By Wilf MacDonnell at Champion Hill
Dulwich Hamlet succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to play-off hopefuls Worthing FC on Tuesday night.
Former Hamlet striker Ibby Akanbi scored what would prove to be the decisive goal in a feisty affair at Champion Hill.
Manager Paul Barnes named an unchanged starting XI from Saturday’s win against Hungerford, while Worthing travelled to the game missing a number of key players.
The game was at complete deadlock for the first half an hour. Both sides showed their defensive capabilities as they successfully cancelled out each other’s threat going forward. Dulwich’s closest efforts were blocked by a resilient Rebels defence, something that would become a recurring theme on a frustrating evening for the home side.
Just after the 30-minute mark, Worthing went 1-0 up. Reece Myles-Meekums, playing as a left-winger, led the break, darting down the wing before cutting inside and sliding an incisive through ball to Akanbi. The angle was slightly against the striker but he fizzed a low shot across goal into the bottom-right corner. The Hamlet ruthlessly punished for a lapse in concentration.
The home side came out of the traps quickly at the start of the second half. George Porter and Danny Mills linked up well on the right, but Mills’ shot was superbly closed down by Danny Barker.
Jayden Clarke was the first player to have a shot on target soon after. He nicked the ball off Sammie Mcleod and hit a rasping drive from 25 yards which was well saved by Harrison Bale in the Worthing goal.
Cross after cross was whipped into the box with no takers for Dulwich. Worthing defended valiantly, sniffing out danger before it formed.
That was until the 75th minute, when Clarke blocked Luca Cocoracchio’s clearance and found himself through on goal all alone. Eyeball to eyeball with Male, Clarke blazed his effort over and fell to the ground in disbelief.
Tempers finally boiled over – as they had been threatening to throughout – in the 89th minute. Javaun Splatt, brother of Dulwich player Jamie but playing for Worthing, threw a punch at Jack Holland. A melee and an inevitable red card for Splatt followed but Worthing were still able to see out four minutes of stoppage-time to secure their win.
Dulwich Hamlet next play St Albans away from home this Saturday. Kick-off is 3pm.