Mishi D. Morath takes us back to the year of his birth and a search through the archives to
find that very first Hamlet win of his life.
The first game of my
life…
by Mishi D. Morath
One question
I am often asked, as a long-standing Hamlet fan, of forty years now, is ‘Why do
you hate Tooting so much?’ To which I have no real answer. They are our local
rivals, and I can respond in the only way that is honest…”I don’t know, I was
just brought up to hate them as a kid!”
For this
edition our esteemed editor asked me to knock up and article or two, which I
always say I will, but put on the proverbial ‘back burner’. I have an idea, but am a lazy sod at heart.
He wanted ‘around eight pages’, so I had few thoughts for one or two page
‘space-fillers’. I saw my first Hamlet game at the tender age of seven, after
my older brother Ferenc finally gave in to my nagging to take me to a game. We
grew up on the Champion Hill Estate behind the ground. From our balcony you
could watch the players training, on the old Top Pitch. So I thought to myself,
rather than ‘my first match’ which I have covered before, I wondered what the
first Hamlet game of my life was?
I was born
on Monday October 24th 1966, north of the river, but destined to
move south of the Thames when I was about
four. It must have been then because the only primary school I went to was St.
Anthony’s, up at Dulwich Plough. Not any
old part of South London, but as fate would
have it, Champion Hill itself. I wasn’t supposed to be born then, in fact I was
a complete surprise. I am the youngest of four, and not planned. I was a
‘stomach ache’ and born three months premature, weighing in at 2lbs 4 oz; a
little more than a bag of sugar & was given the last rites on the day I
came into this earth. From vague memory, I think I was told that I wasn’t even
brought home until January the following year.
So how
simple would it be for me to check what the first Hamlet game of my life was?
Well that was the easy part …unfortunately I decided to carry on ‘a game or
two’ to include the first Dulwich win of my life too. What I never factored in
was that the 1966/67 season was the worst in the entire history of Dulwich Hamlet,
when we came rock bottom of the Isthmian League, and unbeknown to me we were
not to win another match that season, after I was born! So this has ended up
more of a ‘War & Peace’ style article rather than a two page spread in
’Hello!’ magazine!
It is
strange how, without having checked results, Tooting can annoy me, even before
I had my first breath. For just two days before my birth, on the 22nd
October, we lost 4-1 at their old Sandy
Lane. Throughout this piece there will be lots of
quoting from the archives of the ‘South
London Press’, and these will all be in
italics. It was a portent of things to come when I read ‘Tooting had this Isthmian League result safely sewn up by half-time’ The headline mentioned their
new right-winger Michael Andrews, but was not so complimentary of one of our
men: ‘Alas the same cannot be said for
Hamlet’s newcomer Barry Hopkins, who was a little overawed by
the firepower of the home attack.’ Nevertheless the 19-year-old from
Windsor & Eton recovered sufficiently to keep his goal intact in the second
half. It was after the interval that we ‘showed a little more fight’, with Mike Woollard the pick of our
defence. He ‘suddenly found time to venture upfield’ where he set up Ron Parnell, but his attempt went into
the side-netting. We did close the gap
with a shot from Eddie Harris that ‘flashed into the net well out of Guy’s reach.’ That’s the same Dickie Guy
who moved on to Southern Leaguers Wimbledon, and saved a Peter Lorimer penalty
against the then at the peak of their powers Leeds United in an FA Cup tie at Elland Road the
following decade. So there you have it, subconsciously such a terrible defeat
caused my mum, who neither knew she was pregnant, nor heard of Dulwich Hamlet,
to go into labour as a result!
So that was
a close escape. The first game of my life was actually when I was in intensive
care, oblivious to the world in my incubator, and it was at what was to become
my ‘second home’, Champion Hill. Sadly, another heavy defeat, as we crashed at
home to Ilford 3-0. This was in a long since defunct competition called the
London Charity Cup. Ilford triumphed due
to ‘their ability to overcome the heavy conditions…consistent use
of long ball tactics that reaped dividends….Little fault could be found with an
overworked Hamlet defence with Mike
Woollard working tirelessly but their attack still leaves much to be desired.’.
Just for the
record the team against Ilford, for the first game of my life was as follows: Hopkins, Woollard, Hammond, King, Cassell,
Smith, Abbott, Modesto, Cane, Walker & Mears. And so these two matches
set the tone for the rest of my research, with me naively deciding to continue
‘a few more games’ until the first win of my life…oh dear!
And so began
my long, seemingly elusive search for that first victory. A one nil loss at
home to Ilford, this time in the Isthmian League, followed, and then a trip to Oxford City.
Ray Willis would be making only his
second appearance for the club, he was formerly with Middlesex League outfit
Ditton. Terry Seeds retuned, after
three weeks out with an ankle injury. But we lost five one, described as ‘jaded and ragged chasing this match at the
White Horse ground….in character with
a team already fighting again to escape the re-election zone.’ There were also problems off the pitch as the
headline read: ‘Dulwich hit by four quitting’; three of whom had played in the
first team earlier in the season, namely Dave
Clark, John Mears and Colin Phillips. The fourth, Ray Ranson, was a reserve & ‘A’
team player. Committee member Cecil
Murray said: “They’ve gone because
neither of them were able to keep a first team place. Centre-back Clark was the only
full Hamlet member, the committee elected him last season. But Clark has recently married and now lives in Chingford. He
told the club he was tired of getting home late at night following the journey
after training sessions.”
