Bostik Matchday: Ten man Angels lose their unbeaten record- but not their pride

It seemed rather strange to be arriving at Imperial Fields- temporary home of Dulwich Hamlet- on a mission to watch the Bostik Premier Division league leaders, and for that statement not to refer to Hamlet. But of course this wasn’t a Bostik League match, and the boys in pink and blue are no longer a Bostik League side anyway, sitting in eighteenth place in National League South after one hundred and eleven years as an Isthmian club. No, our attraction today was not the side of Gavin Rose, but that of his opposite number, Steve McKimm. Tonbridge Angels have taken the season by the scruff of the neck and sit five points clear at the top of the pile.

This perhaps wouldn’t have been a day that Hamlet fans were looking forward to all that much. Last season Angels took four of the six points on offer between the two clubs, most recently here on the 10th April when Alex Akrofi and Sam Bantick scored for the away side, Nathan Green replying. Green remains a fixture of the Hamlet side, whilst Akrofi is now banging them in for Aveley and Bantick has hopped back to Heybridge Swifts, but perhaps one of the most positive things to be said about this season’s Angels is that neither of them have been missed. Alex Read, arriving from Harlow in the summer, has found the back of the net five times already. But if we’re looking at positives, the biggest positive for Angels has not been at the front, but at the back.

McKimm’s new Angels have the best defensive record in the Bostik League. But we can take that claim still further. They have the best defensive record in the whole of Step 3. They have a better defensive record than any club in the Vanarama National, and North or South. If we go down to Step 4, only Marlow, Cray Wanderers and Peterborough Sports have conceded the same number of league goals- and if you add in cup ties, Angels are ahead of each of these overall. Take a bow, Tommy Tejan-Sie of Wingate and Finchley- you are the only player to find the back of Jonathan Henly’s net. And- sorry Tommy- but you still came away with nothing.

For the last three seasons Angels have been highly fancied for promotion back to a National League South that they left in 2014. Fourth place was followed by sixth place, and then last season a disappointing eleventh, not helped by a mid-season cost cutting exercise that left them fielding inexperienced players earlier than the manager would have liked. Looking at the squad at Longmead this season, however, that seems to have been a blessing in disguise. Ten of the seventeen who were named in that match against Wingate were in the frame last season, and of those that weren’t, the signings of Arthur Lee from Hendon, James Folkes from Grays and winger Adem Ramaden, who had been out for almost a year and a half with injury after originally starring for Phoenix Sports, have hardly broken the bank. The additions of Read and Jared Small (also from Harlow) will hardly have walloped the budget, either. This isn’t a success based on spending; and given the fact that Angels spent six weeks under transfer embargo covering much of July and August, it looks even more impressive.

McKimm is not getting carried away, however. He’s been quite clear that the season has just started, whilst admitting to being delighted with the solidity and hard work demonstrated by his side. But it’s only September, and no league is won in September. Cup ties, however; well, they’re rather different. Both sides would be looking for a cup run- and goodness both were long overdue, Hamlet last getting to the 1st Round proper in 1998, Angels never managing that feat despite getting to the final hurdle- the 4th Qualifying Round- three times. Given Hamlet had gone out at this stage for the past three seasons perhaps the omens- and recent form- favoured Angels this time around?

Speaking to Angels fans Harry and Howard before the game, there wasn’t quite as much confidence as you might have expected. Asked about the result today, both said that their hearts said 2-1 to Angels, their heads 2-1 to Hamlet. Mind you, Howard added, “we’ve lost to lower league sides in the cup for the last two seasons, perhaps we might do better against a higher one?”
Both were desperate for a cup run, but both were also quietly confident about their clubs promotion chances. And delighted with the style of football this season.

“It might sound harsh, but we play better football without Nathan Elder. He was a great player, and will always be an Angels legend, but we tended to spend a great deal of time playing to his strength, which was his aerial ability. Without him we’ve had to change the style, and that’s made us far more fluid and far better to watch.

