stays with us for the play offs .
Dulwich didnt play very well but we can only beat whats put in front of us , Alex Wall with 3 goals is my MOTM but I liked Harvey Bradburys overall contribution

[Tony H]

Buzzin’ after that win! Excellent from Chin, Odoadu and my man Wally. Superb hatty and that is the true Alex Wall and what he’s done throughout his career. Utterly brilliant - gets my MoM vote.

Back on the rails now after that and onto the real business end of the season. I totally agree with Spike on our chances of finishing in 2nd. That accomplishment is ours to lose.

Onto another big one at Eastbourne on Friday and an even bigger one at home to Dover next Monday. Come on you Darts!

(Oh, and Park Life - Don’tWatch Hamlet . Love that!)

[ozymandias]

Spike maybe 'miracle' was not the word to use so I'll downgrade it to 'sensational'. I also think we'll 'agree to disagree' on Dowse achieving a minor sensation on getting us where we are at the moment. But if he get's us up I think he could be walking on water in my opinion. As said the crowd will be a major factor should we get to the play-off final.
Liked Christian's interview as usual after until he said Dulwich are a good team, They were awful, didn't have a shot on goal until the 84th minute and then had another 2 minutes later. Maybe Hakan will have an easier job of getting them out of the Isthmian Premier.
But a good performance against a very poor team.
COYD's

[Spike]

[DA Mikey]

Pinpoint Maxwell Statham cross onto a towering Alex Wall header…
Carbon copy of our fourth (1st half) goal at Stonebridge Road on Boxing Day anyone