Inside-forward Mears went back to his former club, Cray Wanderers. Half-back
Phillips joined Maidstone United; while full-back Ranson, who left Bromley
because he was unable to hold down a first team place, returned to Hayes Lane, where
his father Tom was manager.
Another
Champion Hill defeat, with the ‘old enemy’ from Tooting winning two nil in the
return game, so the first of many defeats against them in my lifetime, even
though this century we have more than held the upper hand! We ‘crashed to a losing double’ which ‘could have been worse if Tooting had not squandered 4 made-to-measure chances.’
The next
match was against Wembley, in the London Senior Cup. The previous time we had
met each other was a decade previous, where we led two at half time, before
they knocked us out 4-2. The pre-match
optimism told us that ‘Hamlet hope for
better fortune when they again visit Wembley’…but it was not to be. I wonder how many Hamlet fans suffered over
at Vale Farm, with the attraction of the England
versus Netherlands
amateur international being staged at Champion Hill? It was a future Hamlet
player, who joined us when Jimmy Rose
became manager in the early Seventies, who was responsible for our downfall, as
the headline told us: ‘Hamlet hammered by live-wire Pudney’. A
one nil defeat- ‘A magnificent goal by ex-Hendon star Fred Pudney gave the
Athenian League side a shock, but deserved victory’. Such was our poor
showing that we only ‘troubled (their)
keeper for the first time just before half-time, Terry Pearton with a snap-shot from long range. Wembley’s diligent
defence always proved just too good for a moderate Dulwich forward line.’ Pudney
was clearly the best player on the pitch, by a long chalk, and it got to our
players. His ‘persistent worrying the Dulwich defence caused tempers
to rise and after a clash with Frank
Abbott both were cautioned. And then
Pudney struck. Taking up the running on the right-wing, he moved inside with
the ball and from an acute angle let fly with a fierce shot from 25-yards which
left Ray Willis helpless in the 71st
minute’. One would assume that in the modern era when yellow cards are
handed out like confetti, both players would certainly be red-carded.
The next
match was in a competition long forgotten to all but the most ardent statto-type
of a Hamlet fan. But this match was extremely unusual, as it was the second leg
of a South of The Thames Cup tie against Bromley, and the first leg was from
two seasons before! The headline said it
all: ‘Second leg-19 months later!’ Before we even kicked off we were two goals for the worse, as way back on
April 26th 1965 we had been beaten three one. That was a game where John King broke his leg, forcing a long
lay-off, but he was fit for the return! No mean feat…if you didn’t know the
dates of the two ties! The ‘excuse’ given for the long delays was ‘inclement weather forced a heavy backlog of
fixtures last season and neither club
could find the time to complete the match’. After a huge delay we were
hammered 7-2, thus going down 10-3 on aggregate. To be fair, if you are looking for an
‘excuse’ we had one, as our keeper went off injured. But the report never saw
it that way: ‘Oh Dulwich! Even though you lost goalkeeper Ray Willis early in the second half
this was such a disappointing display.’ We were already four down when a
kick to his head forced us to put Tony
Dew between the posts, but out of the seven conceded ‘four of the Bromley goals were
handed to them on a plate.’ Ours were two in the last ten minutes, from
substitute Albert Modesto, and
Danish debutant Jan Kilderman, from
a free-kick. It was also reported midfielder Frank Abbott had resigned from the club.
We then lost
by the odd goal in five, away to Hitchin Town, where we ‘fought back pluckily after being three goals in arrears’ and only
a combination of ‘bad luck and bad
shooting prevented earning a much needed point’. The result meant we swapped places with
Hitchin, who had been the only side below us in the table.
A midweek
defeat came next, at Sutton United, this time 3-1, but it was closer than the
scoreline suggested as the heading told us: ‘Hamlet
crack in the last 10 minutes’; with our ‘marked
defending’ nearly taking an unexpected point from the title contenders. ‘Hamlet crowded their goal so successfully the result was still in the balance
until the last ten minutes’. Sutton’s 38th minute opener was
cancelled out five minutes after the break when Ron Cane sent in a corner which was headed in by Jan Kilderman.
But on the
Saturday, despite that plucky loss, it was business as usual, as we were
knocked out of the Surrey Senior Cup, three nil at home to Leatherhead. ‘Lamentable Dulwich crash again’ was the
headline. The report commenced ‘Down-in-the-dumps
Dulwich made an early exit when they gave
another lamentable display…This was a game that Dulwich would have taken in
their stride. Not so nowadays.’ Cutting comments indeed, from the local
press. A vein that was, sadly to continue all season.
