The Rabblers AKA 'The Customers'

I'm sure he was looking down....

2011-09-19T02:56:00.003+01:00

A football match was played on the morning of Saturday 3rd September at Belair Park &, even more than usual, the result was of little importance.

For the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' were gathered to play & pay tribute to Ian Wright, against some of the congregation of the church he attended, our friends from Camberwell Evangelical Church, who included a number of Hamlet fans among their pews on a Sunday.

When Ian died so suddenly in the summer I suggested to Jack McInroy of both 'congregations', & he thought it would be a lovely idea. The initial plan was really to take on some of the Church footballers who had laced up their boots alongside Ian down the years, but most of them had long since consigned their dusty pairs of mud encrusted leather to the back of the cupboards, or tatty cardboard box in the attic, as old mother nature caught up with their creaky knees.

So it was the 'next generation' in the main who formed the 'God Squad' against 'The Rabblers'.

We weren't as big in number as them, as we had no less than SEVEN cry-offs & one no message at all, in the few days prior to kick off!

Firstly I asked the Church for a group picture, once they got ready!

And then ourselves:

It wasn't a worry about players missing out. As one player reassured me, everyone who played enjoyed it immensely, & it was a fitting tribute to Ian.

Prior to kick off both teams surrounded the centre circle & Mishi Morath invited Jack McInroy forward to lead both teams in prayer, in Ian's memory, followed by a one minute silence.

Then Phil Baker blew the whistle for the start. 'The Rabblers' started with our youngest & most exciting forward trio for many a decade! Joel Virgo, Louis Grater & 'guest' Callum Smith, who was making his debut, had a younger combined age than some of our older players, albeit the ones who weren't actually down to play in this instance!

Early half-chances fell to both Jack McInroy & Chris Garrett; & Callum Smith was foiled by a lack of power in his shot. The Church also had their moments, one well-worked move going just to the right of a relieved Matt Hammond in our goal. Just after Callum burst down the left, his attempt palmed away. In truth Callum looked a little 'too good' compared to what we are used to, pleasantly so, & his enthusiasm helped everyone. We had another attempt when a throw from Chris found him & he flicked the ball to young Louis, who was just wide.

We then had a bit of a 'let-off' as some of our defence stood still, crying "He's off!" instead of concentrating on our game & playing to the whistle. Fortunately we cleared the resulting danger, but when, oh when will we learn that we rarely play with lino's, the referee Mr. Baker does it for fun, free of charge & is not a badge holder? Give him a break, or save it for the bar at Champion Hill!

By now we were around half an hour into the game & the first goal was due. Ball played through from Callum, reaching Chris Garrett whose shot rippled the back of the net! One nil 'Rabblers'!

It wasn't all one way traffic, by a long chalk. Matt was kept busy at the other end. One attempt he touched for a corner, the resultant shot once it had been played in whooshing across the goal from an acute angle. The equaliser wasn't long in coming. A corner from the left was floated on a Church head & powerfully nodded into the back of the old onion bag, past Matt, who wasn't at fault. A slight change in our formation followed as young Louis asked to come off, having taken a small knock, though he did return in the second half, with big Steve Rickerby replacing him.

Some first half action:

After the break we had some more good chances, Callum going just wide with one; some superb passing between him & Joel too, as they built up a good understanding. Phil Doyle, on the pitch now having arrived late-but at least he turned up!- hit the target with a long range punt, & another from the trusty boot of Callum was just over the bar. Despite that the Church went ahead, a screamer of a strike that was without a doubt the goal of the game. time for Mishi Morath to make a 'cameo',allowing Jacko to switch over to his other side. Unfortunately a quick sliced attempt at a hoof upfield was simply intercepted by a Church player, & their push forward in one big 'offside' wave ended up in our net. Cue lots of protesting, though you have to ask if we hadn't stood still & screamed, stamping our feet like little children, then the goal might have been prevented.

By now the youth of the opposition was starting to show, as we tired a little, but there was some life left in the old dog yet! A punt from Matt found Callum, who broke forward, with Joel & Lawrence Marsh linking up with Louis, the ball ending up with Phil Doyle, who reduced the arrears. The last goal of the game restored the two goal cushion for the Church, a good parry from Matt but he could to nothing to stop the follow up.

Now for a few second half snaps:

It's hard to single out anyone, but if I had to it would be the tireless Alex Margolies in the middle, along with the 'evergreen' Jacko McInroy; as well as Callum Smith, making his debut as a 'guest' player, being a groundhopping Eastleigh fan who travelled all the way up from Hampshire to play! (I can hear you all now...'but he seemed so normal'!)

Final score:

Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' 2, Camberwell Evangelical Church 4.

Game over, time for a joint team photo:

Thanks once more to Hamlet fan Tony Squires for coming along to watch, it must have seemed a bit lonely at times...

And I don't think everyone appreciated his presence... ;-)

(Attempt at a...) Report & all photos by Mishi Morath.

Some new head & shoulders:

2011-09-17T21:58:00.001+01:00

Individual mugshots from this season...

Phil Baker:

Matt Hammond:

Ian Gannon:

Louis Grater:

Phil Doyle:

Shaun Dooley:

Callum Smith:

Joel Virgo:

Chris Garrett:

Steve Rickerby:

Alex Margolies:

Jack McInroy:

Mishi Morath:

Larry Marsh:

If anyone is vain enough NOT to like their picture then I will take another one at the next game you are at! ;-)

Wrightie-a tribute from Jacko

2011-09-16T21:44:00.001+01:00

This article first appeared in the First Team pre-season programme against Crystal Palace; and also in the Supporters' Team one versus Camberwell Evangelical Church.

Ian Wright

26 October 1957 – 13 June 2011

As we approached Belair Park on our way to another supporters match, Ian told me, “This is definitely going to be my last season.”

He had been thinking about ‘retiring’ for some time, but couldn’t face it. His brain told him to pack it all in but his heart still had a bit of catching up to do. Within weeks, however, the statement Ian had made in the car had become incredibly poignant.

He was always proud to pull on the pink and blue shirt of Dulwich Hamlet, and from his late thirties Ian had been a regular in the Supporters team; not just in the Elevens but in the mid-week Sevens team as well. In the last 15 years he must have turned out hundreds of times. Even into his 50s his kitbag was always on hand if he was required.

In more recent days he was quite content to get fifteen minutes as a late substitute – but that wasn’t always so. He used to frown sometimes about lesser skilled players given a full ninety minutes while he patiently stood by or reluctantly ran the line. “How can those two play ahead of me?” he would ask. And I would reply, “Well, to start with Ian, they’re twenty years younger than you.”

Ian and I went back more than two decades, and we played together on more than 500 occasions. We knew each other’s game inside out, and we both continued into middle age playing for the love of it, well aware of each other’s declining abilities.

I was introduced to Ian when he was about thirty years old. His sister and brother in law have always been among my closest friends. He began to attend my local church, and as we had a couple of dozen men and youngsters who loved playing football at every opportunity Ian fit in very well. Eventually he became a regular attendant at church meetings. It was only recently that we began to see less and less of Ian, and although he spoke to a handful of us of his ailments – he was developing a serious kidney problem – it wasn’t generally recognised that he was in such a bad state.

He lived his entire life in south London. Born in Wimbledon in 1957 he dwelt at various times in East Dulwich, Camberwell, Battersea, Wandsworth and Walworth. Like most post-war kids he grew up with his backside sticking out of his trousers and his toes poking out of his shoes. But Ian remained that way. “How old is that tracksuit, mate? It looks like something out of the eighties” I’d say. And the truth is, he’d probably been wearing it since then. And even when he occasionally forced himself into a suit and tie, the addition of a jersey and baseball cap always made him appear slightly eccentric. It was difficult to prise that cap from his head: the moment he left the pitch after being subbed, out came the fags and on went the cap.

Ian grew up on the Dog Kennel Hill Estate just a stone’s throw from Champion Hill where he would venture over to watch Dulwich Hamlet play, and though he was a lifelong supporter of Crystal Palace, the Hamlet always remained very close to his heart. And yet in the years between 1970 and 1995 he hardly ever saw them play. He was so busy playing his own football for junior sides, and then Cobham Town, Colliers Wood, the church side, or anyone who would give him a game, that he was quite happy to just follow the Hamlet from a distance through the back pages of the South London Press.

He was a real ‘have boots will travel’ chap. So, when he was given the opportunity to play for Dulwich, albeit in the Supporters team, he was very proud to take up the offer.
In his day Ian was a workmanlike left sided central defender. Solid and dependable, confident on the ball and good in the air with a powerful header. For a big man he was also quite agile and when called upon to go in goal he displayed remarkable skill there too. One of Ian’s most memorable skills (if you can call it that, because it was also the most irritating) was his famous ‘step-over’. This was where the ball was coming towards him at pace in central defence and he would shape to make a hefty clearance. The striker usually leapt and spun to block the ball with his side, back or leading leg, only to find that Ian had completely sold him a dummy. But this manoeuvre would often outfox our own goalkeeper who would be left scrambling to keep the ball out of the net!

By a strange coincidence I once wrote a lighthearted piece titled ‘Ian Wright’ about our friend for the Champion Hill Street Blues fanzine in August 1994 following that summer’s Hamlet v Palace pre-season friendly. I’m pretty sure this was Ian’s first visit to the ground in a very long time, and still a couple of years before his first game for the Supporters team. He left before the end, disappointed that no Palace ‘stars’ had been included in the line-up.

One memorable game Ian played in was in May 1997 when he scored the match winning penalty in the shootout that decided the Canary Cup final at the Hitchin Tournament. He was also in the side that were dumped out of the West Bromwich Albion Tournament in the Midlands a month later, when a perfectly good Hamlet goal was deemed to have bounced over the bar when it had in fact bounced under it and through a hole in the net. Several of the players from those early games are still part of our current aging side: Steve Rickerby, Shaun Dooley, Matt Hammond, Mishi Morath, myself. A familiar face from the Premier League, FIFA referee’s assistant Steve Child, was also one of our players back then.

Apart from football Ian was also a keen golfer, and once every six months or so I would join him and Joel Virgo for a round. Some folks may not realise that when Ian turned up looking a bit dishevelled on a Saturday morning at Belair Park for a 10.30 kick off, he had usually been up since five and already played eighteen holes at New Addington with Joel. I always found it very odd, traipsing around a golf course with Ian, because in this realm, he really seemed to struggle with simple arithmetic. He’d take three or four strokes down the fairway, lose a ball, three putt – and still come away with a score of 5.

When Ian left the Post Office, where he had worked since leaving school, he took up a job as a driver delivering cooked meats. The company changed ownership several times over the years but Ian was a mainstay. He hardly ever took a day’s leave; he was a good timekeeper; always reliable; a very good driver; and knew the South East better than anybody. I was his travelling companion on many, many occasions and marvelled that he would just point the car and drive without any navigational aids. He knew exactly how to get to our destination and usually by more than one route. Blowing smoke from the side of his mouth out of his wound down window he would continue his monologue about the state of the nation or some current affair as we inched our way to the match. “I’ve played there.” he’d say as we passed a county league ground. “I’ve played there.” as we passed an open field. The next patch of grass: “I’ve played there.” And I never doubted him.

On the very rare occasion that he consulted a map he would ask me to reach over to the backseat to the door compartment and pass him his book. This was an well thumbed ancient Road Atlas of Great Britain that Alfred the Great may have been familiar with. The maps contained very few motorways, and Milton Keynes did not even exist! But he would never update. And besides, the main A-roads were still there, so why bother? More often than not on the return journey from an away match with the Supporters team we would make a detour to one or other of his customers – a café or a bakers shop where he delivered meat pies – where he could pick up a free lunch. He didn’t like to open up his wallet unless it was really necessary.

One of the few times he abandoned his car was for a trip we made to the continent for a match against the Paris St Germaine supporters at the French club’s training ground in Versaille. We took the overnight coach from Victoria instead. That was a great experience for me, representing our club on foreign soil, yet Ian had “been there, done that” in Prague and in Italy a few years before.

Watching Dulwich Hamlet’s first team with Ian was also quite interesting. He kicked every ball and appreciated the opposition’s play as much as his own team. I once had a very long conversation with him that lasted an entire half about the myriad Hamlet matches he claimed to have witnessed over many years. He wasn’t very pleased when I easily proved to him that he could not possibly have seen as many games as he was making out. To start with he was playing on Saturday afternoons himself throughout the 70s and 80s, and made his reappearance at Champion Hill only in the mid 90s! Yet he honestly believed he was one of the club’s most loyal supporters. And then the opposition scored and he stood up and applauded. “Ian,” I enquired, “Are you sure you actually support Dulwich at all?”

Ian’s final game for the supporters was only a few months ago. I remember it because we scored a particularly pleasing team goal. As I was giving out congratulations to all and sundry for the passing, the movement, the tricky bit of skill, the excellent finish, I could hear someone hollering out my name: “Jacko! Jacko! Jacko!” I turned to discover Ian standing on the edge of our box stabbing his chest with his index finger gesturing for me to credit him some audible praise for his part in the build-up that I somehow missed. It made me chuckle (it still does). “Well done Ian. Good clearance.”

Ian Wright passed away on Monday 13th June 2011 at work. Having just made a delivery in the City he collapsed and died as he returned to his vehicle. It was an instant death - thrombosis of the heart (blood clot) – and attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.

His funeral took place on July 11th and his body (along with his Hamlet shirt and Crystal Palace scarf), was buried in the Camberwell Old Cemetery. One particular floral tribute was in the figure of the DHFC club crest, another was a striking pink and blue spray. It was a real honour for me to have been handed one of twelve red roses from Ian’s sister Janice to toss into her brother’s grave. He was a friend of mine. I’m going to miss him.

Jack McInroy, July 2011

Farewell Ian....

2011-09-15T12:49:00.002+01:00

This article also first appeared in the First Team pre-season programme versus Crystal Palace & in our own one against Camberwell Evangelical Church:

It's a sad fact of life, being a Dulwich Hamlet fan, that somebody you know will have passed away in the summer. One of the 'occupational hazards' so to speak, when you are part of an historic Club with a relatively old & loyal support base.
It doesn't make it any easier if someone is past their 'three score years and ten', but it is a heck of a lot harder when a person who is nowhere near that age goes 'before their time'.
As one of the founder members of the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' Team it came as a huge shock to hear the news that one of our own, Ian Wright, had died, after collapsing at work, at the tender age of only 53.
The one thing you find when someone goes so suddenly is how little you really knew them, & how much you wished you should have got to know them better. I, personally, only knew Ian through football. He had been a part of the team for over fifteen years, I'm not entirely sure, we never really kept records. Without a doubt one of the naturally talented players we have ever had appear for us. He only started playing for 'The Rabblers' for fun, when he hung up his 'serious Saturday boots', after a long amateur career, where he was a stalwart for clubs such as Cobham & Colliers Wood United. He also turned out for Camberwell Evangelical Church, for he he laced up on a Saturday, & took a pew at on Sundays. Once the season is underway the Supporters' Team will take on the Church side in a friendly game at Belair Park, in Ian's memory, so we can pay our respects to him doing what he loved most...playing football!
Some might say Ian moaned too much on the pitch, but if you analysed that it was not malicious, but more borne out of frustration, having played at a much higher level than the rest of us. If you listened carefully he always encouraged, no matter how limited in ability you may have been, compared to him. And no mater if he never knew you, he always made a point of talking to new players to the Supporters' Team & putting them at ease.
For sure everyone who has played alongside him over the years will be sure to have a story or two about him, & he will be sadly missed. It was a privilege to have been at his recent funeral service along with a number of the Supporters' Team, & wonderfully uplifting for such a sad occasion to be almost a happy one too, as his life was celebrated.
As well as being a Dulwich Hamlet fan, his first visit to the old Champion Hill was in the sixties, & he could recall amateur internationals being played here, Ian was also a staunch Crystal Palace supporter, so it is truly fitting that he is remembered here this evening with the Eagles as our opposition, & we thank them for agreeing to respect his memory.
No doubt he will be looking down from the 'great football ground in the sky', while chewing the fat with the likes of Hamlet legends Edgar Kail & Tommy Jover, telling them how they should have played!
Among the floral tributes at his funeral were ones from Dulwich Hamlet Football Club & the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' Team; with the Football club itself being represented by Club Chairman, Mr. Jack Payne.
Rest In Peace, Wrightie.

