Report – Dulwich Hamlet v Wealdstone – Play Off Final

WEALDSTONE FC WIN PLAY-OFF AND SECURE PROMOTION

(Originally posted on Come-to-WealdstoneFC website)

Report by Wealdstone Fan:

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful….

A crowd of just under 600 and around 350+ travelling Stones fans, maybe more. Certainly outnumbering the home fans, as Stones fans populated the covered terrace, down the side and behind the goal, as well as fans in the main stand. And what an atmosphere. It was electric. Every emotion possible at a football game was experienced tonight.

Stones took the lead midway through the first half when a 20 yarder looped over the Dulwich keeper to send the Stones army berserk. absolute pandemonium. Stones tried to play football, yet Dulwich in the allegedly stronger division resorted to the ball over the top to their pacy forwards.

Second half and Dulwich get back into the game with an early equaliser. Dulwich took the lead late on in the game and the writing seemed on the wall for Wealdstone. But we kept on creating and battled away. A free kick just outside the box, and Dave Ryan drills the ball home – cue chaos on the terraces.

Into extra time and few nervous moments as Dulwich score,  only for it to be ruled out for offside. Stones have a number of chances to win the game, and Dulwich always looked dangerous on the break with the long ball over the top to their two excellent forwards.

So, into penalties. Everyone resigned to defeat, as Stones have missed 7 penalties this season already. Dulwich score their first and Stones miss. Disaster. All penalties are scored and with Dulwich leading 4-3, they step up just needing to score to win the game. Their shot hits the crossbar. Stones step up and score to level at 4-4 and into sudden death.

Dulwich first…. ANDY CARTER SAVES!!! Bedlam on the terraces. Up steps Richard Jolly for Stones.. beautiful penalty and the net bulges…

The next 30 mins or so were sheer and utter unadulterated joy. The place just went absolutely berserk. I can’t find the adjective to describe the scenes. Grown men just running up and down the terraces and flinging themselves about wildly, faces contorted in utter utter joy.

Hundreds of Stones fans piling over the hoardings and onto the pitch. And even then, still not really knowing what to do, some people were lying on the grass kicking their legs and waving their arms.

The players were engulfed.

18 year old Stones defender Gary Burrell with tears streaming down his face at the sheer joy of it all screaming “we did it we did it”. It was truly incredible.

And an excellent performance from the match officials too!

This promotion meant everything to the supporters, players and officials. After the nightmare of the non-promotion 5 years ago, those ghosts were in some way exorcised tonight. It was a truly wonderful wonderful moment. It doesn’t get better than this.So anyway, with a bottle of Grolsch in one hand as I type this with the other, here’s to the heroes in blue and white tonight who envoked such wonderful emotions in us all reaffirms why we’re WEALDSTONE TILL WE DIE.

As the Opposition saw the game

Hamlet miss out in promotion thriller By Paul Griffin

Dulwich Hamlet 2 Wealdstone 2 (After Extra Time)

(Report from:  http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/sport/sporttopstories/display.var.486078.0.

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Wealdstone won 5-4 on penalties Ryman League Division One Promotion Play Off Monday 3rd May 2004

Nine months of football condensed down into just over two hours of passion and tension and at the end the cruellest of finishes as sudden death penalties at the end of a rollercoaster league campaign saw Dulwich condemned to another season of Division One Football.

Hamlet’s players and supporters could only look on enviously as the cavorting blue and white hoards of Wealdstone, some weeping with joy, took over the Champion Hill pitch to embrace their heroes.

With nearly 600 packed into the ground, it was a night of high drama as Dulwich fought back from a goal behind only to concede a 82nd minute equaliser to send the tie into extra time, a period that somehow remained goalless, before the Russian Roulette of the penalty shoot-out claimed the Hamlet as its victim.

Manager Martin Eede made a number of chances from Saturday’s defeat at home to Walton, recalling Julian Curnow, outstanding at the back, Lee Doherty, Jason Turley and leading scorer Omari Coleman.It showed as Dulwich found a resolve so lacking in the regular season run-in.