At the start
of the season we had appointed our first ever paid coach, or in modern
parlance, manager. His name was Frank Reed, and although this article
was clearly ‘spin’ from him, before ‘spin’ was invented, it’s interesting to
look back at… “I’m not going to quit – says
Reed”. The Hamlet were given a ‘verbal
shot-in-the-arm’ from him when he stated he ‘would like his contract renewed when it expires later this season’. The paper went on: ‘The
reason for coach Reed’s one-man-morale-booster is to quash ugly rumours that
have flowed again, following the resignation of another Dulwich player – Eddie Harris, this week.’ Reed, the
33-year-old former ex-Charlton Athletic goalkeeper said: “I’ve been to many clubs during
my years in football, but Dulwich Hamlet is the best I’ve ever been associated
with. And as for any internal trouble, well that’s ridiculous. No matter what
your club is you’ll always get unsettled players, who naturally move on if
things are not going their way. Admittedly we have had our fair share at
Dulwich, but don’t forget there are players applying to join us each week who
don’t get any mention.” He said that the recent muddy grounds was one of
the reasons for our spate of defeats- “Our
present team are on the small side
and believe in ball playing more than physical contact, and this, I believe, is
why we have been struggling”, he explained. “Just wait until the hard grounds, we’ll come again.” Reed had taken over as our first paid coach in
July, and believed we had the nucleus of a half-decent side: “All I need are one or two experienced
players to harness the obvious skill
we undoubtedly have, and then I honestly believe that Dulwich will be where it
belongs – at the top.” Before joining Dulwich, Reed had been at Erith &
Belvedere, & he was reportedly on a six month contract, that was due to
expire at Christmas. This report was
from early December. The paper went on
to say that Sunderland-born Reed had openly expressed to the Dulwich committee
that he would like to continue as coach-if they wanted him. He also said: “My stay at Dulwich has not only been a challenge, but it has been very
enjoyable, and although naturally I would
not like to say much about it at the present moment, I would definitely like to
carry on.” The piece finished by informing us that ‘under Reed’s guidance,
Dulwich enjoyed one of their most successful starts to the season for many
years, but now sit humbly at the bottom of the table.’
The next
game against Bromley was rained off, but when it was played the following week
it was a case of ‘same old, same old’, despite Reed’s positive talk. But the
headline was, sort of, optimistic, despite the three nil defeat at Hayes Lane: ‘Hamlet hit by late burst’; with three
Bromley goals in the last seven minutes sending us to defeat. Our first seasonal game was at home to our
ground-sharing tenants Corinthian Casuals, and there were changes before the
game, with the heading: ‘Goalkeeper
Willis axed – Hamlet call on Edwards’. Willis was dropped for reserve team
custodian Tony Edwards, who had ‘impressed recently with some good displays’. And up front there was also a change, as the
Danish student Jan Kilderman was returning home for the
Christmas period, the reserve striker Harry
Richardson being his replacement. But
the change of custodian between the sticks made no difference as we lost two
nil: ‘Casuals hold out to win thriller’,
which suggested a rare decent match to watch, confirmed by the opening lines: ‘Easily the best game at Champion Hill this season. That was the universal
opinion about this rip-roaring game on Christmas Eve.’ Heavy rain almost
led to a postponement, but after late inspections of the ‘waterlogged surface’ the
referee gave the go ahead. End to end
stuff by all accounts. ‘What a battle it
proved to be with first one side then the
other gaining the upper hand, with the eventual result hanging in the balance
until Casuals snatched their second goal twenty minutes from the end’.
With the
chopping and changing of playing personnel, there was bad news in the papers
with the heading: ‘Merritt out for
season’. We were told that the club stalwart Reg Merritt was unlikely to play again this season because of a
chest injury…after a specialist informed him it would be dangerous for him to
continue playing. The 37-year-old, a former Surrey & London FA
representative player, was injured in Dulwich’s game at Hendon, on October 8th,
when he was taken to hospital, but allowed home before the end of the match.
Severe bruising of the ribs was diagnosed, but since then consistent pain had
forced him to seek further medical advice.
Merritt, who lived in Farnborough, in Kent, had been with the club 16
years, and was the skipper for six of them. At his own request, at the start of
this season he asked that a younger player take over the role.
Our Dane
finished his break – ‘Kilderman’s
vacation return aids Hamlet’ the paper telling us he was back from his
eight day spell in Denmark, and would be ‘plunged
straight back in at home to Oxford City’, a snippet also informing us that ‘his English is restricted to just a few words’. I bet he wished he was still in Scandinavia, as it was more poor headlines: ‘Biggest defeat of season for Hamlet’.
We lost six one at home, the report stating: ‘The New Year brought no
change in the fortunes of Dulwich Hamlet’.
One goal more than our earlier 5-1 loss up there, we ‘handed Oxford three soft goals’. It was our Dane
who got a good mention: ‘Jan Kilderman, curiously starved by Dulwich throughout
the first half, got off the mark well immediately after the interval, and
grazed the bar with a swerving shot.’
But our goal came from Harry Richardson,
who netted with a ‘glorious header’
from a Terry Lyons corner.
After that
match manager Peter Reed was against
pleading his case in the press: ‘Reed
wants to stay until end of the
season’. We were told that ‘the
future of Dulwich Hamlet’s first paid coach hangs in the balance until the
struggling club hold their annual meeting next month’. The report went on: ‘Reed shocked the club last Saturday with
the news that he will not be able to
continue as their coach after this season, because of business commitments.’ He
told the paper: “I’ve just taken a new post as a sports organiser with a London
bank, and although I’ve tried to work round it, I just will not be able to
spare the time to coach Dulwich. I would love to continue at Dulwich until the
end of the season, but the final decision rests with the club. Until I hear to
the contrary I intend to carry on and do my utmost for the club. My days at
Dulwich have been the best in my footballing life, and if they do terminate my
contract then I should always like to be connected with the club in some way.’
A spokesman for the club said that Reed’s resignation, and his offer to complete
the season have been accepted, but he added nothing more will be decided until
the Annual Meeting in February.
The next
match was a break from league football, an FA Amateur Cup tie away to Grays
Athletic, the last time we had met in this competition was way back in 1946/47,
when we drew 3-3, losing the replay one nil.