Mishi D. Morath, team secretary, Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' FC.

Ian Wright laid to rest.

2011-09-14T12:55:00.003+01:00

On Monday 11th July a number of the Supporters' Team joined the family & friends of Ian Wright at his funeral service at Camberwell Evangelical Church & then moved on to Camberwell Old Cemetery, where his remains were laid to rest.

Also present, representing Dulwich Hamlet Football Club, was the Chairman, Jack Payne.

This one was the floral tribute from the Supporters' Team, kindly arranged by Steve Rickerby & Steve Bennett:

At the Crystal Palace pre-season match, on Wednesday 27th July, at Champion Hill, a one minute silence was held in memory of Ian, prior to kick off.

Better late than never...

2011-06-22T21:44:00.006+01:00

Well that's how the old expression goes!

I must hold my hands up high & openly admit that I have not devoted as much time as I should to this blog over the last year or two, & as a result some stuff will be lost forever, as results are missed, & memories of matches fade.

I can only apologise for this, & will try to devote more time to it in future, as I know people enjoy looking here, & when I put my mind to it, I thoroughly enjoy publishing stuff on here.

With a trip to Glasgow this coming weekend, for the Queen's Park Supporters Sixes, as our 2011 Summer Tour, it seems an opportune moment to mention our debut in the competition last year, which was back on the 29th May 2010.

Twelve months ago our main summer trip was to Namur, in Belgium, for their cometition, photos & a write up to be added by me again, sometime over the summer!

Glasgow was not a 'tour', simply a small number of us who wanted to take part, with the blessing of our management duo of Mick O'Shaughnessy & Mark Hutton, who weren't interested in taking part themselves.

As it was there was only a small group of us from London who took part, aided, thanfully, by two Scottish friends of Ian Gannon, who were from Glasgow.
(I can't remember their names, so if anyone can remind me I'll edit this, but for the moment I'll simply call them both Jock!)

Back row(left to right): Ian Gannon; Jock One; Jock Two; Lawrence Marsh; Paul Griiffin.
Front row (l. to r.): Mishi Morath; Matt Hammond; Steve Rickerby.

Ian & his McAmigos!

We took part, unsurprisingly & thankfully, in the Veterans part of the day, competing in the Gary Brooks Masters tourney, rather than the main/fitter Ian Younger Sixes.

In the main competition were our close friends from over the Channel, led by Nicolas Lucas, the Belgian Branch of the Paris Saint Germain Supporters Club, with Lawrence Marsh once more 'guesting' for them, as he did in 2009. By doing so this led to our friendship with Queen's Park, which resulted in our eleven-a-side trip there back in March last year, & the invite to the Sixes themselves.

The tournament itself is a bit sketchy to say the least, from my point of view. Somewhere, which means absolutely anywhere in my flat, is a notebook with scribbled notes. Although I've not got the time as I belatedly typpe this up to locate it, I am grateful to Iain for his excellent Queen's Park Supporters Team site, in recording the results, at least, for posterity.

Even so, I am happy to be corrected for any 'schoolboy' errors, & hope I am!

Both ourselves & the Belgians were cheered on by our combined force of WAGS, in Danuta & Melanie!

Our first match was a three nil thrashing by St. Mirren, which I suppose realistically ended any chances we might have had of doing well!

Our next match was a much closer one, only going down by the odd goal in three, against Ormond Saints. Which probably gave them the impression that we were fairly evenly matched! not so, as our 17-0 record defeat up there, in our mid-season 2010/11 tour showed!

After that we were hit for five, with no reply, by Oxford United supporters. A friendly bunch, who myself & Larry had 'guested' against, for UR Namur supporters, the previous October.

For the last 'competitive' game tiredness was kicking in, and another 5-0 reversal followed, against Bristol Rovers.

We had an equal record, nil points, one goal & 14 conceded; to Leyton Orient supporters, who were the wooden spoonists in the other Masters group. Maybe we should have had a 'crappest of the crap' play-off, but instead we had one more run out, in the Plate competition, where we lost by a single goal to MacDonald Rovers.

Our friends from Belgium did well, qualifying from their group, then overcoming the Ayr United supporters team Kaisayr on penalties in the quarter finals; before bowing out in the semi final, by the odd goal in seven, to Partick Thistle.

There now follows a few random snaps I took not involving 'The Rabblers':

Special mention must go to 'Crossers', one of the Queen's Park mob, who was attempting to play for as many teams as possible, raising money for charity. I'm not sure how many he managed, but it was well into double figures!

And after it was all over it was time to retire to the adjacent social club, to cap a wonderful trip north of the border. I had brought along some Haggis flavour crisps I'd seen in a Glasgow ASDA
...the English jury was undecided about them!

The presentations were conducted by the Queen's Park first team manager on the left! Great of him to give up some time for the supporters.

The Plate was won by Oxwell United, a mix side from our mates from Oxford United & Motherwell.

A huge thank you to everyone at Queen's Park for their hospitality. Everyone really enjoyed themselves, it was great to mix with old friends, & make new, as always.

Though we didn't get close to this Queen's Park Spider, whose home is in their club shop...& in case you're wondering, yes it IS a tarantula!

Ian Wright RIP

2011-06-15T11:37:00.003+01:00

It is with great sadness that everyone at the Supporters' Team, past & present, learned of the death of one of our Club stalwarts, who has been part of the side for too many years to remember; being dully involved in matches both seven & eleven-a-side; tours abroad & various tournaments at home.

Ian Wright collapsed & died at work on Monday 13th June 2011, & all who knew him through the 'Rabblers' will be thinking of his family & friends & this terrible time.

Final defeat for management duo

2011-04-10T19:47:00.006+01:00

Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' 3 Worthing Supporters' 4 Friendly at Belair Park Saturday 9th April 2010 In a 'fitting' end to the eleven-a-side managerial reign of joint Gaffers Mick O'Shaughnessy & Mark Hutton, defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory, as 'The Rabblers' went down by the odd goal in seven, where the Rebels from the south coast were unwittingly aided & abetted by the sheer incompetence of our own club referee Phil Baker! 'Fitting' because losing was the norm under their tenureship, but to be fair to them, you can only work with the tools you have! In some sort of defence of the 'big nosed one', he does a great job sorting out the kit, & offering to referee, without whom we simply wouldn't have a game...though at one stage we thought we wouldn't have one anyway, as he arrived at Belair only seven minutes before the scheduled 10.30am kick, which meant a ball wasn't kicked in anger until ten to eleven. James O'Shaughnessy attempted to get on the good side of the referee by politely enquiring: "So are you going to be my friend today". Presumably not, as the retort from the man in black (actually a bright green number reminiscent of communist era East Germany)-"Fuck off you cunt, you're going to get a red card". A threat he never kept, fortunately. But with volunteer refs like that what hope the Respect campaign eh? This is always one of the most keenly anticipated fixtures on our card. A combination of Worthing being one of the friendliest bunches we play, & helped by the fact that they are of a similar 'limited' footballing ability as ourselves! Though we should perhaps introduce some sort of 'two goal' handicap to compensate for the pace we give away for our advancing years. And why not eh? There can't be many, if any, supporters teams anywhere up & down the land, who have not one but two over sixties turning out, as we did today! We managed to get a full side out, just! Apparently one or two put themselves forward, but failed to show, which is not good form. Whilst Worthing had the bare eleven. The attendance was swelled briefly by a local couple, strolling in the park with their little boy,the dad offering some 'pearls of wisdom' to his son. "Can you see how they're not all chasing the ball at once?" Little 'un, wisely, declined to offer his opinion, but the old man quickly rumbled this wasn't quite Champions League standard he was used to on the box, & ushered his family away to safety! An early chance came our way, a scissors kick effort from Jack McInroy. Fairly even early exchanges, but with the Hamlet boys stanping their authority, trying to gain the upper edge. Making an appearance was the other manager's son, David O'Shaughnessy, who worked hard throughout, unfairly compared by hs old man to Bambi! Who also noted what a contrast the opposition were to our previous opponents Preston North End! Lawrence Marsh went close, before Will Patrick stooped slightly to connect with a James O'Shaughnessy corner, to hit the bottom corner of the net. One nil to The Hamlet! We were only able to hold the lead for five minutes though, after Matt Hammond saved a Rebels effort, deftly pushing it out. but the rebound was whacked past him. Moments later another Worthing effort whizzed past his post, which was a bit if a wake up call, as they could have-and should have- taken an undeserved lead. As if this was a wake up call, we began to push players forward and began to pile on a bit of pressure, which left us a bit exposed at the back, on more than one occasion Steve Rickerby mopped up the danger with his dependable hoofs. Further up the park James, having had no luck trying to cultivate friendships with the referee pre-match, wasn't making many with his own team mates, moaning at Jacko 'to stop with the flicking'! Which is a bit harsh, as I, personally, think Jacko is still one of the most talented & unselfish players we have, & he is now over fifty too, so give him a break young man, & respect your elders! James is not without a touch of talent himself, nice short sharp one-two football involving himself, finished with him putting his brother David through, only for the offside whistle to blow. And left the exasperated manager on the sideline to mutter:"Someone aquaint my son with the offside law". More chances fell our way, a ball from Larry to James unfortunately ending way over the bar. But the strike of the game thus far came next, with a Worthing player hitting the crossbar from just inside the half. It looked pretty impressive, but to be honest it never rippled the back of the net, so he may as well have hit the corner flag. Worthing were starting to gain a slight upper hand, and turned this into a goal, Matt pulled off a fine save down at the post, but despite us having players packing the box it was the visitors who reacted and tapped the ball over the line, to take the lead. Which should have been added to when an attempt at a gaping open goal went begging & over the bar. That should have been three one. Mick the manager shouted out to his son James: "That was down to you showboating!", which brought a smile from the boy, which might mean,I say MIGHT, he is finally starting to lose some of his petulance & growing up! ;-) He saved his response for the start of the second half, letting his boots do the talking! A powerful strike from at least 25 yards out saw the ball fly into the back of the net for a magnificent goal! Now that's showboating! The game was turning once more, with 'The Rabblers' regaining the upper hand. Larry went close, but his attempt was saved by the Caveman in goal, who we can forgive I suppose, as he recently 'guested' in our colours, up at St. Johnstone. The parry fell to the 'evergreen' pensioner Paul Verrico. We took the lead in a similar situation to our first. Another James corner flew across the box, to be met once more by the polished head of Will, whose decisive header was even more powerful & impressive than his earlier one. It's rare in itself nowadays for Hamlet fans to take the lead in a game, but it affected the referee more than most. Minutes after we took the lead, Matt was bellowing instructions from the back, marshalling his defence, including debutant Trevor Collins, who he wanted to offer some advice to. "Trev, Trev!" he barked, for the whole pitch to hear. Including Baker in charge, who stopped the game, mistakenly thinking he was shouting 'Ref, ref'! Oh dear.. Phil is getting on a bit, but that's a 'senior moment' that Hutty would have been proud of! The 'show' must go on..and as an aside, watching Hamlet fan Tony Squires sidled up to me to share the information that he thought Trevor was the spitting image of England cricketer Michael Vaughan. not being a cricket follower I didn't have a clue what he was on about. No change there then... Back to the game, if we must. David O'Shaughnessy went close, just wide of the post. Soon after John Prendergast went off early, as he had a prior appointment flathunting, the late kick off due to the referee being less than punctual not helping our cause,resulting in his premature departure from the field, with 61 years young Mark Hutton being forced into the fray. We once more came under a sustained spell of pressure, James working hard, moving back to help out. Andy Chaney tried an opportunist lob at the other end, when it goes in it's class, but on this occasion it was nowhere near. The game was to & fro, Matt pushing the ball wide for a corner, in the scramble that followed the referee missed a Worthing handball, but nothing came of it, as their effort went for a goal kick. It looked for moment that the match was slipping away from the seasiders, reduced to a few long range opportunistic shots, hit in hope more than anything. But as the clock ticked down tiredness was starting to creep in on our weary bones, and we seemed to be playing at least four up front. Not as any sort of tactical masterstroke, but people were too tired to track back, making it a hell of a lot harder for our pressed defence. Trevor cleared up a couple of times, & we had the ever reliant trusty traction engine boot of Steve. Not that we had given up trying to add to our lead. But David was caught offside a couple of times. Leaving the Gaffer to call out: "David! Run across the line!" I turned and said to him: "You should have taken him down the park more when he was a kid". The reply wasn't quite what I was expecting-"I did. That's how he split his chin". No answer to that really. Worthing almost pulled it back, the ball flying off the post, resulting in a corner from the rebound, which was then dealt with. As it hit the post Mark Hutton was hugging the post, I wasn't sure if he had blocked it or not. I asked the Gaffer if he had got a touch, but he told it was the post, & Hutty was still there looking for the ball... We bowed to the inevitable, and the equaliser came, but to be fair, it was a shot that a keeper with one eye would have struggled to stop (That's one eyed Gordon Banks, not Hutty!) & our perfectly sighted Matt Hammond had no chance in preventing the goal of the game. Scenting a chance of glory Caveman Nick took off their keepers jersey,not a pretty sight, actually an ill-fitting three sizes too small old Oxford United top, & came outfield. Despite his 'danger' it was ourselves who got a last burst of energy,Larry bringing the ball forward, beating his man, but shooting just wide. Moments later we were awarded a corner, to the total bemusement of EVERYONE, including the ref who insisted it was a corner! Common sense prevailed & everyone totally ignored him, with a goal kick taken by the Worthing custodian. But if those watching & playing thought that was bad, worse was to follow. Much, much worse! Andy Chaney broke through, clearly the last man, but wasn't able to tuck the ball away, as he was being grappled round the body, as the assailant appeared to have more arms than an octopus, holding him back. A clearcut case of a penalty, & if this were not friendly supporters' football, a red card for holding back the last man, but nothing absolutely nothing, from the referee! Now I know I don't like to moan at referees, as we would would struggle without people like Phil helping out, but even Hutty would have spotted that if you'd poked his eye out! Shock seemed to set in after that, & instead of having sealed the game from the spot, it was almost inevitable that the next & last goal of the game was to come from the Rebels fans. A corner was only partly cleared, 7 the resulted scuff ended up in the back of the net. With not long to go that looked like it, just one optimistic long range attempt from James, before the referee held up a finger to indicate one minute left, or was he inwardly smirking, giving us lot the finger, after his penalty denial? Match over, handshakes all round, a close game played in good spirit, with a joint team photo to finish. The only 'consolation' for 'The Rabblers' was the management duo waiving matchday subs, which they covered, as a gesture for this being their final eleven a side match at the helm. Presumably out of their own pocket & not team funds, which I would hope should be left for whoever takes over, to cover future costs... ;-) Finally, before the match, there was another great gesture, this time to our Gaffers, from the Worthing head honcho Nick, who presented Mick & Mark with a bottle of wine each, to commemorate their final match in charge.

