Dulwich Hamlet (A) - 2nd March

[tommytollbooth]

After our heroics against Woking a big disappointment, their defence bigger and stronger than our forwards. Why Tom Murphy can't get a game I find surprising with Haysie ill we needed some width. Dulwich is indeed a strange place to watch a game of football I have never seen so many white middle class people in one place, more a social gathering than supporting a football team still I wish we could get 2700 into Princes Park for our games. With Charlie and Alex Wynter injured and Nobes suspended all of a sudden we are short on numbers. Still if we are disappointed Torquay fans must be well choked after being turned over by bottom of the table Weston.

[DA Mikey]

One of those days where there's not all to much to talk about football-wise. DH's first goal was a fine finish, though it seemed to be that the fella who volleyed it in was in far too much space. Beyond that, a murky and muddled game which wasn't the easiest to get a view of. I'm not too keen on their bohemian ground, it surely can't be a nice place to be when the heavens open and forget about drumming up an atmosphere. Attendances at Champion Hill are outstanding, so the regulars obviously like it and with all those concessions selling food and drink at premium prices, the whole set-up must be a serious cash cow. Still, nice to chalk up another ground, just wish I'd taken the train as it felt like going to work heading around the south circular! Saving grace was seeing the Sainsburys home delivery vans get held up by the coach in the car park, one of them was getting very cross and he looked a bit silly.

[Trevor B]

Tommytollbooth said

Why Tom Murphy can't get a game I find surprising with Haysie ill we needed some width.

I have to agree with this comment as we had nothing down the right hand side and if need be we could have swapped Ben onto the right and played Tom on the left where we have seen him before.
The 5th Searcher HantsDart and myself were down watching our players at the pre-match warm up and Darren had team members firing in low hard passes from the left and right and he converted them each time past Bailey from all different angles so I would not fault him during this game.
He had no service at all and we persisted in lumping the ball in the air to our two short forwards only for the oppositions 5 & 6 to pick up everything.
Not a good day out for us and like others I found the mix of their supporters strange and most more interested in the real ales and alcohol on sale round the ground than the football and I seemed to keep stumbling over this man with his whippet in the bar and around the ground wherever I walked and I had to try hard not to trip over the lead.

[Ozymandias]

I didn't go, but from Matt's post, quickly backed up by Spike, I wish I had. A foodfest!! What's not to like. I suppose if I had gone I would have agreed with Matt's post, except for one thing, 'a game we was expecting to win'. With the way this season has panned out?
And what's wrong with having 'foreigners' at the game? Against Woking, when leaving the ground I followed out some foreigners, Eastern European I believe, or it could have Dowse's family. I don't know if they were impressed with what they saw.
Anyway, HH on Tuesday to amend things. Hopefully. Fortunately, Wealdstone didn't take advantage of our lapse.
Up the Darts

[silverado]

I see DH had a guy named Vose playing for them. Any relation to our Vose, I wonder? (Not a common name after all).

[AlexJdarts]

I might be completely wrong but my own opinion, our fans didn’t really get it going yesterday, atmosphere wasn’t the best. How could we improve it away from home? Everyone standing together? Not just a few trying to get the songs going? Was a strange game yesterday.

[M1 South]

Very strange place indeed yesterday!! £4 a pint up in the bar but £6 a pint down at the tent, what's all that about??
As somone else mentioned only about a quarter of those there were actually watching the game, i've never seen so many prams & dogs at a football ground before.
I think they must be twinned with Whitehawk? Can't quite imagine them ever playing a psf with Millwall somehow!!
But hey-ho they scored two & we didn't

[Harry]

Interesting and very different Football watching experience, with Dulwich attracting so many fans it would be good to look at what they have done to increase attendances in recent seasons.
They have a different demographic to us but people seem to attend (despite the Football) and it seems more of social activity than simply going to watch the game. Strange, different and alien to us at PP but can we learn anything from how they generate attracting people through the gate.
It can't just be the pop up tents, real ale type beers on each corner of the ground.

[Park Life]

Very disappointing display from us as we have played and got good results against much better opposition recently, we hardly created anything all game and gave our front two no service whatsoever.
Nobes out wide just doesn't work as he always naturally comes inside and this was evident in the first half where their left back had an absolute field day. Whilst it was a strong eleven we started with it was quite obvious from early on the balance wasn't right and we should have changed it. We have three very good central midfielders but on current form Nobes is the best and should play there, you only have to look at the last few games to see the impact he had on those results.
I would have thought that based on those recent good performances had Ryno been available yesterday he would have started so if the two other wingers we had on the bench are not deemed good enough to start in his absence should we be looking to replace them?
Second goal was very disappointing as we gave away a corner and then started arguing amongst ourselves and for the next few minutes totally lost all discipline and conceded a very poor goal.
MOTM for me again was Mark Onyemah, looking back to his best.

As for Dulwich, what a strange place. Hardly any atmosphere from the 2000+ home fans and as others have said, most of them don't seem too interested in the football. I'm not sure what the current football stadium regulations are these days but their was hardly any stewards anywhere and they were selling cans of beer? If they ever went up where alcohol is not allowed on the terraces i wouldn't be surprised if their attendances dropped massively, it was more like a food and drink festival. Not saying there is anything wrong with that but to us football dinosaurs was a very strange experience.

[Park Life]

http://www.thenationalleague.org.uk/mat ... /1-3615096

http://kentishfootball.co.uk/news/dulwdart020319