History was to repeat itself, just different scorelines. The first match
was drawn: ‘Penalty-saver from Kilderman’. Netted in the closing stages, it gave The
Hamlet a ‘lucky reprieve’, the spot
kick from Jan Kilderman coming in
the 80th minute, when we were losing two one, after: ‘Dick
Clarke slipped past the full-back
but as he went round centre-half Stockley the home skipper brought him down
just inside the area.’ The first half had been goalless, Grays going ahead on 51 minutes. Seven
minutes later we hit back with an ‘untidy
goal’ from Terry Lyons. ‘Grays
failed to clear a high cross from Sumpter and Lyons shot to fire home through a ruck of
players.’ The joy was short lived though, as Grays restored their lead within thirty seconds and no Dulwich player
touching the ball. We were told that
‘Grays were the better all-round side and unlucky not to win. Two goals
disallowed and twice Peter Smith
headed off the line’.
There was
more player news, when we read about our third Scandinavian player of the
season: ‘Hagen in Hamlet’s reserves’.
And from a third country: ‘Norwegian
international Erik Hagen makes his
debut for Dulwich Hamlet in their reserve side on the Top Pitch tomorrow at
2:30. The 25-year-old had his first training session with the club last night
and plays against Woking reserves. Dulwich
would have liked to plunge him straight into the first team, but league rules
state any player joining a new club must have at least one outing in the reserves
before a senior outing. A native of Oslo, Hagen has been capped eleven times for Norway, a versatile right-back for first
division club Friwg-whose ground is called Bislet, equivalent to the White City
Stadium in London.
Hagen is in Britain until March to further his
studies in chartered shipping.’ The reserve match was drawn one apiece, but
not such a good result in the Amateur Cup on the main pitch: ‘Hamlet slump out of Cup’. The beginning of the report said it all as we
lost two nil in very wet conditions: ‘Goodbye
Dulwich, you’re out of the Amateur Cup.
Without a win in three months they paddled out of this first round replay.
Paddle they definitely did. Referee Burns spent 45 minutes deciding to play or
postpone. Puddles turned into clogging mud and that alone was enough to snuff
out the lightweight Hamlet attack. They made the fatal mistake of attempting to
play through ploughing down the muddy middle. Grays didn’t and for that alone
they deserved their victory. Tactically they were always a step ahead of their
Isthmian League opponents.’
After his
reserve appearance our latest overseas player was in the frame: ‘Dulwich call up new recruit Hagen’. Our
Norwegian international Erik Hagen
stepped into the first team for his debut away to Maidstone United. He was
replacing the ‘off form’ Bob Meadows, and would ‘play a deep lying link-man role’. Of his single reserve team appearance we were
informed that: ‘Although he tired towards
the end and then limped off with a bruised tendon in the dying minutes, Hagen
showed that with a little more training he can be a great asset.’ But he
could do nothing about the result, as we went down 6-1, not helped by an
injury: ‘Luckless Hamlet see Woollard
injured’. And the Stones were at the
top of their game too- ‘Struggling
Dulwich Hamlet were unfortunate to find Maidstone
in their most convincing form of the season. The Kent side have been in trouble
themselves for most of the season, and had not won a game for months. But they
made the most of their all-round superiority to leave Dulwich a completely
wretched side long before the end.’ Mike
Woollard went off injured after 35 minutes, after a collision, when we were
only one down. After he had left the field we suffered a double blow in a
minute. First they scored with a penalty when Barry Bryan handled on
the line and then Erik Hagen turned
a seemingly harmless cross into our own net.
As if the
football wasn’t bad enough, the pitch at Champion Hill was just as awful. And
this was highlighted by the local press: ‘Pitch
problem top of the agenda’. You have
to remember that unlike the game today matches were not called off at the drop of
the hat when there is a puddle of rain, or ice and snow. Unless the conditions
were really horrendous the game went on. But …‘Champion Hill came under more criticism when the Casuals v Tooting and Mitcham fixture was
cancelled because of a waterlogged pitch. This is the third time this season
the ground has been unplayable. And Hamlet officials are getting worried. Last
year a “considerable amount of money” was spent on having the playing surface
raised four inches so that additional clinker could be laid in an effort to
help drainage. Bingley’s, the famous turf researchers, suggested this method to
Dulwich but it failed to solve the problem. The Dulwich committee have been in
touch with the company for another assessment of the situation. The trouble
seems to stem from a thick layer of clay that lays just beneath the pitch which
allows the drainage to soak up the rain, but does not let it disperse. The only
way around this is to dig the clay away, but this would prove very costly. The Dulwich committee are anxious
for a solution as no game means no gate, and no gate means no money.’
Continuing
with more ‘off-field’ activity came the news that: ‘Dulwich to advertise for new paid
coach’. We were informed that ‘Dulwich will advertise immediately in top
soccer magazines’ after gaffer Peter
Reed had said he was moving on, and that ‘Reed has pencilled in a
couple of names to replace him, and will arrange for them to meet the Dulwich
committee shortly.’ After enjoying a good early start, the season got
worse, as you have seen through this article! We are informed that: ‘Unfortunately Reed’s methods –he believes
more in the skill side of soccer than the
mad dash and crunch – have become bogged down in muddy pitches’. Which
brings us back to the Champion Hill surface:
‘Nature is the only thing left in their other problem child – the
pitch. “Everything that has been within our financial limit has been tried in
an effort to stop the playing surface becoming waterlogged at this time of
season”, explained Dulwich official Cecil
Murray. “We have bought a new spiker and 50 tons of sand to try and
disperse the water that forms on the pitch at this time of year, but these
methods are giving us only a brief respite. It would cost far too much to have
the playing surface dug up again like last year, so our biggest ally now is
nature. Immediately after a new playing surface was laid it was time for the
new season to begin, so the new grass did not have enough time to root. It
normally takes a few seasons anyway for new grass to settle, so we will just
have to wait and hope.” he added. The piece went on: ‘The notorious heavy playing
surface has been causing headaches to the Dulwich committee since the late
fifties water just flowed off the playing surface and regularly flooded the tea
and groundsman’s rooms. After consulting
a top ground company a couple of seasons ago …work was completed during the
close season last year at a cost of £2,500. The pitch problem seemed solved
until the heavy rain and snow over the Christmas period again flooded the
pitch’. The club have been told that ‘nothing, apart from a massive overhaul of
the playing surface could be done until the grass has been given a chance to
root and sit firm’.
