Tough times for the Hamlet of late – Dulwich returned this week from a punishing pair of matches against QPR, including an uncharacteristic loss last week. The team that showed up to meet Saltdean United this weekend were having no more of it, and arrived with game-faces on. Saltdean have had a tricky history against Dulwich – their last two meetings were postponed, and the 2-0 and 5-0 drubbings Dulwich hit them with prior to that will have left this coastal team with a point to prove. In another first for Dulwich, Lucy Monkman – a broadcaster and DJ off the pitch – turned her hand to commentating, sharing the press box with onetime Matildas captain and Olympian Alicia Ferguson (you can watch the women’s matches live with commentary on our DHFCTV YouTube channel, fact fans).

The game kicked off in spicy form. Saltdean had no intention of being pushed around again, and goalkeeper Mia North was called into action in the first minute, darting attentively off her line for the first of many saves. Saltdean pressed hard as the game got underway, with Henna Butcher trying for a wide route into the box. Dulwich were determined not to make the mistakes of last week, though, and denied her a way through. Ella Wales-Bonner took a barrage of hostility last week from a very physical QPR, and seemed to return with vengeance on her mind. While her first strike, a long ball in the tenth minute, found only the Saltdean keeper, it seemed only a matter of time before her efforts would hit home. Sophie Manzi, showing great control on the right wing, outsmarted three defenders to set up Sas Philp, but a tight angle near the goal saw the ball into the side netting.

Saltdean regrouped, with a sneaky foray down the wing, but Sarah Walters and Mia North shut it down firmly. An injury to Liz Berkeley saw an unplanned reshuffle for Dulwich, with Sarah Milner joining earlier than planned, and Mia Cruickshank – making her debut for the Hamlet – dropping back into Berkeley’s spot. Cruickshank would go on to acquit herself finely, providing a canny and solid line of defence for Dulwich.

Dulwich started to build in the midfield, with Milner and Wales-Bonner partnering to seize control, and Manzi keeping the ball near the halfway line, but Saltdean kept them busy and stopped them making headway. Saltdean slipped through instead, with a keening shot from the right that sailed over the crossbar. Disaster struck minutes later for Saltdean centreback Charlotte Young – a hard collision with Brit Saylor saw a yellow card for Dulwich’s captain, and a stretcher brought out for Young, who left the field with her leg in a split. As play resumed, a free kick handed Manzi a chance to replicate her huge crossing goal from last week, but a deflection off a defender spoiled her chance. Wales-Bonner slipped in for a chance instead, whizzing through the defensive knot like a heat-seeking missile, and nutmegging Saltdean’s Chloe Winchester to park the ball neatly in the back of the net - 1-0 at 39 minutes!

While the tide seemed to have turned for Dulwich, there was more pain for Saltdean. Goalkeeper Sharna Greenaway met a potential worldie from Sas Philp with a heroic save, catching the ball cleanly but going straight down on her ankle. After medical attention, she played on, and snatched Wales-Bonner’s attempt to claim her second goal. A beautiful cross from Hannah Baptiste offered Wales-Bonner another chance, but Greenaway closed it down.

As half-time loomed, a questionable decision stopped hearts across the field: Sarah Walters snatched the ball from Chloe Evans in the box, but as Evans went down, the referee called a penalty, eliciting a howl of outrage from the Hamlet. Saltdean captain Naomi Robinson stepped up to take the shot – and Mia North, facing her first PK Hamlet colours, stopped it like a roadblock, looking like she’d never been more ready.

An organised Saltdean returned in the second half, shutting down Dulwich’s chances and looking for their own way in, keeping North on her toes with another serious attempt in the 53rd. Dulwich returned fire with a cross and strike that should have doubled the score, but the accuracy wasn’t there. Dulwich got organised a moment later; a long curling cross from Cruickshank set up a corner for the home side, Rosie Stone spanked the ball past the six yard box, and Walters fed the ball back to Sas Philp who headed it home in the 59th minute.

No-one could have foreseen the next injury; with Dulwich and Saltdean both having lost players to the struggle, the officiating team were next, with one of the linesmen tripping and sustaining a painful landing on his arm. He soldiered on, and Saltdean looked to regroup. A speedy run in the 18 yard box presented Dulwich with some serious danger, but a focused Cruickshank saw it away, and North collected Saltdean’s next shot. North misjudged Saltdean’s next chance, though – coming off her line in the 78th minute to try and shut it down, she found herself behind the ball as Chloe Evans rolled it home to get her team back in the game.

Dulwich gathered themselves to hold onto their lead, with Milner and Philp throwing themselves into chances to score, but a foresighted Greenaway thwarted them. As the minutes ticked away, there was no lingering in midfield, both teams fighting to strengthen their positions. Saltdean’s clearest chance came in the 89th minute, with Walters and Winchester racing through the box, but North ended the discussion with a decisive catch. A chunk of extra time handed the visitors valuable minutes to try and nail a reprieve, and a frustrated Saltdean battled to the last to squeeze a game-changer out of the final minutes. But they were out of chances, and the whistle handed a relieved Dulwich a hard-fought 2-1 victory.

The Spring Round Robin tournament continues next week as Dulwich face Eastbourne Town at home.

Attendance: Behind closed doors

Dulwich Hamlet:
1 Mia North; 2 Madi Parsonson; 3 Mia Cruickshank; 4 Liz Berkeley; 5 Rosie Stone; 6 Sarah Walters; 7 Sas Philp; 8 Brit Saylor (capt); 9 Sophie Manzi; 13 Ceylon Hickman; 15 Hannah Baptiste; 16 Ella Wales-Bonner;
Subs: 5 Rosie Stone; 11 Zoe Elmore; 17 Sarah Milner; 22 Jo Gibson

Saltdean United:
1 Sharna Greenaway; 2 Yasmin Poole; 3 Ruby Atkins; 4 Paige Walder; 5 Niamh Stephenson; 6 Charlotte Young; 7 Georgia Bridges; 8 Henna Butcher; 9 Chloe Winchester; 11 Naomi Robinson; 11 Chloe Evans
Subs: 12 Jess Mead; 14 Niamh Anderson; 15 Megan Gates; 16 Lily Smith; 17 Amy Sinden

Referee: Tim Gilmore
Assistant referees: Keith Slaughter, Roberto Lagnado

Photo: Liam Asman