Is Dulwich Away a good away trip or not? The views on the train back were split about 50:50, writes Mike Wallis. I’ve always found it a bit weird, but can’t quite tell if it’s good weird or bad weird, if that makes sense?
It’s definitely the only ground in the league that regularly has sell-out fixtures, the cash turnstiles closed just after I went through, a full 45 minutes before kick-off. But even with the capacity crowd, somehow it didn’t feel as busy as last season.
We grab a spot behind the far goal and stick to it for the whole match. The local irritating children discover we’re not Dulwich fans and bombard us with epic bantz like “Lewis is a person’s name, not a football team” and “you’re a crook, not a rook”. How very original.
On the pitch, Lewes don’t turn up for the first half, making Dulwich look like a much better side than they actually are. They take the lead early in the half, the winger Kaunda able to cut inside and hit a shot past the stranded Bull. It should’ve been 2-0, Kaunda had a free header in the penalty area but managed to head the ball almost out of the ground. “You support the red team that are losing to Dulwich Hamlet,” observed one of the annoying children.
The match ground to a halt soon after, not much happened. A turgid 1-0 defeat looked nailed on. No idea what I’m going to write in this report.
On the train home, Deaksy said he’d spotted Craig disappear straight down the tunnel at half time, so took it upon himself to tell the players exactly what he thought of the first half performance. He, therefore, is taking credit for what happened in the second half.
As bad as the first half was, the second half was much, much better. Lewes almost scored from a corner, Sablier floating one above the uncertain keeper, causing a scramble which was eventually cleared but could easily have gone in. Lewes came again, Bassett holding off a defender and hammering his shot against the post, which fell kindly for Ollie Starkey to score his first for the Rooks. To be fair, he could hardly miss. “Is it 1-1 now?” asked the person stood next to me.
Lewes controlled the game from then on, Dulwich looked every bit the side that had barely won a game since the autumn and somehow look in danger of being caught by one of the bottom four.
The game may have petered out into a draw if it wasn’t for a wonderfully daft challenge by the Dulwich centre-half on Bobby Unwin. There didn’t appear to be much on, I don’t think either of them would’ve got on the end of the incoming cross, but Wynter inexplicably threw Unwin to the ground in some sort of wrestling move. The locals were cross but even the slightly erratic referee couldn’t have given anything else. Wynter shouted in vain at the linesman and was lucky not to be booked for his pointless protest. Bassett went one way, the keeper went the other.
Bassett’s 16th league goal of the season was quickly followed by his 17th, in what will be the moment this match is remembered for. After the match, Craig suggested I should describe it as a 40-yard screamer, which I guess, in a way, it sort of was. You’ll all be familiar with what usually happens. The ball is played back to the goalkeeper and has he smashes it back upfield an attacker closes him down, everyone thinks “oooh what if it hits him and goes in” but doesn’t get anywhere near it and everyone carries on with the game and forgets about it.
Except this time, the keeper absolutely twats it straight into Danny Bassett and everyone stops momentarily. Surely not. The ball is rolling fairly quickly at first and then quite apologetically slowly into the net. Bassett doesn’t really run after it, he’s ambling towards the youth wing behind the goal, followed by the rest of the team. Nobody can quite believe what’s happened.
The ball comes back to the keeper from the kick-off and he shanks it straight out for a throw, under no pressure. The annoying kids from the first half have disappeared.
We’ve had some bad luck this season, not least in the reverse fixture when the referee inexplicably gave a penalty after the ball hit Jerry Puemo in the face from six inches away, the two abandoned matches when we looked good to win, the Potters Bar debacle a couple of weeks ago. Sure, there was a bit of luck today, but it’s gone some way to even out some of the stuff that’s gone against us this season.
This was a more than a good trip, this was why I love football. The first half was dire, turgid, crap whatever adjective you want and the turnaround came from nowhere. I had resigned myself to this trip joining my rubbish away trip list, with the long drive home after the collapse at Hashtag, the tedious 0-0 draw at Cray Valley PM and the awful game at Champion Hill last season where we limped to a 2-0 defeat, which made it clear we were getting nowhere near the playoffs.
It’s matches like today that remind me why I do this, because on paper it makes no sense to give up your Saturday afternoon to watch a dead-rubber between two mid-table sides, but I absolutely loved it. I think I do like Dulwich after all. Bring on Dartford next week.
Lewes: Bull; Meeres (Antonio 90), Kaiser, Spinks, Ojemen; Warren, Muirhead, Sablier; Starkey (Ladapo 90), Bassett, Ekpiteta (Unwin 73).
Subs not used: Jones, Hutchinson
Goals: Starkey (57), Bassett (86 pen, 88)
Supporters Club player of the match: Bassett, again.