Still on
‘off-the pitch’ matters, came the heading ‘South London Boys banned’. Nothing to do with over-exuberant lads on
matchdays! For many, many years, especially in the great pre-War era, The Hamlet
had an almost exclusive monopoly on the young talent passing through the
representative side of South London Schools. Many of their matches were played
at our home, both on the main ground and the Top Pitch. But not any longer: ‘Dulwich Hamlet have severed a 75-year
association with South London Boys. “From the end of this season the boys will no
longer play at Champion Hill”, said Hamlet official Cecil Murray. Boys from the South London
teams have not been graduating to Dulwich in recent years, and now that
Corinthian Casuals also use the ground we have been forced to take this
decision. It is very much regretted.” Arthur Barnes, the secretary of the
Boys side responded: “I have yet to be
informed officially, but if we had played more often at Dulwich I am sure the
boys would have been far more Dulwich minded”.
Now for some
more Isthmian football! ‘Three-goal burst
rattles Dulwich’, we were told, after losing 4-1 away to Ilford. It was always going to be a struggle as ‘Defence-conscious Hamlet were shattered by a three goal burst in a
ten minute spell early in the first half at Newbury Park.’ Not that we gave up. ‘John Hammond and Erik Hagen tried throughout the game to spark some method into the visitors attack, but they fell too early
into the offside trap or were repelled by the well-marshalled defence’. Four down at the time, we pulled one back
just before the hour mark, Ron Parnell
heading in from a Jan Kilderman cross. Shortly afterwards Vic Welch hit the post but ‘that was
the last time the home goal was in danger’.
A break from
league action, maybe we could re-group, under no pressure for points, in a
friendly away to Hounslow
Town. But it was more of
the same as we: ‘seldom appeared likely to win this friendly, and in fact, must
have felt grateful to confine Hounslow’s winning margin to 4-2’. It must have been pretty dire for the Hamlet
fans, who no doubt, had a miserable journey home on the 37 bus, as ‘play never reached a high standard’.
Back in
league action, at home to Sutton United with ‘Isthmian defeat No. 23 for Hamlet’, after we conceded four for no
reply, where we ‘put up little more than
token resistance.’ Back on our travels, over to east London in midweek,
where we lost to Leytonstone, another first half bashing: ‘Dulwich beaten in first half-hour’. Going down 3-1, they appeared to drop to our
level! ‘By the time Leytonstone had
scored their third goal the Dulwich
defence had virtually disintegrated. Their frequent wild and desperate
“clearances” certainly worried Ray
Rispoli’ (in our goal). We were ‘quite unable to cope’ and the scribe
suggested that we were heading for our biggest defeat of the season, but… ‘Then for no apparent reason Leytonstone collapsed and just as they had found the
game easy they suddenly found it difficult to do anything right! The remainder
of the game was a dour struggle between two unimaginative teams, with both
sides reluctant to venture goalwards.’
But we did score, to ‘win’ the second half at least: ‘Dulwich’s
consolation goal came from Terry Lyons, having a miserable match,
when his hard, low shot left Mackie floundering in the mud. The goal brought
renewed zeal into Dulwich’s play, but effort alone can’t win matches’.
There was
another friendly on the Saturday, away to New Romney, the match preceded by a
report with a French headline about our Norwegian! ‘Au revoir says Hamlet’s Hagen’; for Erik Hagen was returning to his native Oslo the following week, as
the Norwegian football season was starting at the beginning of April, and he
had been told by his club Friwg to report back for training. He had played six senior games for us, New
Romney being the seventh. Official Tommy
Jover told the press: “Naturally we
knew all along that Erik would have to return
home in March, but it’s a great pity”
The New Romney
match, against such lowly opposition would, I was certain, ‘break my duck’, in
terms of the point of this article. How I swore when I read we only managed a
one all draw! ‘Thorne nets both goals’.
We were ‘well on top for the greater
portion of the first half and should
have established a winning lead by the interval. Prominent in many moves was
Erik Hagen, and he was undoubtedly the game’s outstanding player.’ We took
the lead with 15 minutes to go, when Vernon
Thorne ventured up front and scored with a header. But a mere five minutes
later he was the villain- ‘… a bad
misunderstanding between goalkeeper Mike
Edwards and Thorne saw him divert the ball into his own net’.
So my search
for that so far elusive ‘first win of my life’ goes on. We then lost three nil at home to Walthamstow Avenue.
But the next game must have almost been the cue for fans dancing around Goose
Green on their return home, but not quite, as: ‘‘Hamlet’s first point in five
months’ was earned away to Clapton. It appears to have been dire: ‘A goalless draw was an obvious and fitting result to this
fumbling, wind-swept fiasco of a basement bore at the Spotted Dog’. Only
Hamlet coach Frank Reed seemed to
derive any pleasure from this negative struggle. He cheerfully said afterwards “Of course we are satisfied.’ Who was he
trying to kid? ‘This was a very welcome
point, and it’s our first since October.”
