spur
Isthmian South
Posts: 857
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Post by spur on Oct 28, 2023 20:46:22 GMT
It felt very much like home from home at Champion Hill - 'right on' messages all over the ground, Greek food to take away, a family atmosphere, dogs welcome. And who could complain about 20mph restrictions and sleeping policemen for miles around, so that those of us un-Lewes enough to drive there might almost have walked it?
Well, we won't complain, having seen a fast maturing Rooks squad play the home team off the park. The Hamlet of course have some decent players, hit the woodwork a couple of times and had a few bright moments, but Tony Russell has assembled a group of players who are always making space for one another, and who know how to play themselves out of trouble with a few deft touches and then launch potentially devastating attacks.
The match was settled by halftime. Bradley Pritchard, after their keeper made a fine save from a corner, drove the loose ball home via a deflection. Tommy Wood took his time with the second, beating his man in the box before firing a shot into the corner.
The crowd was a staggering 2,750, most of them resigned to a deserved defeat well before the end.
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agl
Sussex County Division One
Posts: 306 
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Post by agl on Oct 28, 2023 21:25:42 GMT
My first visit to Dulwich, and no denying it's a great day out. Nice ground, excellent food (take note Lewes), great beer (queues not so great) and a big crowd. It's a set up that puts many league 2 clubs to shame but strangely passionless. 'Football in a library' sang the Lewes yoof and they had a point. The Pan isn't exactly a cauldron of noise but Dulwich makes it sound like the San Siro.
As for the match, a thoroughly professional performance. In truth, although Dulwich had a few moments it was game over by half time. I may have to write a personal letter of apology to Mr T. Wood. Joe who?
Pritchard orchestrated the midfield and Deon ran their right back ragged. It all seems to have clicked into place since Penney moved into the middle. A stroke of genius by the manager. Looking forward to the draw (Monday?) and a return league visit to Dulwich.
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rook99
Sussex County Division Three
Posts: 66
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Post by rook99 on Oct 28, 2023 22:54:11 GMT
First time visiting Champion Hill, a nice ground with a decent set up and a heaving attendance, although it seemed that only a small minority of their fans were interested in making any sort of noise!
Beer was good - the queues were monstrous but at least you could still watch the game. Lots of options for food but the one that stood out to me were the sausage rolls from the pie hut - delicious! Did anyone else have one? Probably the best I’ve had from any ground and for £3 I’d say they were very reasonably priced.
As for the football, I thought we dominated the first half before taking a tamer approach in the second half as the heavens opened. Dulwich certainly had their chances in the game but their finishing was woeful. Hoping for a decent draw on Monday.
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Post by pj on Oct 28, 2023 22:56:12 GMT
It's a bit of a strange one at Dulwich. They have huge attendances but a lot of the crowd don't seem to be particularly interested in the football. It seems more of a social event. A couple next to me were bedecked in Hamlet scarves but didn't have a clue what league they were in. In fact they didn't know what a league was or how it worked.
I wonder what Dulwich do with their money? They must be coining it in with gates like that, and everyone seemed to be drinking £6 pints and/or eating. One would expect them to have a decent budget and, in turn, a pretty useful squad. Well, maybe they have but I thought they were quite poor today. Lewes played well and controlled the game throughout. If that free kick that hit the post had gone in it might have changed things. Another effort landed on top of the bar, but that was about it from them.
Anyway, a splendid day out. The pies and chips in the ground were excellent and we won. We'll done boys.
*One concerning thing was seeing Sablier hobbling about with a walking stick. I hope that's not as serious as it looks.
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agl
Sussex County Division One
Posts: 306
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Post by agl on Oct 29, 2023 9:24:06 GMT
First time visiting Champion Hill, a nice ground with a decent set up and a heaving attendance, although it seemed that only a small minority of their fans were interested in making any sort of noise! Beer was good - the queues were monstrous but at least you could still watch the game. Lots of options for food but the one that stood out to me were the sausage rolls from the pie hut - delicious! Did anyone else have one? Probably the best I’ve had from any ground and for £3 I’d say they were very reasonably priced. As for the football, I thought we dominated the first half before taking a tamer approach in the second half as the heavens opened. Dulwich certainly had their chances in the game but their finishing was woeful. Hoping for a decent draw on Monday. I went for the pork souvlaki, which was also excellent. The queues for beer were ridiculous, though. Joined one in the main bar at half time but gave up after making little progress in ten minutes. Shame, as they looked to have some good ales on offer. On the crowd, was also interesting to see how many 20 and 30 somethings were there, in contrast to the Lewes dynamic which appears to be older. They are obviously doing a lot right at Dulwich if they can pack in 2700 for an early round Trophy game. Persuading them to get behind the team is another matter. |
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Post by stuartnoel on Oct 29, 2023 10:20:39 GMT
It's a bit of a strange one at Dulwich. They have huge attendances but a lot of the crowd don't seem to be particularly interested in the football. It seems more of a social event. A couple next to me were bedecked in Hamlet scarves but didn't have a clue what league they were in. In fact they didn't know what a league was or how it worked. I wonder what Dulwich do with their money? They must be coining it in with gates like that, and everyone seemed to be drinking £6 pints and/or eating. One would expect them to have a decent budget and, in turn, a pretty useful squad. Well, maybe they have but I thought they were quite poor today. Lewes played well and controlled the game throughout. If that free kick that hit the post had gone in it might have changed things. Another effort landed on top of the bar, but that was about it from them. Anyway, a splendid day out. The pies and chips in the ground were excellent and we won. We'll done boys. *One concerning thing was seeing Sablier hobbling about with a walking stick. I hope that's not as serious as it looks. If you picked up a programme you’d have seen their squad list (the majority being on contract). They have a Step 1/2 squad playing at Step 3. Marcus’ injury isn’t good and I doubt we will see him again before Christmas. |
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Post by Barry Collins on Oct 29, 2023 10:47:19 GMT
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agl
Sussex County Division One
Posts: 306
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Post by agl on Oct 29, 2023 11:29:31 GMT
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Post by stuartnoel on Oct 29, 2023 11:44:45 GMT
It's a bit of a strange one at Dulwich. They have huge attendances but a lot of the crowd don't seem to be particularly interested in the football. It seems more of a social event. A couple next to me were bedecked in Hamlet scarves but didn't have a clue what league they were in. In fact they didn't know what a league was or how it worked. I wonder what Dulwich do with their money? They must be coining it in with gates like that, and everyone seemed to be drinking £6 pints and/or eating. One would expect them to have a decent budget and, in turn, a pretty useful squad. Well, maybe they have but I thought they were quite poor today. Lewes played well and controlled the game throughout. If that free kick that hit the post had gone in it might have changed things. Another effort landed on top of the bar, but that was about it from them. Anyway, a splendid day out. The pies and chips in the ground were excellent and we won. We'll done boys. *One concerning thing was seeing Sablier hobbling about with a walking stick. I hope that's not as serious as it looks. If you picked up a programme you’d have seen their squad list (the majority being on contract). They have a Step 1/2 squad playing at Step 3. Marcus’ injury isn’t good and I doubt we will see him again before Christmas. 29 players in their squad. |
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rook99
Sussex County Division Three
Posts: 66
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Post by rook99 on Oct 29, 2023 13:09:08 GMT
Shame about Marcus… been a real quality player for us
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Post by rookranger on Oct 29, 2023 19:25:01 GMT
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