The Worthing game...

2011-04-09T22:41:00.002+01:00

Do they mean us?

2011-04-09T20:32:00.003+01:00

From the Worthing perspective, as posted on their website: Two late goals give Rebels fans the win in tight contest. A late flurry of goals from Paul Jones and Liam Morgan saw Worthing Supporters seal a third successive away victory against Dulwich supporters in as many years. Phil Brown and his dad Anthony also got on the score sheet in the first half to give the team the lead at the break, but the Rebels needed a second half comeback after conceding two early goals after the interval. Worthing went into the fixture unsure whether they would be able to put out a full 11, after former First Team Manager Simon Colbran was forced to pull out days before the game. Despite this, the Rebels arrived at Belair Park with the necessary numbers, as James Thomson and Sam Skilton made their debuts. However Worthing had little time to settle into the match, finding themselves a goal down from a corner five minutes in. The ball sent in across the box was met by the head of an unmarked Dulwich player, and with no man on the far post, goalkeeping stalwart Nick Courtnadge could only watch as the ball nestled into the bottom right corner giving the hosts the early advantage. Worthing eventually got a foothold into the game, with the young midfield duo of Liam Morgan and Aron Goff impressing in the middle of the park as they marshalled the troops, constantly making themselves available for passes, and directing the workflow. And the persistence of the duo paid off 12 minutes in. A ball over the top from Goff put striker Phil Brown one-on-one with the keeper, but he could only find into the keeper’s hands with the effort. However he fumbled the shot, and Brown capitalised to equal the scores from a yard out. Dulwich continued to put pressure on The Rebels, with Courtnadge forced into a spectacular save to his left on 24 minutes, and making hard work for the backline of Paul Jones, Martin Tighe, Jamie Thomson and Brad Stratton. Goff nearly made it 2-1 for the Rebels, with his long range effort on 26 minutes coming off against the crossbar. However they got the crucial second goal just before the break. A throw in on the right from Goff was missed by Brown and fell to Sam Skilton. The striker’s shot was parried by the keeper into the path of Anthony Brown, who helped the ball into the net. Goff missed a glorious chance at a third when his shot from Deemo Nikbos’s cross went high and wide from three yards out on 39. In the second half the Rebels came out looking to build on their lead. However it was to be the set pieces that let them down again, as the previous Dulwich scorer struck again from a corner, with a looping header that evaded both Courtnadge and defender Paul Jones on the line on 44 minutes. Six minutes later one of Hamlet’s midfielders went on a mazy run, rounding Tighe and hitting a thunderbolt of a shot from the edge of the box that flew past the outstretched arms of Courtnadge to make it 3-2 to the home side. Despite the quick turnaround, Worthing did not buckle under the pressure and pushed for an equaliser, however they found it hard work going up against a strong and resilient Dulwich back-line. Phil Brown also had a strong penalty claim turned down, with his previous history of dramatics in past games going against him. However it was stroke of genius that turned the tide of the game in favour of the team from the seaside, as a magnificent 25 yard half volley from veteran Jones levelled the scores on 65 minutes. A change in positions saw Skilton and Courtnadge swap roles, with the latter’s presence up front likely to put more pressure on Dulwich’s defence. And Skilton was quickly involved in action at the other end of the pitch, as a mix-up between him and Stratton saw the ball nicked from his fingertips, however the Dulwich striker’s shot went wide of the target. With the game tantalisingly close, a Worthing corner was cleared from the box, and fell to the feet of Morgan 20 yards out. The youngster had seen previous attempts from that distance fly just above the bar, however his shot on 73 minutes was a cracker, giving Dulwich’s keeper no chance and giving the Rebels a 4-3 lead with seven minutes to go. Dulwich put a tiring Worthing under the cosh; however it wasn’t enough as the away side held on for a victory in what is to be a busy month of football for them in April. They play host to supporters of Blue Square Premier side Kidderminster Harriers on Saturday 16th April, with the likely venue being Highdown Recreation Ground, with a game away to rivals Bognor Regis after the First team game on Easter Monday also a possibility. Worthing Supporters Squad: Nick Courtnadge, Paul Jones, Martin Tighe, James Thomson, Bradley Stratton, Deemo Niksbos, Aron Goff, Liam Morgan, Anthony Brown, Sam Skilton, Phil Brown. Brad Stratton for worthingfc.com

Thank you...

2011-02-23T22:03:00.003Z

For looking in. I have recently added some old updates, but have posted them from the times they were dated, so scroll back to find them.

For example, the cricket match against Bromley supporters took place before the football match against HaPPo, which I had already posted. So you will have to scroll back before that to read it.

I have plenty more to add, & will let people know via Mick, & his team email list, when I do.

Thank you all for your patience.

And an even bigger thank you to Shaun Dooley & Matt Hammond for their reports.

A load of mugs...

2011-02-21T21:58:00.001Z

Taken at a couple of games this season, by 'mugs' I meant 'MUGSHOTS' of course! I haven't manage to snap everyone, but here is a selection:

The management duo of Mick O'Shaughnessy & Mark Hutton:

Kitman Phil Baker:

Amin Haque:

Jack McInroy:

Ian Gannon & a 'guest' player from Hampstead WFC, Katriona Forbes:

Phil Doyle:

Chas Cheney:

Will Patrick:

Matt Hammond:

Alex Margolis:

Ian Wright:

James O'Shaughnessy:

Steve Rickerby:

Paul Griffin:

Matt Holland:

Jamie Wyatt:

Nicky Quilter:

John Prendergast:

Trevor Collins:

Rabblers routed by Rebels!

2011-01-22T13:06:00.001Z

Saturday 22nd January 2011

Friendly match

Worthing supporters' 6, Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' 4.

Played at Goring by Sea.

Report kindly supplied by Shaun Dooley.

Clapham Junction, East Croydon...familiar stations for members of 'The Rabble' who follow The Hamlet on their jaunts down to the Sussex coast.
Even more significant on Saturday 22nd January as we were up even earlier than usual to fulfil a Supporters' Team fixture away to our good friends from Worthing FC...'The Rebels' supporters' side.

The fun had actually started the previous night for one of our number, when Phil 'Widow Twankey' Baker had gone out on the town for a few jars, having gone down there the day before to make a weekend of it. Well the 'Jack Horner' he found was nothing like the one in the nursery rhyme! Oh no, this was a pub,apparently, with a transvestite barperson, and a couple of ladies in their wheelchairs watches 'Les Miserables'! In some ways this was srely the perfect pub for Phil, as there was no queue for the bar! I believe he stayed there for wuite some time, the things he does for a drink eh?

Back to the rest of us...after much joviality on the train down to the seaside, much at Phils expense, as Caveman Nick, the London based Rebel, filled us in on dear old 'Jackie Horner', we soon arrived at Goring by Sea.

The place where we play our away fixtures against Worthing has a two storey house as the changing rooms & despite still being freezing cold, it had had a makeover since our last visit! (Which, somewhat shamefully, wasn't last season, as we couldn't raise a side).

(Mishi writes) Pre-match I was going to take a team photo, but due to not all the squad for the day being there I was going to take one after the match, but a couple of players dashed straight off. I couldn't take any pics during the game as I was playing, & it is extremely diisappointing for me when I cannot get a team photo, as I like to collect them season by season for posterity, game by game, at the least the ones I can get to when not working. A little bit more awareness & help from the peeps that run the side would be appreciated, in future, especially after having asked for a team shot after the match, in advance!. End of moan!

I did get a shot of the Worthing team, including one as they attempted to line up, perfect for a caption competition.

Meanwhile, at the other end, the nets were being put up...

A thankless task, ignored by many, but an essential part of our friendly for fun football!

Onto the game now itself, & due to the now expected late cry-offs we were down to twelve players. Included in this 'dirty dozen' were Nicky Quilter & Jamie Wyatt, making a welcome return to our fold, having been regulars in the early to mid nineties! Whos' this playing 'peek-a-boo!' with his old childhood shirt?

None other than one of the 'prodigal sons' Jamie!

After kick off we had a bright opening spell,& were holding our own up until Worthing's opening goal, when onr of their forwards found himself in space after a lucky break, & shot low to Paul Griffin's right in goal. 'Griff the Cat' got his hand to it but couldn't keep it out. Worthing hit a second not long after, & then forced a succession of corners, from which our stout defending managed to keep at bay.

At the other end, 'Gaffer' Mick O'Shaughnessy put himself up front, with his son James not available. despite his advancing years, and more portly figure in comparison to his boy he was looking almost as lively, & after about half an hour scored probably the finest O'Shaughnessy goal ever scored in the Pink 'n' Blue, betting the previous efforts over the years from both of his his boys James & David!
He was released down the right hand channel, & took the ball into the eighteen yard box& was almost on the touchline, and chipped his precision shot over the Worthing custodian into the top left hand corner, reminiscent of Chris Dickson's goal at AFC Wimbledon in a 2006 London Senior Cup tie!

Buoyed on by this we got ourselves forward more and were proving to be more of a danger, until a long searching ball forward was misjudged by our defence & headed backwards, which was them picked up by one of our hosts, who rounded our keeper & slotted home.

Another was added before half time, and in the process Griff was injured attempting to thwart it, though-thankfully- it did not impair his ability to pick up & down his pints later! In a positional manoevre that was reminiscent of the pre-war era when there was no substitutes, he bravely came back outfield, in a move that Tommy jover would certainly have looked down from up above, & smiled on approvingly!

The start of the second period saw us get a bit more into the game, possibly because we were attacking the slope! But alas it was Worthing who scored next to make it 4-1. But our 'never say die' attitude always gave us hope & we got back into the game, when one of our attacking moves saw Larry Marsh square unselfishly to the returning Nicky Quilter about ten years out and he smacked his shot into the bottom corner to reduce the arrears to four two.

Though that doesn't, apparently, do the goal justice. A couple of days after this report was published the person who edits this blog got a text from Mr. 'modest' Quilter himself, who describes his goal thus:

"Just read the supporters report of Worthing. I'm very disappointed. My goal was a wonder goal taking the ball forward after a one-two with Larry, looked up and spotted the keeper off his line from 25 yards chips with aplomb!"

Happy to set the record straight! Back to the original report....

But Worthing went on to restore their three goal margin when a deep cross found the bonce of an unmarked Worthing forward, to head home. But rather than fade away we kept our challenge, and Larry Marsh chased down a backpass, which the Worthing keeper kicked straight at him. He then cooly went round the keeper & slotted into the empty net.

By now it really was 'end to end', the play really open, with tiring legs on the heavy pitch. worthing scored their sixth when a move down the left found one of their midfielders 25 yards out & he hit a fine shot over our keeper into the roof of the net.

Then came another final goal for us, from the 'walking wounded' that was Paul Griffin! A low Steve Rickerby corner deceived two Worthing defenders, & hit their keeper on the shin, with the 'Cornish Poacher' (even though he's actually from Wiltshire!) to whip the ball home from four yards!

That was the last of our goals, but there was still time for a superb Steve Rickerby free-kick from 30 yards, at least, which smashed against the underside of the crossbar!

The 'final whistle' came, albeit no actual whistle, as Phil Baker was nominally the man in black, & he never had one. Instead he used an England car flag, which he retrieved from the bottom of his car boot, & signalled the end by waving it aloft, shouting 'whistle, whistle, whistle!'

It's always a pelasure to play the bunch of fans tha are the 'Rebels' from the south coast, long may these fixtures continue!

An explanation...

2010-11-24T22:35:00.002Z

It's nearly a year since I've had time to devote to this blog. And I can't guarantee that I will do so in future. But I am aware that people enjoy looking at it & that I like to compile it.

The sad fact is I just don't have time to 'squeeze it in' & other blogs of mine take priority. I do have a large amount of unpublished photos, & pieces to go with them, since early this year, so will try to work through the boacklog. Inevitably some of my notes have been 'misplaced' but I shall endeavour, over the next few months, to get everything as up to date as possible, so future postings will actually end up appearing 'backdacted' below the HaPPo ones I am posting now.

Many thanks to anyone who still looks in, more in hope than anticipation!

Mishi

Saturday 14th November:

2010-11-15T21:57:00.001Z

Our visitors:

Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' FC:

Back row(left to right):Phil Doyle; Phil Baker (team referee/kitman); Mick O'Shaughnessy (manager); Will Patrick; Jack McInroy; Ian Wright; Ian Gannon; Katriona Forbes; Mark Hutton (co-manager).
Front row (left to right): Mishi Morath; Amin Haque; Alex Margolis (partially hidden); James O'Shaughnessy; Matt Hammond; Andy (can't remember his surname!); Joel Virgo; Louis Grater.
Not in picture(taking it!): Guy Grater.

"The Rabblers" 8, HaPPo 2

2010-11-14T20:44:00.002Z

It's amazing really, some of the foreign friends 'The Rabblers' have established down the years. And on Saturday 13th November, at Dulwich Park, we hosted 'new' European opposition in the guise of Haagan Pallon Potkijat, which is a bit of a mouthful, to say the least. Fortunately, for us, it abbreviates to HaPPo.

They contacted us, as some of them are our friends from Forza HJK, the HJK Helsinki fans, who visited us last season.

HaPPo are in a local league, I'm not sure which standard, but were mid table on the league table I found:

Team: Pl. W D L F-A Pts.
AC Jupiter........................................10 9 0 1 22-3 27
FC Hervanta....................................10 7 1 2 15-4 22
Kaarela Athletic...............................10 6 3 1 24-6 21
Haagan Pallon Potkijat.........10 5 2 3 12-11 17
Siperian Karhut................................10 4 2 4 13-13 14
Kova Kamppi....................................10 2 4 4 9-11 10
SaBo ..................................................10 2 4 4 3-6 10
HåkanSoccer ....................................10 1 6 3 7-16 9
Komsobol.............................................9 1 3 5 8-16 6
FC Keijo ..............................................9 1 3 5 4-16 6
AS Romulus ......................................10 1 2 7 2-17 5

So, clearly, this wasn't going to be an easy game. not that many of ours are!
But a comfortable win ensued, with 'The Rabblers' romping home to the tune of eight goals to two!