Hamlet v Angels in print

The defence is much stronger too. Arthur Lee has been superb, and his presence has given Sonny Miles much more confidence. And further forward Alex Read has been superb, Adem Ramadan looks very good, and having a fully fit Tom Parkinson after injury is like having a new player.”

Promotion?

“There are a number of good sides in our league this season,” explained Harry. “The top clubs will be beating each other all year. We’ve a small squad, and to some extent our chances will depend on how we cope if we have any injuries.” “But you could probably say the same about everyone in the league,” added Howard to general agreement, “so we’ve as good a chance as any.”

Hamlet fans were preoccupied with topics other than promotion. We caught up home supporter- and committed volunteer- David Rogers before the match, interrupting his attempt to persuade everyone that they’d win the 50/50 draw if only they bought more tickets. He gave a synopsis of the season so far, and an update on the ground situation:

“The season has been a bit of a mixed bag. We’ve won two away games, and beat the league leaders last Saturday too. But it’s a massive step up, we’ve had to readjust, change our way of playing a little, and although we’re confident that we’ve got a good squad the aim is really just survival. We’d be delighted with mid table.

We’ve had some mixed experiences so far. We had an amazing day at Bath City, they were really welcoming, but then we went to Woking last week where we were segregated, had no bar and a very poor choice of food. Perhaps those who have been at a higher level have a different way of providing a welcome. We miss the guaranteed friendliness of the Isthmian League!

Howard and Harry of the Angels

Not a great deal has changed about the ground situation. The wheels in local government move slowly, but the local council and mayor of Southwark are on our side. It’s still a stalemate between the club/council and Meadow (the landlords at Champion Hill), but we’re hoping that a compulsory purchase order won’t be necessary and that Tracey Crouch, Sports Minister, will send in a negotiating team.” At that, he wandered off to shake a bucket, whilst trying to avoid an appearance on BT Sport.

Ten of the Hamlet seventeen who defeated National League South leaders Woking last weekend were also part of last season’s squad. Of the others, Bostik Premier fans will recognise Liam Nash, who turned out for Leatherhead during the previous campaign, and Jay May, who played for Margate. Hamlet have started the season in better form away from home than at Imperial Fields, however- their one and only win here coming against East Thurrock United on August 8th.

Fortified against the rain by a combination of Thai curry, jerk chicken and beer, 569 were safely inside the ground as the match kicked off- although, of course, no beer near the pitch- FA rules during cup competitions are sacrosanct. Angels had made one change, and it was a big one, Arthur Lee missing from the squad. Hamlet made three.

Hamlet created the first chance of the match, in the fourth minute. Dominic Vose fired in a shot from 20 yards, and it took a wicked deflection off a defender. “Handball,” yelled a large number of the Rabble behind the goal, but it was an optimistic cry and the referee took about as much interest in it as Jacob Rees-Mogg does in poor people. The Angels supporters, who by now had gathered in large numbers at the opposite end, were soon in good voice, and their side were showing the confidence that their form deserved, passing the ball neatly and probing, although without testing Preston Edwards in the Hamlet goal.

In the eleventh minute Angels fashioned their first chance, and it created a few moments of concern in the home ranks. Joe Turner fired a perfect crossfield pass for Ramadan to run onto, and the wingers cross was just inches from being turned in by Read at the back post.

Six minutes later it was again Angels who came close to breaking the deadlock. Parkinson played the ball through to Tommy Whitnell, and he hit his shot with pace, but it was down the middle and too close to Edwards, who saved then was able to gather the rebound. On 20 minutes Angels again had a chance, this time Joe Turner not really getting enough purchase on the ball to trouble Edwards too much, but it was clear to the home fans in the main stand that it was the visitors who were creating all of the chances, and they didn’t much like it. A great ball from Clunis gave them something to shout about a moment later, and Jay May should have done better, getting the ball trapped under his foot whilst the goal gaped, but we moved into the second quarter of the match with scoreline untroubled.