Almost that
tantalising first win! Next, going down by the odd goal in five to Hendon, well
if you read on, Hendon ‘reserves’ really, which puts a bit more perspective on
it. The heading told us: ‘Dulwich collapse in last minutes’ after
we were a goal ahead with five minutes left to play! We looked to be heading
for only our fourth league win of the campaign but ‘FA Amateur Cup semi-finalists
Hendon, fielding nine reserves, had other ideas, and in those last five minutes
scored both the equaliser and the winner with shots from way outside the
penalty area’. Then came mention of YET ANOTHER overseas name, when we were
informed: ‘Dulwich got away to a flying
start when Sigurter Jacobssen, in
his opening first team outing of the
season, gave them a ninth minute lead.’ Hendon equalised, a tad
controversially on 25 minutes, as the linesman’s flag was up, but ‘despite Dulwich protests the referee
signalled a goal’. Four minutes after that we took the lead ‘a fine through ball from skipper Mike
Woollard put Jan Kilderman through and he made no mistake with his neat
lob-shot’.
After being
so close, normal service was resumed. ‘26th
defeat for Hamlet’, a five two reversal at home to Kingstonian, where we ‘dismally slumped’, despite taking the
lead through a ‘glorious’ 25-yard
free-kick struck by Jan Kilderman. ‘Hamlet’s
limitations were cruelly exposed by
the physically big K’s side’, our lead lasting a mere six minutes, before
they equalised.
On Easter
Monday, despite it being only a friendly match, comes what reads to me as a
prime example of what an embarrassment our once proud club had become at this
time. We were at home to Athenian Leaguers Finchley, losing six nil, with the
headline telling you all you need to know: ‘Player
shortage sinks embarrassing Hamlet’. Coach Peter Reed tried to explain: “What
can you expect when only 11 players out of 52 are available”. The report
continued- ‘Reed was not offering excuses
either. Injuries galore, and a large number of players touring with their Sunday clubs forced Hamlet to field six
inexperienced third-team teenagers. Two of them, promising Vic Wren and second half replacement Norman White, pitched in when they had merely turned up to watch,
while late telephone calls summoned together the rest of Dulwich’s men.’
For your
comparison, the team against Kingstonian, in the League on Easter Saturday,
was: Edwards, Barnes, Homewood, Hammond, Hills, Seeds, Modesto,
(White, N.) Woollard, Wise, Kilderman, Parnell. Whilst the team that
‘competed’ against Finchley was: McKenzie,
Hammond, Homewood, Hanifam, (White, N.) Gaydon, Barnes, Wren, Woollard, Seeds,
(Parnell) White,B., Davenport.
The next
game saw more juggling of the team, this time up front, as ‘Pearton gets Hamlet recall’. Forward Terry Pearton would play his first senior game since Christmas, at
home to Wycombe. Up until then he was a regular, until a ‘spate of poor performances’. But now ‘He’s back, and comes in to displace Bermondsey docker Ron Parnell as leader of a sagging
forward line. Icelandic international Sigurter Jacobsson had recovered from a
knock that kept him out of the last two games, and was due to return at
left-back.’ But the changes were to
no avail, as we slipped to a 3-0 loss, but at least gave it a go: ‘Fiery Dulwich chisel out chances’. The report opening: ‘Dulwich showered Wycombe with first half
shots, and gave their high-riding
opponents a much closer game than the scoreline suggests. But Dulwich’s
threatened goal storm blew over, and it was Wycombe who shone with second half
goals to completely change the picture.’
More injury
woe as it was reported that Albert
Modesto would be out for the rest of the season, after taking a knock
against Kingstonian the previous week.
He had actually fractured his ankle, in the first five minutes of the
game. At first he thought the injury was a bad sprain. However constant pain
and heavy swelling made him seek professional advice over the weekend, which
confirmed the fracture.
Plans were
already in hand for the next season as the next Hamlet man in charge from the
dugout was announced: ‘Gleeson likes a
challenge’. Reed’s replacement would
be the Kingstonian manager, Peter
Gleeson. Apparently [he is] ‘…to amateur football what Cliff Holton is the professional game. Both thrive on a challenge. Holton is
nicknamed “The Doctor” because of his rescue acts at Watford, Crystal Palace,
Charlton and now Leyton Orient. For Gleeson, 45, nothing as illustrious as the
have-boots-will-travel career of Holton. But none will deny his great Richmond Road
rescue act. When Gleeson, a representative for a steel company, took over
Kingstonian eleven years ago their plight did not differ much from that of
Dulwich Hamlet today. They were second from bottom of the table. It took him
two years to get things working, and on his third season with the club he
steered them to the Amateur Cup final for the first time in fourteen years.
“Dulwich is a challenge, and I love a challenge. That’s my reason for joining
them. Dulwich is a club that just cannot stay down – not with all the
facilities they have to offer. I felt like a change. I’m leaving Kingstonian on the best of terms,
and everyone there has wished me luck.” Gleeson, who lives in Surbiton, will
not take over officially until next season. Present coach Frank Reed has to work out his contract, and Gleeson is still under
obligation at Kingstonian. “Kingstonian have been very good about this. If they
fill my vacancy before the end of the season I will be free to go to Dulwich.”
Gleeson started his career with Luton Amateurs, before spells with Guildford, Dartford and Brentford.’
