DULWICH HAMLET 3 BATH CITY 0, Vanarama National League South, Saturday 13 November 2021

The hosts, fielding an unchanged starting XI for the fourth consecutive match, had produced a defensive masterclass in a stalemate against Maidstone before prevailing in a high scoring shoot out against Hampton in their previous two matches. This time they combined the best elements of both those displays.

The Romans, as Bath are known due to the heritage of their home city, were first to probe the opposition penalty box with a couple of long throw ins but the second of these was snuffed out by referee Oliver Mackey whistling for an infringement. There were still less than two minutes gone when Hamlet’s Darren McQueen fired the first shot on goal, released by a ball over the top and shooting first time into the arms of City keeper Ryan Clarke. Hamlet’s next serious attack in the 8th minute yielded the game’s opening goal. Gio McGregor launched an outswinging corner beyond the far post, Ronnie Vint met it with a towering header back across the goal area, and Quade Taylor turned the ball into the net with a neat header at the near post.

Bath left back Zak Delaney collected the game’s first yellow card after 10 minutes for a cynical foul on Jordan Green, whose sheer pace on the right wing allied to the trickery of McQueen on the opposite flank unsettled the visitors’ defence throughout. Hamlet’s wing twins combined to almost double the lead inside the first quarter hour when Green danced his way to the byline and pulled the ball back for McQueen to volley wide. Bath briefly threatened when Alex Fletcher raced into the Hamlet box with the ball at his feet but a perfectly timed tackle from Jack Holland disposessed him before he could shoot. The remainder of the first half consisted of relentless Hamlet attacks. McGregor shot just wide from the edge of the box at the end of a patient passing move. Green made a great run into the box only for his shot to be saved low down by Clarke. Superb interplay from Green and McQueen saw the latter’s cross desperately cleared for a corner. McGregor again picked out Vint from the flag kick in a repeat of the opening goal, but this time the big defender’s header was cleared from the goalmouth. Yet another McGregor-Vint combination from a corner kick saw a diving header flash just wide at the far post. Green again picked out McQueen with a low cross from the byline but his partner’s shot was blocked on the goal line. The Romans finally gained some respite in the 37th minute, as a headed interception from Michael Timlin at the other end fell conveniently for Tom Smith in the left side of the penalty box. However the red haired midfielder, who had delivered match winning performances against the Hamlet on more than one previous occasion, couldn’t get sufficient power behind the ball to reach the goal before it was hacked clear. There was still time for further Hamlet attacks before the break. A through pass from Timlin found Green, whose shot was saved at the near post, then a McGregor corner picked out Danny Mills for a header that was securely held by Clarke.

If the Romans had hoped to regroup at half time those hopes were dashed by a second Hamlet goal within seven minutes of the resumption. A slick attacking move with McGregor in the vanguard released Jordan Green into the box with a beautifully weighted pass, and the speedy winger produced a finish to match in slipping the ball past the advancing Clarke. Three minutes later a slapstick moment on the halfway line gave Bath an opportunity to break with only one defender and the goalkeeper between the ball and the goal but Jordan Higgs “took one for the team” in deliberately tripping his man to earn a deserved yellow card. Two minutes later Andre Blackman followed his teammate into Mr Mackey’s notebook for simulation after going to ground just outside the left edge of the box.

Fletcher worked an opening for Bath, cutting in from the right to shoot left footed from the 18-yard line, but Charlie Grainger held the shot comfortably. McGregor’s constant threat from dead ball situations was exhibited once again as a free kick picked out Holland, whose header was held by Clarke. With twenty minutes remaining Hamlet effectively put the game to bed with a third goal when Green popped up on the left, burned off his markers with a searing run towards the byline, then crossed low for Darren McQueen to turn the ball into the net. The Romans were looking punch drunk by this stage, surviving two further near misses on their goal in the next three minutes. Firstly McGregor was narrowly wide of the target with a direct free kick from 30 yards out. Then Mills, usually the target of Hamlet’s approach play, showed unexpected qualities to win a crunching tackle in midfield and set up McQueen for a shot that rebounded from the far post.

There followed a lull in the wave of Hamlet assaults as Mills, Blackman, then finally McQueen were substituted but the hosts continued to push for further goals to the end. Vint benefited yet again from the quality of McGregor’s service, powerfully heading just over the crossbar from a free kick. Green skated around Clarke on the outside but his shot was cleared by a covering defender at the expense of a corner. Then when the corner was only half cleared, Higgs rifled a ferocious volley just over the target from the edge of the box.

Whilst the game literally took place “after the Lord Mayor’s Show”, the Hamlet put on quite a show of their own to send most of the crowd on their way in a happy mood. By contrast there was little consolation for those faced with the journey home to north east Somerset, having seen the wheels well and truly fall off the Romans’ chariot.

Team (3-4-3): Grainger - Holland(c), Vint, Taylor - Higgs, McGregor, Timlin, Blackman - Green, Mills, McQueen. Substitutes: German (for Mills 78), Barnum-Bobb (for Blackman 81), Dayton (for McQueen 85), Sterling, Kandi (not used).
Attendance: 3,334