Dulwich Hamlet v Cray Wanderers – London Senior Cup 2nd Round – Wednesday 30th November, 7.45 pm
Cray Wanderers continue their run of away fixtures on Wednesday 30th November as the Wands make the short trip to Dulwich Hamlet for the first time since August 2013 in the 2nd Round of the London Senior Cup.
Cray head to Champion Hill without a win in four league games but are unbeaten in the last five league away matches after drawing 1-1 at Carshalton Athletic on Saturday. Neil Smith’s side remain 9th in the Isthmian Premier League table on 26 points after 18 games played.
Dan Bassett scored his 8th goal of the season at Colston Avenue in a game where the Wands were without Kellen Fisher, Mitch Chapman and Anthony Cook through suspension who are eligible for Wednesday and signed loanee full back Jephte Tanga to make his full debut and centre-half Tyreese Heslop, a former Dulwich Hamlet youth player was an unused substitute.
BROMLEY, GREATER LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 29: Cray Wanderers’s Daniel Bassett controls the ball on the wing during The Pitching In Isthmian Premier League match between Cray Wanderers and Margate at Hayes Lane on August 29, 2022 in Bromley, Greater London, England . (Photo: © Jon Hilliger / HilligerPix)
Cray advanced to the 2nd Round of the London Senior Cup for the first time since the 2014-15 season after a 1-0 win at home to Leyton Orient on 2nd November courtesy of Michael Ademiluyi’s 69th minute winner.
This will be a big game for Wands Nyren Clunis who played 486 games for Dulwich Hamlet and scored 117 goals making him third in the all time appearance record between 2009-2020. It does seem like a Nyren Clunis appreciation week as he spent a spell at Carshalton Athletic for the shortened 2020-21 season and then on to Saturday’s opponents Kingstonian last season. Anthony Cook and David Ijaha are also former Dulwich Hamlet players.
BROMLEY, GREATER LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 05: The Pitching In Isthmian Premier League match between Cray Wanderers and Aveley FC at Hayes Lane on November 05, 2022 in Bromley, Greater London, England . (Photo: © Jon Hilliger / HilligerPix)
Dulwich Hamlet play in the National South and under new management with Paul Barnes appointed manager after Gavin Rose’s departure after 13 years in charge in September 2022. Dulwich lie 20th in the table on 17 points. Their last game was on 19th November, a 2-1 defeat at Taunton Town after top scorer Danny Mills gave them the lead in the first half. After going unbeaten for the first three league games, Hamlet lost the next six league matches but have recovered form and back to back wins against St Albans City and Hampton & Richmond Borough in November helped keep them out of the bottom four but have lost their last two league games.
Home form has seen wins against Braintree Town (2-1), Hungerford Town (2-1) and Hampton & Richmond Borough (3-2). Hamlet have yet to draw at home and were beaten by Slough Town (1-2), Welling United (1-2), Hemel Hempstead Town (1-3), Dartford (1-2 and Worthing (0-1). Away from home, Dulwich won at Cheshunt (3-0) and St. Albans City (2-1), drew at Farnborough Town and Concord Rangers and were beaten at Eastbourne Borough, Tonbridge Angels, Chippenham Town, Havant & Waterlooville and Taunton Town.
Dulwich Hamlet, who were promoted to the National South in 2017-18 for the first time finished in a creditable 10th place last season, their highest ever league position.
The teams first met in league competition in 2004-05 when Cray joined the Isthmian League Division One and there were some good games over the next five seasons before Cray won promotionin 2008-09. We met in the Premier in the rather disastrous 2013-14 season for the Wands in the with Hamlet winning 4-0 at home in August 2013 and 6-0 at Hayes Lane in December 2013. Nyren Clunis featured in both games for Hamlet. Cray did win against a very young Dulwich side in the Isthmian League Cup in November 2013, 5-1 at Hayes Lane, one of a handful of cup ties down the years. The teams met at Oxford Road twice in the FA Cup in 1975 and 1978 and Isthmian League Dulwich won both games, 3-1 and 2-1. The only other previous London Senior Cup tie was in February 2005 with Dulwich winning 1-0. Also in the Isthmian League Cup Dulwich won 3-2 after extra-time at home in January 2009
Dulwich Hamlet are one of the famous names of South London football and were formed in 1893 and have spent a large chunk of their history from 1907-08 in the Isthmian League. Dulwich won the Isthmian League in 1919-20, the first full season after World War I and also won the FA Amateur Cup on the first of four occasions beating Tufnell Park, 1-0 in the Final at the Den. They won the league again in 1925-26 and won the FA Amateur Cup in 1931-32 beating Marine 7-1 in the final at Upton Park. They were Isthmian Champions for the third time the following season and in 1933-34 won their third FA Amateur Cup beating Leyton, 2-1 at West Ham and again two seasons later also against Leyton.
Their fourth Isthmian League title came after World War II in 1948-49 and remained in the Isthmian League Premier or league 1 and 2 all the way through the next five decades. In 2011-12 Dulwich finished 3rd in the Isthmian South losing to Bognor Regis Town in the playoff final but were promoted as champions in 2012-13. Constantly challengers, Dulwich reached the promotion playoffs four seasons in a row, missing out in 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 before finished 2nd in 2017-18 and after defeating Leiston and Hendon finally reached the National South for the first time in their history finishing 14th in 2018-19 and after two incomplete seasons finished 10th last season.