The next
match was actually away to Kingstonian, another defeat: ‘Both sides had little to gain by
collecting two Isthmian League points on Saturday. And unfortunately they
played like it’; though it was the K’s who took the points in a 3-0
victory. The losses continued, with a ‘milestone’ of unwanted sorts in the next
one. As the headline stated: ‘Dulwich
concede 100th Isthmian
League goal’. This was in a 5-2 home defeat to Barking, which was our last
home league match of the season. Our goals came in a brief flurry after the
break: ‘Dulwich scored twice within a minute midway through the second half to draw
level, but it was the only time Barking creaked and the visitors ran out easy
winners.’ With the season drawing to a close there were a serious of
unusual matches to fulfil. The first was a Surrey Invitation Cup tie, at home
to Croydon Amateurs. We lost 3-1, after extra time, the headline went to our
keeper, who in modern parlance, ‘had a mare’; while the reporter was none too
impressed with the referee: ‘Hamlet haunted
by Rispoli’s boob’. Croydon took the lead and we equalised immediately
after half-time. ‘Dulwich should have
gone on to win but a boob by keeper Ray Rispoli during the early part of
extra-time destroyed their chances. But if Rispoli allowed an intended cross to
sail over his head for the second goal, it was weak referee Gern who turned out
to be the night’s biggest sinner. In the 36th minute indignant
Croydon players were annoyed when home pivot Dick Clarke brought down Sheehan, but it was only after much
consultation that they were able to convert the penalty. Minutes earlier a run
by Hamlet’s Bobby Homewood ended
with left-back Scott clearly handling but without having to pay the penalty.
There was no action from Gern after Scott back-heeled into Peter Smith and then hacked down Vic Wren. And ten minutes from time Ron Cane and Lloyd were involved in another nasty incident which
also went un-penalised. Enough was enough when Hamlet’s best forward was
penalised a number of times for legitimately agitating keeper Brown as Dulwich
strove to get on with it.’
So to the
last Ieague match of the season. Bottom for the first time in our history – ‘Poor Dulwich give Wren the day off’, as we went north of the river: ‘Dulwich end their Isthmian League programme
at Wealdstone with the knowledge that not even a miracle could lift them off
the bottom of the table. Four seasons after the slide began, when with only 16
teams in the league, they finished on the second to last rung. In the 1963-64
season the league increased its division to twenty clubs, but this only made
the Champion Hill side’s results seem even worse, when they strolled into 19th
place. Dulwich, 4 times Isthmian League
champions, 7 times league runners-up, 4
FA Amateur Cup wins, 3 London Senior Cup wins, nine London Charity Cup
wins, 14 Surrey Senior Cup wins and four times South of the Thames Cup winners,
are bottom of the table.’ With regard to the mention of Vic Wren, he had been given permission
to play for his firm, so David Wise
came into the side.
But the
change made no difference, of course. ‘Now it’s 33 Isthmian defeats for Hamlet’
as we lost 4-0 to the Stones. Sometimes it can get a bit tiresome hearing fans
older than myself putting me in my place after I might moan about a lean spell,
as they tell me about ‘the right lot’ we had in the Sixties …but having spent
hour upon hour ploughing through these old match reports, I can see where they
were coming from. For those following The Hamlet back then the suffering wasn’t
over, as there were still a few end of season matches to play, which fell by
the wayside in the last few decades. One such competition was the ‘Micky Mayes
Memorial Cup’, that teams were invited to compete in, against the instigating
club Carshalton Athletic. I believe it still exists to this day, but don’t
think it is played for very often, pretty certain not every year. It’s one we
have taken part in several times, and this season it was over two legs, the
first being at Champion Hill, but still not a win. ‘Smart Carshalton take first
leg’, with ‘a combination of bad luck
and wretched finishing saw Dulwich lose
their final home match of the season’ as we lost one nil.
Before the
return was played there was an interesting game at Champion Hill, which we won …
but I can’t count it as it was an ‘inter-Club’ friendly, with the current
Dulwich Hamlet team taking on a Past XI! It would be interesting to know who
wore Pink & Blue? The Past side was publicised as having a squad of
fourteen, & outgoing manager Frank
Reed agreed to go in goal for the latter stages. Out of those 14, eight
were said to be Club officials. The paper the day before the match listed the
probable line-ups:
Present: McKenzie, Hammond,
Homewood,
Woollard, Hills, Cane, Wren, Wise, Pearton, Smith & Kilderman.
Past
(from): Dave Darvill or Frank Reed, Bert Clarkson, Doug Munday, John Hall,
Wally Thrussle, Pat Connett, Harry
Gornall, Tom Jover, Harry Brown, George May, George Price and John Everitt.
All great
fun, no doubt, with the boss himself making the headlines: ‘Reed stops the rout’. There was only a brief report,
unfortunately, but it told us that: ‘At
half time the present Dulwich Hamlet
team led the past by five goals to one and looked good for more goals. But then
resigning coach Frank Reed took over
in goal to produce a great display…Only a crisp, close-in Peter Smith shot got past him to make it 6-1 at the finish.’
The other Present team scorers were a hat-trick from Terry Pearton, and one each by Bobby Homewood and Vic Wren. The Past side’s lone goal was
bagged by John Everitt.
