Dulwich Hamlet ended their eight-game winless run with a morale-boosting victory over play-off rivals Enfield Town on Monday. The 2-1 win in front of a bumper crowd of boisterous fans was the Pink and Blues first Ryman Premier victory since Valentine’s Day. Since then the South London side had suffered a sharp dip in form losing five games and drawing three times.
Despite a fairly mundane start the match developed into a high-tempo encounter, with a few reckless tackles causing tempers to flare in the second half. Enfield started brightly with striker Corey Whitely proving to be the visitors’ most dangerous player. Whitely, who gave Dulwich left-back a Frazer Shaw a run for his money on the flanks, came close to grabbing the first goal of the game in the opening five minutes. The pacey Towners striker almost connected with a dangerous low cross whipped into the home side’s penalty area.
Dulwich didn’t take too long to settle and got their first goal of the game after Xavier Vidal was brought down by a late challenge in Enfield’s penalty box. Ashley Carew put the home side ahead in the 17th minute dispatching the penalty with ease. Xavier Vidal scored the home side’s second goal after latching onto a well-placed cross from Albert Jarrett.
The game became hot-tempered in the second half with a 70th minute foul culminating in an angry confrontation involving players from both teams. A brief spell of pushing and shoving ended with Enfield substitute Michael Kalu being sent off by referee Stephen Bates. Although the visitors got a goal back with winger Nathan Livings scoring for Enfield, the game ended 2-1 after eight minutes of extra time. Dulwich boss Gavin Rose hailed his team’s return to winning ways.
Speaking to Brixton Blog after the match he said: “It was a well-contested game played with high intensity. The team worked hard and I thought we were pretty solid for most of the game. Hendon are our next opponents and we’re going to train once or twice this week ahead of that match. We’ve had good results against them in the past but we respect them as they have performed well this season.”
Match attendance: 1,204.