This should be a great occasion under the lights at an iconic and usually loud and colourful venue and a competitive cup tie.
DIRECTIONS TO DULWICH HAMLET FC
Champion HIll Stadium
Edgar Kail Way
East Dulwich
LONDON SE22 8BD
Admission: £6 adults, £3 concessions – On gate or online at https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Tickets/SelectType?fixtureId=2257
Car Directions:
Sat Nav Code: SE22 8SD
Champion Hill is the most centrally located ground in London.
From the Cray’s – Get on Sidcup By-Pass/A20 in Sidcup from the High Street and Sevenoaks Way/A224. After 1.1 mile take the 1st Exit onto the A20 Slip Road to C London/Lewisham/Bromley/Chislehurst/A20 for 0.3 miles. Then merge onto Sidcup-By-Pass A20 for 1.3 miles and then follow the A20 for 3 miles. At the roundabout take the 1st Exit onto S Circular Road/Westhorne Avenue/A205 for 2.3 miles.
Then turn left onto Catford Road/S Circular Rd/A205 for 1 mile. Then turn right onto Brockley Rise/B218 for half a mile and then turn left onto Honor Oak Park/B238. After 0.6 miles take a slight right onto Forest Hill Road/B238 and after 0.9 miles continue onto Peckham Rye/B219. After 0.2 miles turn left onto E Dulwich Road/A2214 and after 0.4 miles at the roundabout take the 2nd exit onto Grove Vale/A2216. Follow the A2216 for 0.4 miles and then turn left onto Edgar Kail Way, go through one roundabout and the ground will be on the left. Journey time should take give or take midweek traffic about 37 minutes.
There is limited car parking at the ground, and there is some on-street parking in the locality, within a five minute radius, but please check for any local parking restrictions.
You can also pay for parking at Sainsbury’s via this website Horizon Spaces
By train: The nearest stations are East Dulwich, which is a five minute walk; or Denmark Hill; which is a ten minute stroll, or a short bus ride.
From East Dulwich station: Turn left, past the pizza shop and then Morley’s. Go through the park at the bottom of the hill and you will see the ground. For midweek games, when the gates are closed, walk halfway up the hill and turn left at the lights.
From Denmark Hill station: Turn left, this is Champion Park. You will see a bus stop opposite the Salvation Army Training College. Any bus from here passes the ground, three stops away. Or walk past the bus stop, turn right and up the slight incline on the main road. Over the lights at the top of Dog Kennel Hill, and the ground will be on your right, halfway down the hill, turning into Edgar Kail Way.
You can check train times by looking at www.nationalrail.co.uk
From central London East Dulwich is served by trains from London Bridge; whilst Denmark Hill has services from London Victoria & London Blackfriars.
There are plenty of services from both stations after midweek matches. From London Bridge, services run roughly every fifteen minutes and also on the way home and takes 13 minutes. For anyone travelling by train to East Dulwich and taking the Orpington route via a change at Beckenham Junction apparently the platform bridge at Beckenham is closed for repair so to change platforms you have to exit the station and use the road bridge to get to the other side.
By bus: Routes 40, 42, 484, 185, 176 & P13 all pass the ground, either stopping on Dog Kennel Hill, or turning into Edgar Kail Way, to Sainsbury’s. The 37 bus stops nearby, alight at Goose Green. And the 68 & 468 are also close to Denmark Hill, alight by the Fox on the Hill pub & then walk along Champion Hill, toward the ground.
All bus times can be checked at www.tfl.gov.uk
Places to Drink!
There’s lots. If you’re on a budget then the local Wetherspoons, the ‘Fox on the Hill’, is a ten minute stroll, and you’ll see plenty of Hamlet fans in there pre & post-match. Turn right out of East Dulwich station & there’s the ‘Cherry Tree’, walk past that toward Goose Green & the ‘East Dulwich Tavern’ is on the corner, at the start of Lordship Lane.
There’s also a big Sainsbury’s next door to the ground, & they also have a Starbucks on site, if you just fancy a quick coffee.
Dulwich Hamlet FC lies in the East part of Dulwich. The area of Dulwich covers a wide area and straddles two London Boroughs, Southwark and Lambeth and formerly was part of the Borough of Camberwell. The East part borders Peckham and the West, West Norwood and Herne Hill (Southwark part). Dulwich Village in the main centre and comes under the Dulwich Estate, a charitable organisation based around the College of God’s Gift and the whole of Dulwich is renowned for its educational establishments, Dulwich College, Alleyn’s School and James Allen’s Girls School set up in the 19th century. There is also Dulwich Park close to the village. In the village is a memorial to Dr George Webster, founder of the British Medical Association and the area has links to the now closed Dulwich Hospital which was used to tend to injured service personnel during the 1st World War. Charles Dickens used to drink at the Greyhound pub in Dulwich Village.
Dulwich is very close to central London making Champion Hill the closest football ground to the City of London and transport links are plentifiul.