Nathan Ferguson then went on a run. Past three players he weaved, only for Craig Stone to stop him illegally and earn the first card of the game. The free kick was a good 35 yards out, and when Ibrahim Kargbo stepped up you wondered whether a shot was really a good idea. Had it found the top corner he’d have had the last laugh, but instead it found the olive oil advert to the right of Henly’s goal.

Angels then had the best chance of the game so far. A clever through ball set Whitnell free at the left hand side of the box, and he fired across the keeper only for Edwards’ outstretched leg to divert his shot for a corner. Edwards was tested once more from the corner, but grabbed Read’s header with rather less difficulty.

And then Hamlet could, perhaps should, have gone ahead. A fabulous cross from Sanchez Ming found May at the far post, and only Henly’s acrobatics kept it out. A moment later, however, Hamlet did find the net, Ferguson getting his head to the corner and powering home. One-nil with ten minutes to the break. How would Angels respond?

After a few moments of further Hamlet pressure, they were back on the front foot. A foul on Turner by Gavin Tomlin earned the Dulwich skipper the second yellow card of the game, and the free kick had to be desperately hacked away by May after it seemed the flight of the ball had deceived Edwards. But the next goal wasn’t long in coming, and sadly for Angels it was at their own end.

May’s perseverance earned it, and although Angels felt there had been a foul on James Folkes Nathan Green hammered the loose ball home. And then, disaster. Whatever Folkes said to the referee about his decision not to penalise the Hamlet forward, the official patently didn’t like it, and immediately produced a red card. The Angels defender was incensed and had to be guided from the field, still showing his displeasure. At this point it seemed that Tonbridge would need divine intervention. The half ended, and Steve McKimm headed off to work that miracle.

Angels brought Liam Smith on for Ramadan at half time. That seemed a shame, as the winger had performed well, but needs must. They’d lost a defender, and the manager obviously felt he needed four at the back despite the scoreline. He’d moved Turner from left to right to replace Ramadan’s width.

It could easily have been 3-0 two minutes after the restart, Iffy Allen clipping the ball over the keeper, but also over the bar. A moment later Hendy was saving from Clunis, as Hamlet looked to make certain of the outcome as soon as possible. But the ten men then made their mark. A cross, two men unmarked in acres of space, and Sonny Miles slammed the ball home before taking off for his own half. 2-1, and game on? They had thirty eight minutes to get level.

McKimm made another change, sending on Jared Small for Craig Stone, and his depleted side began to show the confidence they’d demonstrated in the first half hour. But Hamlet, unsurprisingly, had time and space they’d not earlier been afforded, and despite tireless effort, particularly from Turner who was exceptional, couldn’t seem to make another breakthrough. Smith sent a header wide from a ball that came at him so hard and fast that he was lucky not to be knocked over, Read ran and ran, ploughing a lone furrow, Edwards tipped a long free kick out for a corner, and Parkinson sent a diving header wide, but the goal wouldn’t come.

And then, with six minutes to go, the chance. Small left Nathan Green chasing fresh air and drove in a cross, which Read and Turner agonisingly just couldn’t reach. McKimm held his head, but his side continued to press. Two corners, and a shot from Read- but then, the inevitable. With three minutes to go, and Angels committed to attack, a break- which ended with Dipo Akinyemi poking home and celebrating with what seemed like relief rather than joy. The Hamlet drums began to sound, and the away fans fell finally silent. The remaining chances fell to the home side, but some good goalkeeping and some excellent defending from Smith meant that the game ended with the scoreline troubled no further.

Angels will bemoan their luck a little. Until the first goal went in they were undoubtedly the better team, and if the second was unfortunate the red card should have ended the game as a contest. That it didn’t, against a team- lest we forget- from a higher level, was entirely to their credit.

A cup run would indeed have been marvellous. But Steve McKimm’s men, in this most competitive of seasons, undoubtedly have more important things to worry about. Perhaps, come May, they’ll be happy to settle just for being this years Dulwich Hamlet.