After that
kickabout it was back to more serious stuff, the second leg of the Mayes
Memorial Cup. We came close, but not close enough, a 2-2 draw not enough after
the Champion Hill defeat: ‘Dulwich pipped
at post’, which was the result of a ‘vigorous
fightback’. The Robins took the lead in the 4th minute, before Tony Dew equalised seven minutes before
the break, where he ‘fastened on to the
ball just inside the penalty area and banged
it past three bewildered Carshalton defenders’. With 20 minutes left on the clock Dave Wise gave us the lead with a ‘goalmouth scramble’, but only four
minutes from the end the Carshalton centre-forward Dave Clark kept the cup with
his club, hitting a ‘low, scorching
30-yard drive.’
There was
another chance of silverware, for our final game of the season. We had been
invited by Erith & Belvedere, to go and play them for the Woolwich Hospital
Cup. Sadly it ended in an extra time
loss, as a ‘Late penalty thwarts sad
Hamlet’, which meant we were beaten by the odd goal in seven. We were told
that ‘Erith deserved their win if only
because they played nearly all of the second half and extra time with only
eight fit players’. Two were taken to hospital, rather ‘fitting’ given the
name of the cup! Whilst another was just ‘a
limping passenger’.
There was
one other game at Champion Hill, involving our tenants. The Corinthian Casuals
side from the 1956 FA Amateur Cup final beat their Bishop Auckland counterparts
four one, a reversal of the actual game score, over a decade before. I mention
this because it was in 1956 that we reached our last ever Amateur Cup semi,
when we lost to the Casuals, at Stamford
Bridge, with no less than
FIFTY coachloads of fans making the
trip from Champion Hill! The crowd that day at Chelsea was over 27,000.
Sadness at
the close of our season, as it was mentioned that one of our great club
stalwarts Dick Jonas had passed
away. You can read more of him in back issues of the ‘Hamlet Historian’.
During the
summer there was a bit of cheer in early June, as we won the Old Wilsonians
6-a-sides, for the third successive year. We defeated Greater London League
outfit Beckenham Town 2-1 in the final.
Now it was
time for a little break until the new season, under a new manager, with
pre-season training due to commence on Tuesday 11th July. We were informed that: ‘In an effort to be really
fit for the start of the season, Dulwich’s new coach Peter Gleeson, has called for three training nights instead of the
usual two’. And there were tentative high hopes for the pitch too, as it
had been completely re-seeded. As the
training commenced official Tommy Jover
was quoted: ‘We have received many
applications for new players, some of
them top class. We are always interested in new faces.’
Things were
certainly being taken seriously: ‘Gleeson
fixes new-look start of season’. For the first time in our history we would
leading into one by playing professional opponents. This might surprise younger
fans, but until fairly recently pre-season matches didn’t commence until
August, and this was still the case, the first being on the 5th of
that month, away to Ashford Town. There would also be home matches against both
West Ham United and Fulham XI’s; as well as a home game with Sussex County
leaguers Lancing. The Ashford game came as a result of an FA Cup defeat against
them two years earlier, when we lost two nil. The Nuts & Bolts enjoyed
their visit and their manager Peter Sillett, the former Charlton Athletic
full-back, asked to play a friendly return fixture. The Football League
opposition was through contacts of the new boss Gleeson. A strong work-out
indeed, but still none won. Not that I could have ‘included’ them, as our Club
do not recognise pre-season matches in official records.
Rather than
bore you with the details of how the new 1967/68 season went, as this has
really become a piece on our worst ever season, minus the ‘good bit’ at the
beginning, I shall fast forward to
Saturday 2nd September 1967. Having lost our opening Isthmian games,
we were at home to Ilford. Without our goalkeeper to boot…not a good omen: ‘Butler
aced by tennis tourney’. It seems
our first choice man between the sticks would be participating in another
sport! ‘The trouble with Bob Butler, Dulwich Hamlet’s promising
young goalkeeper, is that he is too
good a sportsman. He proves this part by missing Dulwich’s game tomorrow. He
will be teaming up with his uncle in the final of the doubles
in the Basingstoke open tennis tournament. “He
only entered to keep fit during the close season, and was more than surprised to find himself in the finals”, said
club official Tommy Bedford.’
Sadly, the
following edition did not inform us how he fared…but-finally, after a long
trawl! – I can now share with you the FIRST
Dulwich Hamlet victory of my life! ‘At
last-a league win for Dulwich’. It
was 2-1 in our favour, and I wonder how many weary Hamlet fans missed the
glory, as we were one down with only ten minutes to go … I am sure a number
would have been thinking ‘same old rubbish’ and left early. It was a late
leveller, then a winner only two minutes from time. Both scored by Tony Williams. He may have been the
hero of the hour, but the whole team were no doubt lauded as the final whistle
was blown. The victorious team being: Mackenzie,
Langford, Smith, Lovett, Hills, Cane, Wren, Woollard Searle, Williams and Deadman. To cap a great day for the club the
Reserves won by the same score at Hendon, with goals from Eddie Lowe and Chris
Cosgrove; whilst the ‘A’ team made it a glorious treble by beating
Kingstonian ‘A’ on the Top Pitch. I bet people were ‘more than merry’ that
night! As the report stated-‘Happy days are here again-that could well
be the slogan gracing the entrance gates of Champion Hill, after Hamlet’s game
against Ilford on Saturday, at long last, after many trials and tribulations,
the Hamlet had succeeded in winning an Isthmian League game, the first success
since as long ago as October 24th last’. [sic]
In actual
fact our last victory was ten days earlier, on October 14th 1966.
But somehow it seemed fitting that their typo would be at the finish of my
search for my first ever Hamlet victory, with my date of birth being October 24th
1966.
This article was published in HH25 Spring 2014