Prior to the match, with the next day being both Remembrance Sunday both teams observed a pre-kick off silence, in remembrance of those fallen in previous conflicts; with the Dulwich fans being asked in particular, not to just remember our former players from the two World Wars, but also the many hundreds of Hamlet supporters' who fell with them, whose names are unknown.

Although a comfortable victory, you have to bear in mind the unusual conditions for our guests. HaPPo play lots of their games on all-weather surfaces, & for two of their number it was their first ever match on a grass pitch! On top of this it was a little muddy in the goalmouths, & heavy down the middle, not too bad by English standards, but playing conditions which they hadn't encountered before, which played right into our hands. They were also extremely hampered by having one of our own Darren 'Judas-as-always' Nicholas 'guesting' for them! Here is is with the only one of our team who still talks to him! ;-)

Jack McInroy was appointed captain for the game & presented a Hamlet scarf to our visitors.

James O'Shaughnessy scored the first two, the first rounding the keeper, before doubling the score. Joel Virgo got on the scoresheet next, well deserved as he turned in his usual excellent performance. The next was a rare goal, in a rare appearrance, for Amin Haque, who had come on as one of the substitutes.

There was another 'goal' in our favour in the half, Ian Gannon putting the ball in the back of the net, only for it to chalked off for offside. Much to his displeasure. He really should know better than to harrangue the referee, as they never change their mind. Which he must be aware of being a qualified official himself. So much for the 'Respect' campaign!

Four it was at the break, with the 'Gaffer' Mick O'Shaughnessy making a few 'tactical' substitions to try and give HaPPo a sporting chance. Despite trying to throw/even up* (*delete as applicable) the encounter his 'dastardly plan' didn't work! Here he explains his tactics to the more knowledgable Ian Wright:

Amin Haque deserves his 'half time rest', despite having only been on the pitch for ten minutes. But he did score, so deserves his lie down!

He said he was knackered, but managed to return for the latter part of the match, taking over from Matt Hammond between the sticks:

Four down but still smiling...

Veteran in any other team, but slotting in comfortably into our line up, old timer Jack McInroy got on the scoresheet, with his fifth goal in his last three matches for us!

In goal for us Matt Hammond knew something 'odd' was going to happen when the 'impartial' referee mentioned to him in passing at half time that there was 'no way he was going to keep a clean sheet'. So it was poetic justice when HaPPo put their penalty wide of the post...

...after Joel Virgo-Joel, of all people!-was adjudged to have shoved a Finn in the back in the box! Unsurprisingly there were no appeals from them before he pointed to the spot.

Normal service was resumed as James O'Shaughnessy hit his hat-trick to make it six for no reply to the Hamlet boys.

But there was life in them yet, and without any help from the big nosed cheat in black, HaPPo pulled one back, with the scorer sliding across the goalmouth in celebration. No so much a hippo, as a HaPPo wallowing in mud!

The final two goals were both in the 'right' goal, from our point of view. Will Patrick capped a good game by practically teeing up Phil Doyle, who tapped into the net:

The last goal of the match came after Hampstead WFC player Katriona Forbes knocked the ball to Ian Gannon, whose attempt was parried to Andy (surname?) who made no mistake in hitting the back of the net.

Mention must also go to young Louis Grater, who was joined on the pitch by his father Guy Grater, which was a proud moment for 'dad', no so sure how 'son' felt!

So the match finished in a high scoring victory for us, but the real winner, once more in these sort of games, was international friendship, & so we all headed off to Champion Hill for the 'big boys' game against Bognor Regis Town. Many thanks to Club owner Nick McCormack for allowing free admission to the match for those from the finnish party who attended...and carried on to 'Hoopers' afterwards, until late in the evening!

There now follows a few shots from the second half...none from the first period, as I was on the pitch!

I love to go a-Wandering...

2010-09-20T13:05:00.001+01:00

Sunday 19th September
Friendly match
at Coldharbour Sportsground, Mottingham
Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' 6, The Wanderers 5

Rather than their usual fare, Dulwich began the competitive season with the visit of more exotic opposition. Facing them at Coldharbour Sports, Mottingham was none other than a derivative from Wanderers FC. This club won the first ever FA Cup in 1872 and a further four cups through to 1878. Reformed last year they currently have numerous matches lined up for 2010 and look to raise money for UNICEF UK . Though in truth there is no connection at all between the old Wanderers & the new, more a 'name of convenience' to help their charity fundraising profile,

In a strange turn of events it was Dulwich that for once had a numerical advantage, with Wanderers only having 7 players available, but bizarrely providing a referee. Despite our own squad being depleted, what with the usual withdrawals and complete no-shows. We agreed to lend 2 players to Wanderers to enable the game to commence, albeit a 9 a side match. On this note a massive thanks to both Mick & Paul who agreed to the switch.

After deciding to play 3-5-1, Dulwich began brightly with some good passing and attacking down the left. Despite this it was Wanderers who took the lead after 8 minutes when a Hamlet goal kick was knocked straight back through the middle and the Wanderers player drilled a shot past the diving goalie.

Again Hamlet pressurised Wanderers with crosses, passes and shots beginning to fly in from both wings. They were finally rewarded with a penalty, given after a ball struck the defenders out-stretched hand. Harsh? Not according to the view from the other goal. Ian Gannon confidently placed the ball, stepped up and swept it to his left and into the side netting. 1-1 after a quarter of an hour

Thus the pattern for the rest of the half was set. Dulwich continued having thbauof the play but fell behind to a well-worked goal. On 35 minutes The Wanderers moved the ball down the right and crossed for a player to stab home from 10 yards. Dulwich again quickly fought back, although somewhat fortunately this time. A pass from Robbie McClintock, which was intended for Steve Thorn, was over-hit. Gannon managed to check his run, stay onside and was able to carry the ball unopposed into the penalty area before burying his finish.

Wanderers ended the half with a period of sustained pressure. A shot at the near post was tipped behind low down before being headed clear by Steve Rickerby from the subsequent corner. Try as they might the Hamlet could not hold out until half time. The Wanderers number 10 produced a 20-yard dazzling run past 4-5 players and managed to clip the ball over Matt Hammond with a deft finish.

A quick tactical discussion before Mick appeared meant that hopefully the Wanderers would remain unaware of any changes until it was to late. Mishi Morath swooped wings in midfield to allow Robbie more freedom in attacking from defence. The second half began with Dulwich now kicking into the wind. Not noticing it before I was surprised by it’s strength and now realised why so many of our passes were “over-hit” in the first half.

Despite trailing 3-2, Dulwich stepped up the play with both Phil Doyle and Chas harassing the Wanderers midfield. Ian dropped back and began releasing numerous long passes over the top for Hamlet players to run onto. Twice in quick succession this ploy worked with Steve Thorn being the lucky recipient. His second goal was slightly comical with goalie and centre half colliding, allowing Steve an open goal, a situation the Rabblers can relate too.

With Dulwich now leading 4-3 and the wind in our favour we began to feel confident. However Wanderers did their utmost to get back into the game. With a neat move, which resulted in their best player (No. 10), snatching a shot from about 10 yards. This drew a strong save from the Hamlet keeper, which was then duly cleared by John Tennison. Almost immediately the ball was moved swiftly up-field where Thorn completed his hatrick.

Wanderers pressed for further goals, and as expected they found them with the now tireless “10” continuing to torment the Hamlet players. A move from out of the left wing found him with an acute angle that he finished with a side foot home.

With 20 minutes remaining Gannon then decided to unleash a barrage of highly speculative shots from varying distances near the left touchline. Amazingly after a near miss and 2 high wide and handsome efforts he still had enough time to line up a forth shot – which impressively sailed over the keeper and into the back of the net. 6-4, 2 hatricks & game over…!

Due to prior commitments, Ian had to leave and Dulwich played the final 15 minutes a man down. The Hamlet reorganised and Wanderers sensed that the scoring wasn’t over. A penalty shout was turned down and a succession of corners finally ended with a towering header clipping the top of the bar. They finally broke the hearts of the Dulwich rearguard when a shot slipped past a block tackle and dive a trickled in down past the post.

At this point it seemed likely that the honours would be shared, however Dulwich managed to dig deep and cover huge amounts of ground to hang on for a morale boosting victory.

A massive thanks is to be extended to Wanderers for not just playing the game but doing so with the correct attitude. Ideally it would be nice to have another match against this opposition albeit with a full complement of players from both teams.

Can I also take the opportunity to remind all players that the Supporters team isn’t just for tours; it’s for an entire season!

Dulwich Hamlet team:

Matt Hammond
Robbie McClintock
Steve Rickerby
Jon Tennison
Mishi Morath
Phil Doyle
Andy “Chas” Chaney
Steve Thorn
Ian Gannon
Mick O’Shaughnessy
Paul Verrico

Report kindly supplied by MATT HAMMOND

Our visitors have their own website, & here is their report of the match:

"Prior to kick-off, this match looked like being one of Wanderers’ most disastrous endeavours. The initial squad of 14 eager and fit players quickly diminished into just 7. With pending childbirth, several varied injuries, motorcycle repairs and family commitments, Wanderers took to the field with no goalkeeper or full backs and just one striker.
Fortunately, the Rabblers took pity on Wanderers and donated two of their players - P Verrico and M O’Shaughnessy - to even up the sides, resulting in a 9-a-side match played on a full-size, astroturf pitch for 70 minutes.
ME Wilson volunteered to stand between the posts at kick-off and, despite the numerical issues, Wanderers looked impressive in possession. R Goodall, JO Harvey and C Pulger, who was making his debut, put in a stunning display of athleticism and control. Knocking the ball between them, and using G Bird as a pivot, the team managed to engineer a break away on the left on several occasions.
With barely fifteen minutes on the clock, C Pulger received a delightful square ball and side-footed it into the far post with composure. However, despite some excellent direct play, offering a great deal of space to Harvey and Pulger, Dulwich countered well, with their own dynamic midfield. Their danger man, I Gannon, managed to drag the Wanderers defence out of position - however, the stiff wind and some fortunate goalkeeping kept him out. Unfortunately, H Elabaire’s debut, which had begun so promisingly, started to unravel.
A freakish handball in the penalty area allowed Dulwich to draw level with a 12-yard tap-in. Undaunted, Wanderers pressed on again and Goodall scored from outside the penalty area with a right foot shot into the bottom corner. The Rabblers came right back and a simple one-two, dissecting Verrico and Elabaire, enabled Gannon to evade C McKenzie and drill the ball into the left hand side of the goal. Verrico, once of Dulwich Hamlet proper, should be delighted with his showing - at 63 years old he showed many of our players that his enthusiasm for the game was as great as it ever was.
At half-time, both sides might have felt that they could have gone in with a clear advantage. Sadly, Wanderers were unprepared for the restart.
Goodall scored his second and gave the away side the lead but Dulwich’s effort would soon pay off. Firstly, a period of attacking play yielded a corner which resulted in a lovely half-volley from the edge of the box that cannoned in off of the inside of the post. Secondly, Wilson’s rushing out, to attempt to close the gap between the penalty area and the defence, was undone by a 50:50 ball, which the attacker got to first. Goodall stemmed the tide with an absolutely masterful example of dribbling, beating four Hamlet players before slotting the ball home for his thoroughly well-deserved hat-trick.
His hard work was practically undone moments later. A communication breakdown between Wilson and Elabaire ended with the two limping away from a collision and Elabaire scoring a disappointing and calamitous own goal. But Wanderers were not for quitting; a well-worked corner resulted in Harvey hitting the crossbar with a rocket-like, towering header.
Harvey generously agreed to spend some time in goal, having only recently come back from his honeymoon and needing a rest. He could do nothing as Dulwich scored a beautiful, long-range chip from the left side of the box which arced into the far corner. The right-hand side of defence had been calmly marshaled by O’Shaughnessy until then, and it took a neat interchange to get past him.
With legs tiring and just minutes left on the clock, Wanderers lifted their game and managed to counter-attack. From Bird’s corner, Wilson scuffed the ball into the far post. Bird, Goodall and Wilson all had chances to draw Wanderers level but, despite three great opportunities, neither could manage to keep their efforts on target in positions that they would ordinarily have managed to test the opposition goalkeeper.
In the end, Wanderers will feel that, given the circumstances, they should have managed to kill the game off - however, Dulwich proved that they should not be underestimated and that their dedication to the game ensured they were always in contention for a good result."

Any further information about Wanderers can be found at -

www.originalwanderers.com

Well they say summer is the silly season...

2010-07-30T13:05:00.001+01:00

Once again the past year has flown & our annual cricket match with the Hayes Lane
Ultras, who are the Bromley supporters', arrived.

This is a 20 over match, with a pre-arranged agreement that when a payer reacehs a score of 25 runs he retires at the end of that over, to ensure as many players as possible have an opportunity to bat.

In good cricketing conditions (well as good as can be expected on an artificial wicket) Bromley were put into bat by our sef-appointed captain Phil 'Boycott' Baker.

In the opening exchanges Dulwich bowled very tidily & Bromley were finding it difficult to hit boundaries & set a challenging target. After the first half dozen overs the Ultras started to pick up the pace & found some of those much needed boundaries, so that at the halfway stage of their innings were 57 for 2, with one retirement.
As we delved deeper into our bowling(or lack of bowlers perhaps!) Bromley started to find their feet lusty blows for sixruns catipulted their score to 131-5 with three retirements after their alloted twenty overs.
Matt Hammond was our leading wicket taker, with a brace; Danny & Pete also claiming one apiece; with Pete also running out a Bromley batsman right at the death.
This, for 'The Rabblers'. was a daunting target, as we have never passed a ton of runs against Bromley.

Phil Baker & Shaun Dooley opened the batting for The Hamlet,

Ah, this is easy...

Erm...what next?

Keep going...

Their combination got the scoreboard ticking along, after a couple of boundaries Shaun was out for 10,replaced by Danny King.

Au revoir, Mr. Dooley!

He joined Phil at the crease

and carried on where Shaun had left off, but we then looked to be struggling when Phil & Danny were out for 7 and 13 respectively, to leave on 35-3. But a valiant effort...so off they went,

But hope was at hand, as two cricketing debutants for us, Will Patrick & Pete Mungeam took the game to Bromley with some fine stroke play, regularly finding boundaries, including some towering sixes! Both flew past the twenty five run mark within an over of each other & sadly had to depart proceedings with tallies of 28 & 32.

Keep on going...

All the way to the 'pavilion'!

By the end of the fourteenth over we had for the first time passed one hundred runs, no mean feat for us, at we reached 101-3, with two retirements. Needing 31 off of six overs to win the match, we started to slow & runs became hard to come by. Mick O'Shaughnessy was run out for two; better than his son James, who walked back after being bowled for a duck!

The Bromley bowling tightly restricted the Dulwich charge, Matt Hammond got on the scorecard, but was bowled for three; whilst Mark Hutton went the same way, but also for a 'duck'.

Be afraid,very afraid! (well maybe not!)

