Gavin Rose is back in the dugout and Dulwich Hamlet have continued their solid start to the National League South season with a 2-2 draw at Eastbourne Borough last weekend.
Hamlet boss Rose was recently hospitalised with Covid-19 but recovered and watched his side claim a fifth point in four games to remain eleventh in the table.
Dulwich Charlie Grainger was called into action in the ninth minute and denied Leone Gravata with a stunning save.
The visitors’ first chance arrived in the sixteenth minute when Giovanni McGregor delivered a corner but Tyrone Sterling couldn’t find the target with his header.
Grainger again came to his side’s rescue in the 27th minute and again it was from Gravata’s effort.
But Grainger couldn’t repeat his heroics three minutes later as the hosts took the lead through former Gillingham and Peterborough midfielder Chris Whelpdale.
Duwlich were almost level three minutes later only for Andrew Harris-Sealy to see an effort loop towards goal but come back off the post.
Rose’s side then got that bit of fortune their play had deserved when another corner from McGregor in the 35th minute confused Curtis Anderson, the on-loan Wycombe goalkeeper inadvertently putting the ball over the line as the Hamlet levelled.
Dulwich kept pressing for the rest of the half and Danny Mills missed with a header just before the break.
Mills was off-target again with a diving header eleven minutes into the second half but eight minutes later Dulwich were in front. It was an inspired substitution, as Darren McQueen made it 2-1 just seven minutes after coming on for Harris-Sealy.
Whelpdale fired just over as Borough were running out of time to find an equaliser.
But they got it with four minutes left when Greg Luer beat Grainger to ensure a first-ever draw between the sides in front of an attendance of 752 at Priory Lane.
Dulwich’s next league fixture, against Hungerford Town, has been moved from this Saturday to Sunday, September 12 to allow for quarantine after a positive case in their opponents’ squad.
Kick-off at Champion Hill is 3pm.
Meanwhile, the Hamlet were finding out their opponents in the second qualifying round of the FA Cup on Wednesday.
Bedfont Sports and Spelthorne Sports were battling it out this week in a first qualifying round replay for the chance to face Dulwich at Champion Hill.
Bedfont Sports are in the Isthmian League South Central Division (Step 4), while Spelthorne Sports play in the Combined Counties League Premier Division South (Step 5).
The second qualifying round will be played on Saturday, September 18, with a 3pm kick-off.
Hamlet: 4-2-3-1: Grainger; Barnum-Bobb, Holland(c), Sterling, Blackman; McGregor, Timlin; Harris-Sealy, Dayton, Kandi; Mills.
Substitutes: Green (for Harris-Sealy 57), McQueen (for Kandi 57), Taylor (for Holland 78), Moore, Higgs (not used).