However, it was the visitors who threatened first with Dave Ryan’s deflected freekick from the edge of the box bringing a fine save out of Paul Seuke. Slowly but surely finding their gear Dulwich had a great chance after 16 minutes when a swift breakout saw Coleman hold off his marker, centring the ball for Craig Dundas only for the outstanding Ryan to whip the ball off his feet.Francis Quarm’s acrobatic interception almost put in Coleman again, but keeper Andy Carter was swiftly off his line to cover the danger.Two minutes later, Andy Carter came to his side’s rescue with some outstanding goalkeeping somehow getting his hand to Dundas’s goal bound shot then blocking Dundas’ third attempt to drive the ball home after his second from a tight angle had cannoned back off the upright.After 25 minutes the travelling masses were sent into raptures as the Wealdstone made the all-important breakthrough.Seuke punched out Gary McKeown’s free-kick straight to Martin Carter, whose speculative attempt from 30 yards out took a wicked deflection on its way to goal leaving Seuke rooted to his line.The goal galvanised the Stones and they soon had Hamlet rocking and rolling as they took the game to their hosts.Marvin Morgan’s cross from the right wing skimmed the crossbar and, from a corner moments later, Seuke had to be at his best as he pulled off a stunning stop to keep out the omnipresent Ryan’s rocket volley.As the half moved into stoppage time, Dulwich again had their hearts in their mouths as Richard Jolly’s deflected shot had Seuke beaten, but rebounded back off the upright for Doherty to hack to safety.With Wealdstone wasting a early opportunity to extend their lead in the second half as a freekick 20 yards out went harmlessly wide, the stage was set for Act One of the Dulwich comeback. Sweeping down the left a low cross shot beat Andy Carter, but seemed to going wide until Charley Side motored in at the back post to slide the ball home.

This goal gave Dulwich a crucial injection of confidence and, but for the magnificence of Andy Carter in the Stones goal, they might well have made the game safe long before the half was out. Instead they  found the Wealdstone custodian in resilient form, denying Coleman (twice) and Dundas within the space of ten minutes as Dulwich penned Wealdstone back in their own half, utilising the long pass to good effect as the power and pace of the forwards meant the visiting defenders were working overtime.

Then with 10 minutes to go, ecstasy for the home support as Dulwich’s persistence paid off. Carter again pulled a save out of the top drawer to deny Dundas, but the ball fell at the feet of Coleman and he made no mistaking rifling the ball home from eight yards.

However Wealdstone had not come this far to give and within five minutes had broken Dulwich hearts with an equaliser.

A clumsy tackle on the edge of the box had the visiting throng purple with rage as the referee had the temerity not to award a penalty. However with the Stones’ appalling record from spot this season, perhaps the award of a free-kick on the cusp of the area would be more profitable. And so it proved as Ryan drove a crisp shot into the bottom corner of the net to level things up once again. Extra-time almost began in spectacular fashion as Coleman found the back of the net within seconds of the start only for the assistant referee to signal for an infringement. Play swung back and forth with both sides creating chances. Dulwich’s nemesis Carter denied Coleman once more and a cracking effort from Dundas was inches over the bar whilst for the Stones’ substitute Ben Alexander and Jolly had their openings.

However the deadlock remained unbroken and so to the dreaded penalty shoot-out, something Wealdstone must have dreaded given their abysmal record of eight missed spot kicks this season. With Akers converting Dulwich’s opening kick and Seuke saving Ryan’s effort Dulwich held the trump card.S o it remained as both sides traded conversions until number five when young Meshach Nugent strode up, the unenviable weight of sealing promotion on his shoulders, only to see his kick hit the crossbar. Martin Carter levelled things before Carter guessed right to smother David Moore’s effort. This left the stage clear for 21-year-old Richard Jolly to earn his place in Wealdstone folklore with a confident kick high to Seuke’s right and shatter Hamlet dreams, leaving Dulwich players and fans alike to speculate on what might have been.

Dulwich Hamlet: Paul Seuke; Lee Doherty (Lee Akers 118); Julian Curnow; Alex O’Brien; Justin Bowen; Jason Turley; Kemal Bulent (Meshach Nugent 118); Francis Quarm; Omari Coleman; Craig Dundas; Charley Side (David Moore 77)Substitutes not used: Errison Ahwan; Scott Edgar

Wealdstone: Andy Carter; Jason Shaw (Tommy Williams 71); Gary Burrell; Dave Ryan; Danny Butler; Martin Carter; Matt Carvell; Gary McKeown; Marvin Morgan (Ben Alexander 95); Richard Jolly; James Duncan Substitutes not used: Alon Hemmerdinger; Brett Freeman; Danny Tilbury

Video Highlights can be viewed HERE