Martin Tibble was left with seven not out, in a total of 118 for 7, with two retirements.

Close, but not quite close enough. But nonetheless a gallant display from the Hamlet cricketers. A thoroughly entertaining game that swung both ways with us hitting our highest ever total, & also passing the one hundred mark for the first time.

Game over then, time to shake hands & get to the bar!

Yes we are probably a bit silly in playing a supporters' cricket game in the summer, but in the dim & distant past Dulwich Hamlet footballers traditionally packed their football boots away, & represented the Club with ball & bat in the summer months. We may not be of the same quality, but I am sure that 'Pa' Wilson looks down approvingly from above, as the Supporters' of the 21st century continue a Dulwich Hamlet cricketing tradition that has been part of our Club since formation in 1893, & only faded away in the nineteen sixties.

A big thank you to al lwho turned out, it's great fun, even if we invariably come off second best. Cheers to Colin Head & all his Bromley boys for the contest. Roll on next year!

Report mainly by Shaun Dooley, & photos from Mishi Morath.

Down memory lane...

2010-03-14T10:13:00.002Z

I realise you're all looking in (I hope!) & waiting for reviews &write-ups from our magnificent trip to Glasgow last weekend, but please bear with me!

It's 'on the way', & I hope to put some work in on it all next week, & when it's done I'll let you all know via Mick, on the team email group, & the messagboard.

In the meantime my favourite French side Red Star have taken a turn for the better in their CFA (regional fourth division level) games, winning two in the last week, relieving some worries about relegation fears.

Thier website this weekend mentioned 'results on this day' yesterday, 13th March, & five years ago Red Star crushed Aubervilliers in a Divsion Honneur (fifth level) match. This was the match 'The Rabblers' attended, having beaten their supporters' by the odd goal in five in the morning, which was our first ever full eleven-a-side match abroad, & also our inaugrial mid-season foreign jaunt.

Here is a cracking link from their archives for anyone who wants to relive that superb day.

Allez Red Star!

Next stop Hampden Park!

2010-03-01T15:27:00.003Z

Only a few days now until we hit Glasgow!

A few people have been asking who the tour party is, so, with thanks to the Gaffer for supplying the list, it's as follows:

Mick O'Shaughnessy & his right hand man Mark Hutton, leading the tour party.

With the rest being:

Phil Baker; Steve Bennett; Shaun Dooley; Phil Doyle; Ian Gannon; Paul Griffin; Nicolas Lucas; Jack McInroy; Larry Marsh; Malcolm Meredith; Mishi Morath; Darren Nicolas; David O'Shaughnessy; James O'Shaughnessy; John Prendergast; Steve Rickerby; Dawn Taylor; Jon Tennison; Stephane Tournay & Mathieu Istasse.
Non-playing supporters: Matthew Hammond ; Roger Deason; Richard Watts; Celine Frateur; Melanie Lucking & Danuta Wilmart.

Which all adds up to...one bloody big party!

See you all on Friday night!

Supporters: Richard Watts and Roger Deason.

A little guide to Glasgow

2010-02-28T15:26:00.005Z

For those who are going up to Glasgow at the beginning of March the main course will be on the Saturday, with a feast of a footballing day being organised by their 'head honcho' Iain Campbell, who I had the pleasure of meeting back in June, at their six-a-side competition, when I was up ther with Nicolas Lucas' Paris Saint Germain Belgium Branch tour party.

Our own 'Gaffer' Mick O'Shaughnessy cemented relationships with him, when he was up ther late last year, continuing his groundhopping quest of the Scottish League, when Iian accompanied him to a game at Stenhousemuir.

Iain has the following plans for the day, well starting of the Friday night, as posted on his excellent Queens Park Supporters' Team website:

"We have a busy weekend planned for the Dulwich squad and it starts on Friday evening when "The Rabblers" are heading to The State Bar in Holland Street at 7pm to get their visit off to a flier.

On the Saturday AKC Harvey has kindly agreed to give the guys, and gals, a tour of Hampden before they head to the Social Club for a quiet refreshment.

Big Hampden is again the port of call as they head to watch Queen's play Berwick Rangers then it's the biggie, a Challenge Match on Lesser Hampden.

The game kicks off at 5.45pm and will be refereed by the ever popular Ian "Fitzy" Fitzpatrick.

For this special game we are doing something different to keep all our expected THIRTY odd players happy.

The game is being split into three parts and we will be putting out the following teams:-

First Part - 35 minutes

Under 30's

Second Part - 35 minutes

Over 30's plus some younger ones

Third Part - 20 minutes

Legends including some of our team from our very first game in 1987

All three teams will be announced on Tuesday 2nd March.

After the game we will retire to the Social Club for hospitality and then there will be a Games Night between the teams.

A big thanks to QPFC and Keith McAllister of the Supporters Association for their help with the Saturday.

This should be an excellent weekend and hopefully all the Dulwich squad will enjoy themselves."

Hopefully we will! With a day like that I get the feeling real friendships will be made, and the football becoming somewhat incidental!

I know a number of ideas have been floated about, & that the Saturday is really ‘sorted’ with the football events against Queens Park, but for those of you who haven’t been to Glasgow before may I suggest a few things that might interest you...

The one thing I can't promise is good weather! But we're fortunate in that Hampden Park is unlikely to be off, being such a fine venue, and Lesser Hampden, where we play, is an all-weather surface. So check the forecast in advance.

I can't pretend to be an 'expert' on Glasgow, as I've only ever been there twice, back in 1999 for a pre-season match between Celtic & Leeds United, with my brother & Phil Doyle. And last June, which is where I met Iain from Queens Park supporters', being part of the tour party with the PSG Belgium Supporters' Team, who played in their six-a-side tournament. This year it is on the last Saturday in May, which is the Bank Holiday weekend, & it would be brilliant if we could raise a side for it, either for the main competition or the veterans one. Or both! I'm sure, once you've all experienced the Glasgow hospitality you'll want to come back. I certainly did, which is why I put Mick in touch with Queens Park!

On the Friday, during the day, I know Mick has arranged for stadium tours to both Celtic & Rangers.
I went on both of these last year, and they are well worth the money, with Rangers being the more impressive. And I say that as someone who has always preferred the hoops! If you want a preview here are my photos from Parkhead & also Ibrox.

On Saturday, at noon, we are all meeting up prior to the main Queens Park first team game, at Hampden Park, to visit the Scottish Football Museum. I simply cannot reccomend this enough. It is excellent! Again here are my snaps from last year, if you want a preview.

Our own match, as mentioned, is next door to the main Hampden Park, on the historic Lesser Hamden ground. more of my snaps from last year are here if you want to see it.

I think Saturday will be taken up by football all day, plus the evening socialising. But, if up early enough, there is a chance to see the sights, or even take in another game!
There are a couple of local amateur leagues that play Saturday mornings.
They are the Glasgow Saturday Morning League.
And the Strathclyde Saturday Morning League.
I have no idea of the standard, but I would guess around Kent County or Middlesex County League levels.

For other sporting venues may I also suggest for greyhound racing on Friday night, which is the old home of Clyde FC. This would be a good early evening option if you don't fancy getting too mashed at the team piss up, which is at The State Bar, from 7.00pm.

And two unusual venues to look at are the West of Scotland Cricket Club, venue for the first ever Scotland v. England international , which I also visited last year.

Also Caithkin Park, not far from the current Hampden Park, it was actually Hampden Park the second, & former home of Third Lanark FC , who disappeared in 1967. My snaps from last year are here, but if you are already planning to go I would suggest you DON'T look at them, so the surprise when you see the crumbling remains for the first time isn't spoilt!

If you don't fancy the Friday stadium tours, or have time to look around on the Sunday, before going home, I will suggest a few places.

But before I do this site will tell you all you need to know about tourism in Glasgow.
And use this one for transport details, which should include detals for one day travelcards, & the like; which will include their dinky little underground system, affectionatle known by the locals as the 'clockwork orange'. There's even a pub crawl of the same name!

Anyway, back to the touristy things, in no particular order here are some places you should consider...

Museum wise there are some excellent ones.

For a real history of Glasgow then the People's Palace museum is a must. I would guess this is their equivalent to our Museum of London. Their version sits in the pleasant & historic Glasgow Green Park.

If you like churches then Glasgow Cathedral is one to see. Next to this is the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life & Art.

And by those are the Glasgow Necropolis, probably one of the finest burial grounds in the whole of Britain, simply for it's magnificent hilltop location. But more importantly, as you walk up the slight hill to the Cathedral from the centre, a small railway station on the right, continue ahead, & on the left is a parade of shops. One of them is a chip shop that does the 'holy grail' of junk food...the deep fried mars bar! I found it last year, & they are delicious! I thoroughly recommend you try them & combine it with a walk to the Necropolis, to enjoy the panorama over the city.

Another religious building worth seeing is the St Vincent Street Free Church of Scotland, which has been described as 'one of Scotland's finest temples to God'

Shopping wise there are the main streets in the centre of town, but if you like rummaging then there is The Barras market, on both Saturday & Sunday, which is reputed to be one of the biggest markets in Europe!

In the centre George Square is worth a look, statues & monuments there, as well as the Glasgow Tourist Office. Adjacent is the Queen Street Railway Station, the oldest station in Glasgow, which is not actually the one from where you will get the train toward Hampden Park on the Saturday. That is Central Station.

Not far from here is the Gallery of Modern Art, not to everyone's taste, but if you like this sort of stuff it's well worth a visit.

If you like libraries, as I do working in one, the Mitchell Library is one to dip into, and it actually has the largest reference library in Europe.

For Ian there is the Glasgow Police Museum

If you like 'oldie worldy' slum type dwellings then you could do a lot worse than go to the Tenement House

I'm not 100% sure, but the biggest museum in the city is probably the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum. It really has a bit of everything, and you will need a at least a couple of hours just to whizz round all of it! Across the road from here is Kelvin Hall, a famous sport venue, with the latter part of it round the back housing the Scottish Transport Museum

I haven't looked around the university area of the city, but here there is another attraction, the Hunterian Museum; & the Hunterian Gallery, which includes the Mackintosh House.

There's also a small regimental museum, which may catch Hutty's eye.

There are plenty of pubs in Glasgow, as you have probably guessed from the city that brought you Rab C. Nesbitt! I'm not going to list them, except to mention 'The Horseshoe' as it's reputed to have the longest bar in Britain! You don't need to guess what shape it is from the name! It does get croweded in here, but it is worth stopping ofr one or two if you haven't been there before. The only other 'advice' I have is take care if you're out & about on the Friday & Saturday night. While the majority of Jocks are ok, especially the Queens Park lot who really are diamond geezers, there will always be a few who will want to have a pop at you in front of their mates just because you're English, so be aware if around the Sauchiehall Street area. For decent pubs check out the local CAMRA branch.

There is plenty more to see & do in Glasgow,but I think I've listed more than enough to give you a 'flavour' for the weekend. Hopefully enough of a flavour so that we can return in May for the six-a-side tournament!

The last thing to remember is that they speak funny up there, so this may help!

What you decide to do it's going to be a great weekend!

Bad luck....

2010-01-28T20:17:00.004Z

Goes to Matt Hammond, our goalkeeper, who has recently had an operation on his hand, after injuring in a seven a side game for Lambeth All-Stars.

This means he won't be able to play in the forthcoming Glasgow tour, against Queens Park, but will still be making the trip, nonetheless!

Don't Go Breaking My Heart!

2009-11-28T15:04:00.005Z

Saturday 28th November 2009
"The Rabblers" 2
Watford supporters 15
IFA League match
at Belair Park

Report by Mishi D. Morath.

It was a brave bunch of 'Rabblers' that turned up for what was going to be nothing other than a heavy defeat against Watford, who are one of the strongest, and certainly one of the friendliest teams in internet football. We didn't want our hearts broken, as Watford fan sang with Kiki Dee, but break them they did with our heaviest defeat for over a decade.

There were no selection problems for our management, it a simple case of if you have your boots you're in, as we had a bare minimum sqaud of a dozen!

The squad, for the record, was Matt Hammond; Mick O'Shaughnessy; Steve Rickerby; Shaun Dooley; John Prendergast; Mark Hutton; Mishi Morath; Phil Doyle; Darren Nicholas; Trevor Owen; Matthew Virgo & Chris Garrett.

It really was a case of 'damage limitation', & against all odds, 'The Rabblers' fought an amazing rearguard action for the first fifteen minutes or so, and although I have misplaced my brief notes from the game, I do recall trying to make a note of the first few goals, to use as my lottery numbers that night, but gave up after the seventh went in! I think we were a 'mere' eight behind at half time!

But we weren't torn apart by a single player, two Watford lads got hat-tricks, with a total of no less than NINE of their squad getting on the scoresheet, the most delighted being a defender, Phil McBride, who scored his first goal for them, in nearly a hundred appearances, so he certainly won't forget Dulwich Hamlet!

Also on the scoresheet for them was an own goal from Steve Rickerby, not that it was his fault really, when you're under that much pressure at the back someone is bound to deflect it into their own net. It's just unfortunate for 'Big Vern' that he seems to do it more often than others! ;-)

Our chances were few and far between, the closest before we scored, was an effort from Matthew Virgo, that hit the bar. We were thirteen behind, I think, before we pulled anything back. Our two goals coming from Chris Garrett, the latter being sheer quality, hit from the edge of the area into the back of the net!

Although this defeat equalled our previous record defeat, against a Dulwich Hamlet Junior FC Managers, Staff & Parents XI on one of the all-weather pitches at the Crystal Palace National Sportscentre, back in the mid-nineties, this game had a better outcome for the keeper in both, Matt Hammond. For after that previous thrashing I accidentally stabbed him in the hand with the half-time oranges knife, which resulted in him missing his Sunday Team match two days later, as in was in Kings College Hospital awaitiaing an operation to repair the damage! After the last goal went in I wonder if he was thinking back to that unfortunate Friday night? ;-)

It's hard to single out any particular incident, or the effort of one player over another, everyone gave their all & what more can you ask? But I can't finish without mentioning a superb goal line clearance as the 'Gaffer' Mick O'Shaughnessy turned back the years & headed over a certain goal, that he flicked over the crossbar. True Matt Hammond pulled off a number of fine saves, but I'd like to think that this was the one incident in the game that prevented a new record loss!

Fair play to Watford, despite being in almost total control, they never 'showboated' or 'gave it large', well apart from the aforementioned defender after his 'virgin' goal, but you can't begrudge him that! Never flash, never patronising, they simply appreciated the fact we never gave up, despite being second best.

After the final whistle the general opinion of our team members who had played in the ten nil debacle against Ladywell three weeks before, was that if we had played like this against them htere is no way we would have lost.

So comfort can be taken out of this huge loss, spurred on by the incentive from the Gaffer, who said that hec wouldn't forget those who took part this morning, & that everyone who did would get preferential treatment up in Glasgow, on the spring Queens Park tour!

No luck against the Ladyboys!

2009-11-07T23:00:00.004Z

Saturday 7th November 2009
"The Rabblers" 0,
Ladywell FC 10
Friendly match
at Belair Park

Report kindly supplied by Guy Grater.

'The Rabblers' played their old foes the Lady boys in a friendly match at Belair Park on Saturday The Home squad contained two guest players from Finland (Sampsa Hirvonen and Petri Pirhaven) both of whom played against 'The Rabblers' in the summer tour for HJK Helsinki Supporters' team.
The match kicked off in glorious sunshine with both teams evenly matched for the first ten minutes, until some good interplay by the 'Ladyboys' down the left hand side of the pitch produced a snap shot that was well saved by Matt Hammond. Unfortunately the rebound fell to Luca from the 'Ladyboys' who tucked his shot away with ease.
The second goal quickly followed again from the same left hand side of the pitch, This time with their centre back moving up the field to finish off a fine move with a thumping shot that gave our Matt no chance.
'The Rabblers' were under pressure at this point, but a came back with a mazy run from young Louis Grater beating three defenders before passing to his fellow striker James O'Shaughnessy. for him to shoot agonisingly just past the right hand post.
This proved just a fleeting respite as the 'Ladyboys' laid siege to 'The Rabblers' goal forcing a number of corners. One of which ended with a goal after a goalmouth scramble. Just before halftime the 'Ladyboys' grabbed two quick goals. Again 'The Rabblers' left hand flank was under pressure with the fourth goal coming from a cracking shot by their forward .Then just two minutes later another raid down the same wing resulted in another shot that flew past Matt Hammond, so the score at half time was 'The Rabblers' 0, 'Ladyboys' 5.

The second half started the same way that the first finished with the 'Ladyboys' putting the Dulwich men under pressure from the off. This time though Mattie pulled off some great saves to deny the opposition. Also Larry Marsh and Steve Rickerby at the heart of the defence were putting in some superb last ditch tackles to halt the 'Ladyboy' raiders. But once more the pressure was mounting , with number six coming from a corner on the left and ending with a close range header which Matt saved but could not stop the ball going over the line for an own goal.
The home side were having trouble all match down their left wing and it came as no surprise that the next two goals came from that area. The first from a shot, which was quickly followed by another strike to increase the lead by eight goals to nil. The ninth came with 15 minutes remaining again down the left with some good inter play, ending with a right foot cross and a great volley, to be fair .'The Rabblers' upped the anti then, refusing to give up, with a good couple of breaks ending with two corners, the first James O'Shaughnessy just missing with a header .The second ended with Dulwich going close with a volley from Louis Grater. But the 'Ladyboys next goal, to reach double figures,came in the last few minutes with a goal mouth scramble before they poked the ball home. Both teams played with maximum effort but the 'Ladyboys' just had too much for 'The Rabblers'.

The Gaffer, Mick O'Shaughnessy, talking exclusively to therabblers.blogspot.com , told us:

"I thought the lads we had playing on Saturday did as well as they possibly could. I think the ladyboys were a very strong team. Certainly the strongest team I've ever seen them play. And they scored some seriously cracking goals. But as always when we play the ladyboys, the game was played in a great spirit. And our lads never gave up. Always trying to score at least one goal.

It was great to see Sampsa and Petri from HJK Supporters again. And playing in the pink'n'blue. Maybe the scoreline will lead them into a false sense of security for when they come over to play us next April. And our American recruit, Brian Joyce, making his debut for us as well, giving a good account of himself.

Hopefully, the people who played on Saturday won't be too disheartened and turn up again this week. If nothing else, Saturdays run out should have blown away some cobwebs for a few of us. And next week against Welling, gives us an opportunity to maybe right a few wrongs quickly."

The two teams were....

2009-11-07T22:30:00.002Z

This was the Ladywell 'Ladyboys' squad, followed by ours. Both pictures were kindly taken & supplied by Vikki Grater.

Our guest players from Helsinki!

2009-11-07T22:00:00.002Z

We were honured this morning to have two overseas players 'guest' for us this morning, with HJK Helsinki fans Samspa Hirvonen & Petri Pirhaven, (hope we got the names right!) friends we have made on our summer tours, being on holiday in London, with both taking in the afternoon game at Champion Hill as well!

A few action shots from the match...

2009-11-07T21:00:00.001Z

Many thanks to Vikki Grater for supplying all the pictures used in this Ladywell section, and also thank you to Tracy Anstey, for uploading them onto this site from Vikki's email, as I had no idea how to do that!

& some more....

2009-11-07T19:00:00.001Z

Snaps by Vikki, from the game.

Our Union with Union Royale Namur grows

2009-10-31T15:15:00.002Z

On the 31st October our friends from Namur, including Nicolas & Stephane, as well as Dave, who played in Helsinki in the summer for us, were in England to play the Oxford United supporters' team. Both Mishi Morath & Lawrence Marsh had the honour of 'guesting' for Namur, on 'loan' from "The Rabblers". Although the game was lost 5-1, it was a great day out, following by an afternoon cheering on Oxford to a one nil victory over Altrincham.

Oxford United were prefect hosts, and a pleasure to meet.

Here is Mishi & Lawrence, alongside Nicolas.

More thoughts from Helsinki 2009...

2009-10-18T15:02:00.001+01:00

Even though it's a few months ago now SHAUN DOOLEY has kindly shared his brief memories of the summer trip to Helsinki:

"This report is embarassingly late, I still jotted them down as I felt I needed to say a few words as the work you put into this site isn't always backed up by the rest of us!

As good as our short visit was on our previous tour our hosts truly excelled in making this trip comfortable, enjoyable and memorable. Special mention to Veli and Sisko but taking away nothing from all the other guys who all played their part. Not being one overly interested in sightseeing I must say what I saw around Helsinki was fantastic! (Must be mellowing in my old age...) The architecture was amazing, the market thriving, with the market square being a lovely view from the church steps.

The visits to watch HJK were enjoyable even though the results were not. The Supporters' game was played in very hot conditions but was a great game in which we gave our all and each and everyone of us should hold our heads high and be proud of what we achieved on the pitch against a younger and fitter team. I really look forward to future tours with our good friends from Finland, & hope they come to play us over here in England in the not too distant future."

Our top man in Helsinki

2009-09-20T17:15:00.001+01:00

Following the traditional team vote ( hope everyone got asked this year!) after out tour game in Helsinki in the summer, John Prendergast was voted our player of the tour.

Yesterday, after the final whistle of the Worthing game, Mark Hutton presented him with a Dulwich Hamlet TOFFS 1937 Ernie Toser Amateur Cup shirt as his reward.

Rabblers crushed by Rebels!

2009-09-19T23:00:00.002+01:00

Saturday 19th September 2009
"The Rabblers" 1,
Worthing supporters' 5
Friendly match
At Belair Park

Report by Mishi D. Morath

It's great to play the likes of Worthing supporters'. A genuinely decent bunch of lads, who play for fun, and are-give or take- as rubbish, make that ineptly keen, as us! so I'm gutted to be out 'injured'. And what makes it worse is that I haven't a clue how. I've got pains in my shoulders, like pulled muscles or something, & whilst I'm not in agony, it's fairly constant enough to be annoying & restrict some movement. I'd put it down to 'old age', but I'm 'only' forty two. Oh dear, that'll be old age then.

I still turn up to watch, & some of our lads look a little concerned when they see how young some of the Rebels fans look, but that's not unusual, as anyone under thirty looks young to most of our boys.

Nick Courtnage, the person who runs the Worthing fans' team, AKA 'The Caveman', has asked in advance if the Worthing first team manager Simon Colbran can play for them. Our gaffer Mick O'Shaughnessy has no problem with that. He might be a former semi-pro footballer, but who are we to stop them having the chance to play alongside him? He did look a class above though, and got on the scoresheet from a free-kick. Shaun Dooley was more than happy to 'catch him' early on. Not deliberate as such, he explained it, with a smile, that 'I just wanted to let him know I was there!'

As it happens, when the match gets underway, we have a severe problem of 'first team-itus' and fail to take our chances, which will come back to haunt us. We are two down at half-time, but the game has been more even than the scoreline suggests. The second half is another story. As we start to weary & Worthing gain the upper hand. Though we did deservedly pull one back, with James O'Shaughnessy getting on the scoresheet with a quarter of an hour to go. Well taken, but scant consolation for the previous hat-trick of chances he'd missed. Towards the end we were going to 'sneak' on Vikki Grater, & she makes a bit of history being the first ever 'mother & son' combination to play for us, being on the pitch at the same time as her 14 year old son Louis Grater, who joined the fray earlier in the half.

Making his debut for us was Ennio Gonnella as one of a number of second half changes, who is the new club sponsor. Not the biggest of corporate tie-ups, I've heard it's three hundred quid a month, but it all helps. You may recall the Club were concerned he may have been offended by some supporters' choice language at Horsham YMCA. Clearly he wasn't, by asking to play this morning! After the match he asked for a few words, and explained how he was getting involved in the Club, & had heard on the grapevine how some fans weren't too happy with the way the bard had been run. He said he was laying on some decent food before games, reducing the prices of pints prior to kick off, and making sure the pipes were being cleaned regularly. He apologised for the way things may have been & hope we would use the bar more. Fair play to him.

And fair play to both teams. A really enjoyable moment, without a nasty moment in it. Despite the defeat everyone enjoyed it, this is what supporters' football is all about. Having fun and a bit of a laugh with the opposition supporters. Marvellous!

Time to head back to Champion Hill & the comfort of the 'new,improved bar' for the game between the 'big boys'.

Roll on the return down their way on the coast in January!

The team against Worthing

2009-09-19T22:00:00.002+01:00

Back row (left to right): James O'Shaughnessy; Mark Hutton (co-manager); Steve Rickerby; Lawrence Marsh; Nicolas Lucas; Matt Hammond; Ian Gannon; Jim Marshall; Mick O'Shaughnessy( manager).
Front row (l.-r.): Louis Grater; Vikki Grater; Phil Doyle; Shaun Dooley; John Prendergast; Ennio Gonnella; Andy Murphy; Phil Baker (kitman).

And here is the Worthing team, our good friends from the South Coast:

Come on...get in line!

2009-09-19T21:00:00.002+01:00

This set of photos, along with many others further down, were kindly taken by Melanie Lucking. I thank her for doing so, & suppliying the disc they were on.

This set is from the chaos that always happens before & after a team photo.

It could just be me, but I do like to see silly sets like these...

A few more snaps from me...

2009-09-19T20:00:00.002+01:00

It must be Hutty wittering on, because everyone is looking amused, with Louis just bemused!

I told you it was him!

Five minutes before kick off..and we decide to have goalkeeper trials!

A Ladyboy with a ladder...and NOT in his tights! ;-)

Well he had to be good at something! ;-)

Just a stroll in the park...

A corner comes in...

As you can see my camera's not designed for action shots. I don't call it my 'digital box brownie' for nothing!

Half time...time to relax!

Lovely morning...do we have to get up for the second half?

Come on we can win this...oh no we can't! Oh yes we...nah, this is getting silly!

"Now if only Hutty had seen my formation we wouldn't be in this mess!"

See what I mean about crap action photos...

But at least I caught this...which is James about to score our only goal of the game!

I'm not sure whose 'war wound' this is...I think it was Steve's. The things we do for Dulwich eh?

Some better ones from Melanie

2009-09-19T18:00:00.004+01:00

Many thanks, once more, to Melanie, for the following set of pictures:

Larry offers some team selection advice, forgetting he no longer runs the team! ;-)

A smile that says 'That's me starting then!' ;-)

Matt with his half time sandwich box! ;-)

The Worthing lads help out with their net, while our Gaffer Mick does..not a lot!

On the way to the pitch...Danuta appreciates that Belair Park is as beatiful as the Citadel in Namur! Maybe not...

Almost ready!

Get those nets up!

These continental types take it seriously. Pre-match water? Whatever next? Proper warm ups?

Now how does this bleeding camera work?

When you grow up Louis you too will be that big!

Vikki Grater wears that "Why on earth did I agree to play today?" face!

Hamlet fan Tony Squires turns up to watch.

Now where's the 'on' switch?

Pretending to take things seriously! ;-)

Ian looks as though he's about to throw up! Pre match nerves?

Getting ready for the pre-match 'ring-a-ring-a-roses!'

James has to suffer the pre-match waffle from his old man!

Someone suggesting the Gaffer talks out of his arse? ;-)

A nonchalant Ennio is a bit laid back!

Or just too knackered to get up!
Tony dashes over to lend him his walking stick!

Press briefing before the match.

Well Hutty looks as though he knows what he's doing!

Well at least they look as disorganised us us, just a few years younger!

In my day we warmed up with a pre-match can of beer & cigarette!

Vikki gets ready to put the fear of god into Worthing!

"Well I'm not getting it!" -jinx!

Mick recalls his childhood dream of working on the railways.

Flying overhead...an unlucky omen, one for each goal conceded!

"Is she laughing at me?" Why not? Everyone else does!

Danuta takes charge...the clipboard queen!

"This is how we shall play!"

"Yes, that looks ok. I'll pretend it's my tactics!"

Two nice ladies...and a dirty old man!

Pretending to take things seriously at half time!

Tut, tut Steve. That's not setting a good example to young Louis! Bet none of his team mates have a half time ciggie on a Sunday!

And her ones from the match itself

2009-09-19T17:00:00.002+01:00

Kick off! Don't know who looks the more gormless...Phil or the Caveman! ;-)

The ball is there somewhere!

Talk about bunching!

No foul throw there! Not quite a Stoke City effort mind!

Allez, allez!

Such poise!

"You put your right leg in...."

Don't know where the ball is, but can we pretend it was an attempt on goal?

I would guess we've just conceded a goal here!

Many thanks, once more to Melanie Lucking, for taking & supplying these photos.

Some more mugshots...

2009-09-19T16:27:00.003+01:00

First up, one on the sideline, of Mishi Morath!

Mark 'Hutty' Hutton, the 'Phil Neal' of the management team! ;-)

Debutant Ennio Gonnella.

Andy Murphy does his best to look like the "Well 'ard" northerner that he's not! ;-)

Ian 'dodgy ref' Gannon, who had a run out today, along with par for the course injury!

Vikki Grater & son Louis, who also plays for Dulwich Hamlet Under Thirteens, on Sundays.

Supporters' Team kit man, our own 'Widow Twankey', and referee, Phil 'big nose' Baker, resplendent not in a referees shirt, but a Whyteleafe one which he bought in their club shop for a fiver!

Loyal long distance Hamlet continental fan Nicolas Lucas, who travelled from Namur, in Belgium, for the games today. Merci!

Here he is, behind the goal at Champion Hill, leaving a Paris Saint Germian sticker behind!

Sherry Baby

2009-09-13T11:23:00.008+01:00

'Sherry Baby' has almost, somehow, become an unofficial team anthem, being sung on some supporters' beanos to away games, like Eastbourne Town away last season before Christmas, as well as on tours now. It all stemmed from a couple of years ago when a few of us went to see the West End show 'The Jersey Boys' & Hutty kept on singing it in the bar, after a few years.

Somehow, a little bizarrely, it caught on, & it is often hammered drunkenly after games. So when we were in a karaoke bar in Helsinki there was only one choice...& here it is!

Many thanks to my friends Steve & Tracy, from Eastleigh, Hampshire; who uploaded my video clip of it onto here, as I have no idea how to do something 'so simple' with computers!

And in case you're wondering...this is what it SHOULD sound like-

Some more photos from Helsinki...

2009-09-12T17:40:00.001+01:00

I simply forgot to post these on here.

They are the snaps taken by Paul Griffin, but better late than never!

Thanks to him for letting me include them on here.

Click here to view them.

Although no other players could be bothered...

2009-09-11T17:54:00.000+01:00

A much appreciative THANK YOU to Steve Rickerby, for being the only player to send me a few words on the Helsinki tour in July.

Here they are:

"As per the norm our hosts were excellent and made us all feel welcome. After last year we, sort of knew what to expect, but they really were wonderful hosts.

Our game in the morning was hard work but given our age/weight disadvantages it was always going to be tough, but at least we kept going right to the end, with everyone giving 100% and enjoying themselves, even if may not have looked it a we 'relaxed' by collapsing into the chairs outside the pub afterwards.

We didn't get totally overwhelmed. Losing 2 1 was quite respectable although with some better finishing we could of had a couple of goals. But it was a fair result at the end of the day.

The whole Olympic site was quite impressive and I'm not sure when ours gets built for the London 2012 Games you will see half decent athletes being able to use the
tracks for practice like the Finns do. They seem to take pride in making all the facilities open to all regardless of ability. I've not seen a sports complex so free of graffiti or vandalism before, which maybe says more about the English than the Finns. I also really enjoyed the visit to the Finland Sports Museum. It's a shame we don't have one in London.

Finally, as well as a thank you to our hosts for being so welcoming, I'd also like to say thank you to Mick & Hutty for organising the tour."

The results from 2008/09:

2009-09-10T23:25:00.000+01:00

Now that I'm finally getting round to changing the season on the right hand side of this blog to the current one, here are the results form last season for posterity:

6th July: Southwark Library Lions 6, "The Rabblers" 2 (Friendly)

25th July: JK Jalgpallihaigla 7,"The Rabblers" 1 (International match-in Tallinn, Estonia)

27th July: HJK Helsinki supporters' 1,"The Rabblers" 1 (International match-in Helsinki, Finland)

13th August: Corporation of London 2, "The Rabblers" 5 (Friendly)

10th September: Ladywell FC 4, "The Rabblers" 3 (Friendly)

27th September: "The Rabblers" 3, Hendon supporters' 2 (Friendly)

4th October: Leyton Orient supporters' 6, "The Rabblers" 5 (IFA League)

25th October: Hampton & Richmond Borough supporters' 9, "The Rabblers" 2 (IFA League)

22nd November: "The Rabblers" 6; Ladywell FC 11 (Friendly)

6th December: "The Rabblers" 4, Kingstonian supporters' 1 (IFA League)

11th December: Milllwall supporters' 9, "The Rabblers" 0 (IFA League & IFA Cup-double header)

28th February: Bromley supporters' 7, "The Rabblers" 2 (IFA League)

21st March: "The Rabblers" 5, Worthing supporters' 6. (Friendly)

28th March: "The Rabblers" 2, Bromley supporters' 5. (IFA League)

26th April: "The Rabblers" 5, Dulwich Hamlet Club & Staff XI 6 ('fun' friendly-at Champion Hill Stadium)

24th May: "The Rabblers" 3, Dulwich Hamlet Youth Team XI 6 ('fun' friendly-at Champion Hill Stadium)

Down memory lane.....

2009-08-12T01:41:00.006+01:00

A team photo from a tour a few years ago now.

We are going back in time, to Prague, in May 2003, which was only our second European tour, following on from our inaugrial overseas trip to Amsterdam in May 2002.

Back row (left to right): Mishi Morath; Steve Rickerby; Dave Berry; Myles Quinn; Mark Hutton; Paul Griffin; Ian Wright.

Front row (left to right): Phil Baker; Phil Doyle; Dave Blythe; Damon Green; Lucas Green.

2010 tours announced!

2009-08-11T19:42:00.000+01:00

With the dates for the 2009 trips to Brussels and Helsinki having come a bit later than usual, there are no excuses for not having enough notice for our 2010 trips!

One breaks new ground, as although it is in another country, we will not be leaving the United Kingdom! Yes folks, the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' Team will be heading north of the border to take on Queens Park Supporters', a team that has been in existence longer than us, having recently 'come of age' with their twenty first anniversary!

We've met them before, sort of, when Lawrence Marsh 'guested' for the Parisi Saint Germain Belgium Branch supporters' team in the Queens Park supporters' tournament back in June. Obviously our number one Belgian fan Nicolas Lucas was also there, as was his fiancee Danuta Wilmart; & from the Hamlet both Melanie Lucking & Mishi Morath.

It was a great trip, & the Queens Park people were really friendly & welcoming. So much so that Mishi was texting our Gaffer Mick, back down south, for permission to pass on his details!

As a result their main man Iain Campbell has arranged for us to play them on Saturday 6th March, and in the afternoon we will head to Queens Park, at Hampden Park, for another Scotland/England clash, when the Spiders take on Berwick Rangers! Could this be the first time ever that a bunch of Englishmen support the Scots against Berwick? ;-)

The summer trip will be on Saturday 3rd July, when our good friends from UR Namur will be hosting a Supporters' tournament, with teams from both Belgium & England. The final details are not in place yet, but it is being organised by our 'Belgian guest players' Stephane Tournay & Nicolas Lucas, and they will no doubr keep us informed as plans are cemented. for this one though, it will be important to book accomodation fairly early as there will be quite an invasion from our side of the Channel, as I'm let to believe that, as well as ourselves, Millwall; Oxford United & the Corporation of London could be receiving invites!

Hesinki in our hearts...

2009-08-10T22:22:00.000+01:00

This was the team that made up 'The Rabblers' squad for our game against Forza HJK, the supporters' club of HJK Helsinki at the Brahe ground, Kallio, Helsinki, on Saturday 25th July 2009.
Back row (left to right): Stephane Tournay; David O'Shaughnessy; David Doumont; Paul Griffin; Steve Rickerby; Shaun Dooley; Maxim Hamalainen.
Front row (left to right): John Prendergast; Mick O'Shaughnessy; Dawn Taylor; Phil Baker; Matt Hammond; Mark Hutton; Darren Nicolas.
Not in photo (taking photo!): Mishi Morath.

People say you always remember your first time....& while those of us who were lucky enough to be part of the squad that play the Forza HJK mob in 2008 certainly won't forget that time, our recent return was-dare I say it-not just as good, but even better!

This time, rather than a 'daytrip' from Tallinn we stayed for the whole weekend, and spent a lot more time with the HJK fans, who were perfect hosts. Friendships were made stronger, & new ones begun. Personally speaking I'm not the best of communicators with people I don't know, so apologies if I wasn't the chattiest of people, but I'm sure some of the others made up for that!

We arrived on different days, & I was part of the 'second wave' that flew from Gatwick to Helsinki on the Thursday. After going to our various hotels & hostels some of the others met up to go to the Europa League match at the Finnair Stadium between HJK & FK Vetra, from Lithuania. It was a shock when HJK got knocked out, and especially disappointing to us Dulwich Hamlet HJK followers,as the winners were drawn against Fulham! I chose not to go to this game, as I put on my 'groundhopping' hat, and travelled to another Europa League tie, at FC Lahti, who went past ND Gorica, from Slovenia. With hindsight I know I made the right choice, as I'd have had the right hump watching HJK lose! I would be lying if I didn't admit that part of the 'appeal' of the Lahti match was to watch a match with the unusual backdrop of a huge ski slope!

On Friday it was time for some sightseeing, and a few of us visited the excellent
Sports Museum, at the Olympic Stadium, which was also where my hostel was based! And you need to ask why I picked that one... ;-)

I can't believe these two never shared a room! ;-)

One of the many items on display...probably the most famous Finnish footballer ever...who I saw score for FC Lahti the night before!

Later in the weekend, on the Sunday morning I ventured up the Olympic Tower.

Where you have views down over both the Finnair Stadium

As well as the Olympic Stadium itself.

But still on the Friday, we walked into the town centre, as tourists do. You can't accuse Dulwich Hamlet fans of not being cultured..

We stopped at a sports shop with Mick brazenly showing his balls to one & all! Well we needed something to warm up with before the game the next day, & we let them keep them.

Strolling around we passed this establishment, with Hutty reminiscing about his trip to Elvis country, insisting I took a photo of him. He's easily pleased...

I'm not 100% sure, but I think this is the one Shaun wanted to fool the folks back home that he wasn't drinking from noon til night. Which wasn't true...he was drinking from morning til day break... ;-)

This beautiful building is actually Helsinki Cathedral, & it must be the most photographed spot in the whole of Finland, so here's one more.

I couldn't resist getting a photo of myself here, as-for those who don't know-1893 was the year that Dulwich Hamlet were founded!

No wonder he's grinning...first drink of the day!

By now it was early afternoon, and some went back to their hotels to rest, & start having a few 'sociable' beers. But some of us went on to the military museum.
Just what is it about the English and the War? It helps we won it I suppose... ;-)

Well if you can't beat 'em...join 'em!
Altogether now..."Two World Wars & one world cup, doo dah, doo dah!"

And time for the old 'uns to be little kids again...

How on earth he'll find his target with one eye I don't know...

In the evening I had planned to go to a local third division match, but the heavens opened, & it really did pour down, so I stayed under the canopies of the 'Happy Dayz' bar with everyone else, which became our base really, as it is the bar of choice for the Forza HJK fans. We were all given individual membership cards of their Supporters' Club, which also gave us very welcome discounts here, in a country that is very expemsive for drinking in. Many thanks for arranging that!

Here some of the lads chill out, includind Stephane, at the front, who has come straight from the airport, & not been to his hotel yet!

It's mayonaisse, in case you're wondering.

Hutty, Belgian Dave, Stephane, Dawn & Shaun relax outside, but under cover, as it was still pouring down!

As the rain eased we headed to a local Hungarian restaurant for a 'traditional' team tour meal, & although it was quite expensive it was really delicious!

The gannet gets ready to swoop...

Then it was back to 'Happy Dayz', before the more adventurous (Hello Shaun!) ventured into town!

Saturday morning came, & it was time for the highlight of the weekend! The match we've been waiting all year for! No matter how much we enjoy (or not!) run outs against the likes of Worthing supporters' or the followers of Bromley, it's the tours that are always the highlight of our year. No matter which country we play in there will always be a part of foreign soil where we have played for England! ;-)

Wvwn if you're from Belgium! Here are two of our guests from over the Channel-UR Namur fan Stephane; & Dave, who supports Anderlecht.

'Big nose' warms up in the only way he can..with a can!

Shauns looks as though he's taking it seriously...more like trying to sweat out some alcohol!

None of that exercise lark for Griff!

The management lay down the law & explain their tactics...

People listening, but Dawn doesn't look that impressed!

"Look!" she says, "three at the back!"

Wonder where she got that idea from? ;-)

"let's get this game over" says Shaun, "so we can get over the road to the pub!"

The management duo display the mementoes they have arranged for our hosts.

Which are handed over at kick off by Matt, made honourary captain for the tour, in recognition of him missing out on last years match, after he couldn't travel having booked all his flights, when he couldn't find his passport!

We were extremely lucky weather wise that the heavy rain that had been forecast came down the night before, so it was bright sunshine that greeted us. On the downside, as the game wore on it was quite warm in the midday sun. Mad Dogs & Englishmen again...I'm sure those on the bench were happy not to start...

As we had an older, smaller (apart from round the waist!) squad, we were kindly offered one of their number for the first half, a gratefull received guest player in Maxim Hamalainen.

He then had to dash off, as he playing in another game, but not before he'd put us into a one nil lead!

It was a slender one, which we couldn't hold onto, as the HJK squad was more plentiful & fitter but, despite some of our advanced years & girth, we never gave up & every single player gave their all throughout, & we certainly were not disgraced by going down by the odd goal in three. By our standards recently a respectable result! ;-)
It would be unfair to single out anyone's performances, as all Hamlet men & women gave their all, no matter what their ability or age. We battled well, got stuck in, eventually wilting a little in the heat, but not fading away completely. Chances may have been at a premium for 'The Rabblers' but we did have some. Unfortunately one fell to Darren, who should have scored when it seemed almost impossible to miss the target....as I said, almost impossible. The Gaffer himself, Mick, almost covered himself in glory, when he almost scored, which would have matched his son David's goal last year! Now that would have been an interesting Christmas dinner table if he had...how would James have coped listening to them both reliving their goals. Maybe he didn't hit the back of the net out of kindness to his other boy..
John Prendergast was on his 'virgin' tour, and was voted our 'man of the match' by his own team mates. As I say everyone did their part in making it a close scoreline, but I'd also like to mention Dave O'Shaugnessy, who shouldn't really have risked palying with a bad leg, but defied doctors orders to do so. And special mention to another 'guest' for us, Sisko, one of the HJK girls, who swapped sides with Dawn in the latter part of the match, so Dawn became the first ever 'Rabbler' to play for 'Forza HJK'!

There follows a few poor shots from the match, the camera I had wasn't ideal for sports snaps, but it was still a much needed tour accesory for me, thanks to Hamlet fan bck home, Tony Squires, for lending it to me.

And then the final whistle!

Stephane is fit...hardly breaking into a sweat!

My god! Is that really water? Call a doctor!

Looks like Shaun enjoyed it, despite the heat!

The two team organisers together...Vellu & Mick.

Vellu presents 'The Rabblers' with an actual First Team HJK shirt! Thank you from everyone, we are honoured!

Dawn & Sisko..with a dirty old man behind, getting ideas for a new line at work...

That's better..proper shirts! ;-)

Dawn likes the camera...with the Belgians!

time for our own post-match team presentations.
John receives a new trinket, which is for new tour 'virgins'.

A gift for our foreign guests, an Edgar Kail Way t-shirt.

Looks like he can't wait to put it on!

No presentation here...just two dirty old man wanted to grab her! ;-)

A t-shirt for Vellu too, but our gaffers don't see as happy as they were with Sisko! ;-)

One of the Finns poses for the camera...bit busy in the showers! Everyone must be rushing to get over to the pub.

Which is exactly what we did,crossing the road for a few well earned drinks in a local bar, although someone looks a bit impatient for his beer!

Some local sweets were handed round...licorice tasting, they really were awful!

If you think Matt wasn't impressed with them....

Wait until you see Dawn!

Wash away the taste girl!

That's better!

We headed back to 'Happy Dayz' later in the afternoon, waiting a little while for the tram.

Dave checks where we are...it's Helsinki mate!

Come on David smile...just because she's not Finnish I suppose! ;-)

Time for a sit down back at 'Happy Dayz'

And here are the gents toilets at 'Happy Dayzs'...I'd have been happy to take a few snaps with chaps weeing, to make it more authentic, but I don't think anyone would have been to happy if I did! ;-)

I didn't stay long, I dashed off & was fortunate enough to catch the Second Division match at FC Atlantis mearby, big thanks to HJK fan Arto for getting me a programme! One of the teams listed in the league table amused me, the unfortunately named Jippo.

As the evening wore on we headed into town , jumping on the tram. I had a pass, but nobody else paid, as Vellu naughtily encouraged us to bunk the fares, as it was only a few stops and nobody checks tickets. He was right!

we were heading to a karaoke bar...oh dear! Not my 'cup of tea' at all! Listening to out of tune wailing all night! But some seemed to enjoy it, & Hutty led a team rendition of the old favourite 'Cheri Baby'!

Griff gets into the mood, looking at the tunes.

Hmm...not looking so impressed!

David sits with the locals..almost more Finnish than the Finns!

After that some stayed, while a few of us had suffered enough, & headed to the 'Molly Malones' bar a little more into the town centre, where a late night was had by all! Is Stephane having a dance there? ;-)
Not drinking myself, I didn't stay that long, and left early, at about midnight. But the night was still young for the others.

Sunday came, and after I'd done a little sightseeing myself, including the most disappointingly poor 'Tram Museum' I've seen anywhere, & I met some of the others at the market square, by the harbour. I think, for Darren, the party the night before never ended! ;-)

Not quite the west ham ICF...this is the Dulwich Hamlet Ice Cream Firm!

We were getting a boat over to the island of Suomenlinna, which is justifiably a UNESCO World Heritage site. It's a short 15 minute boat ride away, which puts the Woolwich Ferry in the shade!

Matt relaxes on deck in the sun.

One of the more surprising things on the island is a submarine from the Second World War!

That's it lads....stick close to that submarine, in case you're out of your depth! ;-)

Oh dear Darren...when I asked you to stand over there I didn't think you would!
What an anchor! ;-)

A rare touristy photo of myself!

we all took our own little routes round the island, before heading back to...where else...'Happy Dayz'!

Then it was time for the main footballing course, a veritable feast being dished up. A top of the table match between HJK & Haka. First versus third.

Before we went into the ground we were shown around the club Trophy & Press area, the gaffers making themselves well at home!

Even though we had been kindly been given complimentary tickets by Forza HJK old habit die hard, & our very own hack couldn't resist trying to blag his way in. You can take the man out of Bermondsey....

The game didn't go as we hoped, & there was no easy 4-0 home victory like last season. Unfortunately the visitors hadn't read the script, & after having taken the lead HJK equalised, but then imploded once more, before getting a late equaliser to share the points. Not the best result, but certainly better than losing!

To our left fans protested about the European defeat three days before, not happy with team selcections, at a guess, as Ptrus kindly informed me on Facebook, that it means 'Now ends tinkering!'

The 'Up the Hamlet' flag was prominently on show. Thanks to Griff for bringing it over.

The Forza HJK fans get behind the team!

After the match it was back once more to 'Happy Dayz', we were certainly good customers, for more post-match refreshment, with one of the HJK players arriving for a post match interview broadcast to the fans! Very brave after a poor result, and apparently they do so after every game! I can't see that catching on in England! ;-)

Clearly points dropped, as the HJK fans are finding it difficult to put on a brave face.

What's Finnish for Teletext?

I couldn't stay long, as I was off to the port, on my own, for a crossing to Tallinn, from where I was getting a coach down to Riga, in Latvia. I was going there for a couple of days as I'd never visited there before. But that is not for me to tell you about here. What I can say is that although I was looking forward to Riga I left Helsinki with a very heavy heart. The country may be expensive, but the welcome from the Forza HJK crowd was priceless, & it was a very sad me that shook a few hands & sat on the tram all alone towards my ferry crossing.

The HJK have expressed an interest in coming over to London, maybe next year, helped by the introduction of low cost flights by Easyjet. It would be wonderful if they can, so that friendships made can be continued. It would be an honour to play them in London, & take them to a Dulwich Hamlet match!

My last snap goes to the Belgian Stone Island boys. A big thank you to them for being part of our tour, we look forward to catching up with them when we go back to Belgium next year.

My final words of thanks go to the people 'in charge' from our end. Well done on another succesful tour to our management duo of Mick & Hutty, and also to their secondary assistant 'Big Nose' Baker.

Roll on the 2010 trips!

The Gaffers' views

2009-08-09T19:41:00.000+01:00

Mick O'Shaughnessy sent me an email offering his thoughts on the tour:

"I'd just like to say, what a thoroughly enjoyable tour it was. Our hosts were absolutely fantastic. Making us feel really welcome and putting themselves out to make our trip to Helsinki as enjoyable and hassle free as possible. Brilliant people.

I hope the rest of the squad enjoyed themselves as much as I did. Helsinki itself, was an easy city to get around with plenty to do. The various squad members seemed to keep themselves occupied with little trips they organised for themselves, and then we came together for a beer or two most evenings. And the squad seemed to be very relaxed and mixing well among themselves and the locals. A big thanks to Ms.Taylor for organising us a lovely meal on the evening before the match. And on a personnel note, a big thanks to Mr.Dooley for organising the people carrier back to the airport on the Monday morning. What with the tired and aching minds and bodies of a few of us, it was a hassle free and very comfortable trip.

As for the supporters football match, it was, as I think most of us expected, a game played in the right spirit. Great fun, and all of our squad got a good run out. The rain expected during the match turned up on the Friday night, and as seems to becoming a bit of a habit with us on our summer tours, the sun came out and baked us. Not a problem when you are young and fairly fit, but a killer for most of us old lags. But we made a good match of it, and as per usual, the squad didn't give up, even thought we were under the cosh for most of the second half. It didn't help that the Finns had such a large squad, they were able to bring on two subs at a time, at about 10min intervals (or so it seemed) who were younger, fitter, faster, than the two replaced. (again so it seemed). But they were good enough to give us a player called Max, who scored our goal, a cracker, but who had to then go and play for his proper team. If we could have had him, for say, another 60mins, we might have won. As it was, we lost 2-1, but as I've said we never gave up, and nearly nicked an equaliser near the end. I thought it was a great effort all round.

The Finns have said that they hope to travel over to us at some stage this season, and if they do, we will have to make their trip to London as enjoyable as possible. It would be great if as many of them as possible come over to us, and we will have our work cut out to make their trip as pleasant as they made ours. We'll see what the future brings."

While Mark Hutton sent me the following:

"I've not much to say on the tour apart from it being very enjoyable and went like clockwork.

Thank to Shaun for arranging the people carrier of the way to the airport, and also thank you to Dawn for arranging the Hungarian meal on the Friday evening.

I enjoyed the local HJK lads taking us out to a bar on the thursday night after the European game where we bumped into the 'local beer bore' who went on about a drk brown beer which was the favourite of Michael Jackson when he was in Finland.

Having tasted it I was very doubtful, but having since checked in 'Michael Jackson's Top beers of the World' it comes highly reccomended.

I also had the pleasure of having a long chat with one of the HJK lads who was the organiser of the Youth Wing of the Finnish Green Party, & he was extremely knowledgable on the Trotsyists, communisted and had even heard of Ernest Mandel!

These two chaps made me realise that perhaps there are other versions of Hutty that exist all over Europe, which is-perhaps-a little worrying!"

Thanks to them both to responding to my request for tour comments.

From their messageboard...

2009-08-08T01:39:00.000+01:00

There have been a number of posts on the Forza HJK messageboard...

The day before the match Vellu posted:

"Great day again today. We had planned to watch Klubi04-Popa match today, but that heavy raining forced us to stay in Happy Dayz and drink beer together. But we hope that on Saturday when we meet at Brahe ground, it willl nice weather.

Oh Sweet England We love you and The british country side
Oh Sweet England We'll with you whereever you will go

Thanks Rabblers"

And just after the match the message from JM-07 was:

"Forza HJK vs Rabblers today at Bragu field was a dramatic and hot match at sunny and swetty circumstances. Both teams showed good spirit and attacking attitude. The first 20-25 minutes were controlled by Rabblers and first goal was made by Max with nice shot to the left corner, but then - step by step - Forza took the control and two brilliant goals were made by Sami Seppänen. First of them was total show conducted by Mika Galkin (wonderful high ball to the box) and the second one was created by Pasi Miettinen (assist to Sami from the byline). Second half was total pressure by Forza (at least eight corner kicks), but no more goals, so the final result was 2-1. Excellent and equal referee work was made by Andy Kyrö. At the moment both teams are having lot of beers at the Kallion Kulma."

With Vellu confirming of the match:

"yes , it was greate victory for us ut no so easy"

I'm not sure if many of you are aware of their messageboard, so click on it above, and you can log on in English, if you want to say hello, or 'halloo!' to our Finnish friends!

Helinki tour in the 'Southwark News'

2009-08-06T01:39:00.000+01:00

DULWICH SUPPORTERS LOSE IN FINLAND

Dulwich Hamlet supporters' trip to Scandinavia saw them lose a tough encounter in the sun, as an experienced squad ran out of legs.
The supporters' team annual summer tour saw them visit Helsinki, where they took on the fan's from the HJK side that currently top the league in that country.
After a downpour of rain on Friday night of monsoon proportions, the game between the two sides was played in bright sunshine which went part of the way to an ageing Hamlet side losing to their younger counterparts.
Hamlet Manager Michael O'Shaughnessy said "The sypporters' football match was as I think most of us expected played in the right spirit. great fun and all of our squad got a good run out. The rain expected during the match turned up on the Friday night, and as seems to becoming a bit of a hbit with us on summer tours, the sun came out and baked us. Not a problem when you are young and fairly fit, but a killer for most of us old lags. But we made a good match of it, and as per usual, the squad didn't give up, even though we were under the cosh for most of the second half."
Dulwich lost the game 2-1, after taking the lead, but as with most tours making new friends was as important as the match between the two sides.
O'Shaughnessy added: "Our hosts were absolutely fantastic. Making us feel really welcome and putting themselves out to make our trip to Helsinki as enjoyable and hassle free as possible. Brilliant people. Again this tour has shown how important football matches between supporters teams can be, as a way of making friendships between groups of people who under normal circumstances, might think they have little in common. We also get the opportunity to see areas and parts of the city that are off the usual tourist spots, and get a real feel for the city. The Finns have said they wish to visit London some time in the future and Dulwich Hamlet in particular, to help cement our friendship. We hope their plans go well for a return visit."
If you are a Dulwich Hamlet fan or supporter and would like to join the supporters team email mospurley@hotmail.com for more information.Dulwich supporters lose in Finland

Dulwich Hamlet supporters' trip to scandinavia saw them lose a tough encounter in the sun, as an experienced squad ran out of legs.
The supporters' team annual summer tour saw them visit Helsinki, where they took on the fan's from the HJK side that currently top the league in that country.
After a downpour of rain on Friday night of monsoon proportions, the game between the two sides was played in bright sunshine which went part of the way to an ageing Hamlet side losing to their younger counterparts.
Hamlet Manager Michael O'Shaughnessy said "The sypporters' football match was as I think most of us expected played in the right spirit. great fun and all of our squad got a good run out. The rain expected during the match turned up on the Friday night, and as seems to becoming a bit of a hbit with us on summer tours, the sun came out and baked us. Not a problem when you are young and fairly fit, but a killer for most of us old lags. But we made a good match of it, and as per usual, the squad didn't give up, even though we were under the cosh for most of the second half."
Dulwich lost the game 2-1, after taking the lead, but as with most tours making new friends was as important as the match between the two sides.
O'Shaughnessy added: "Our hosts were absolutely fantastic. Making us feel really welcome and putting themselves out to make our trip to Helsinki as enjoyable and hassle free as possible. Brilliant people. Again this tour has shown how important football matches between supporters teams can be, as a way of making friendships between groups of people who under normal circumstances, might think they have little in common. We also get the opportunity to see areas and parts of the city that are off the usual tourist spots, and get a real feel for the city. The Finns have said they wish to visit London some time in the future and Dulwich Hamlet in particular, to help cement our friendship. We hope their plans go well for a return visit."
If you are a Dulwich Hamlet fan or supporter and would like to join the supporters team email mospurley@hotmail.com for more information.

What everyone else thought....

2009-08-04T01:40:00.000+01:00

I asked Mick to send round an email asking for peoples' little anecdotes, comments, memories of the trip to Helsinki.

The responses were....

Wait for it.......

Wait for it......

A few moments more......

Nope...NOTHING!

I'd just like to remind people that although I compile this Supporters' Team blog because I enjoy it, I also do it for the benefit of all the other players, & non-playing fans, to enjoy.

When I post out a simple request for a few lines, or more if you choose, it becomes VERY DISHEARTENING when I get no response!

This latest series of posts don't pop up out of nowhere at the press of a button! The total amount of time it has taken to compile & publish these posts in August has taken me around twenty hours of my time, all told, believe it or not! (Granted not helped by the fact I'm not the fastest typer in the world, & it takes time to uplaod and sort photographs)

I don't ask for praise, or anything in return. But some small contributions when requested is surely not too much to ask?

I have others blogs I sometimes neglect to do this one, so perhaps it up to YOU to decided if you want this blog to continue!

Some squad mug shots from the new season

2009-08-03T19:19:00.000+01:00

I took these after the Lucas Green Stag XI match in July. I didn't catch everyone, but hope to do so over the season!

PHIL DOYLE

MATT HAMMOND

JAMES O'SHAUGHNESSY

MICK O'SHAUGHNESSY

DAMON GREEN

MARK HUTTON

SHAUN DOOLEY

JON TENNISON

Staggering about against the 'Staggers'!

2009-08-02T22:21:00.000+01:00

Saturday 11th July 2009
Lucas Green Stag XI 4, Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' 1
Friendly at Kennington Park All-Weather pitch.

A game against a scratch team? What's all that about? It was a request from 'our very own' Lucas Green to play against us, which might seem a bit rich as it's not very often he turns out for us, never mind play a whole match opposing 'The Rabblers'!

But how could we refuse his request? The man is a legend! Not only did he struggle to Tallinn, in July 2007, at great personal expense, after he missed his flight from Gatwick due to a landslide on the trainline to the airport, he's been a loyal servant of the Supporters' Team when work allowed. And he's been, & still is, one of the more tenacious players for us, always good for an 'argument' as he has shown at a number of games down the years, yet never earning a red card! Clever boy! ;-)

He was raising a scratch side to play 'The Rabblers' on the occasion of his 'Stag Day'. football, then heading over to 'The Oval' for an afternoon on the beer pretending to watch the cricket!

I'm sure all of the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' Team wish him all the best, & heary congratulations, for his marriage in Cambridge this coming Saturday, 15th August, to Nicola Peck.

The game itself was the 'usual' Hamlet story, losing to a younger and fitter side, but we were helped by 'borrowing' a guest from them in Anthony Thomas, which was much appreciated, & helped us have a bit of backbone in midfield. Our first goal of our 2009/10 campaign was scored by James O'Shaughnessy.

We were pleased to have our 'celebrity' player Damon Green in the Pink 'n' blue, turning out against his brother. Sadly, due to 'security concerns' their more famous relative , the reknowned racing tipster 'The Shadow' was advised by police not to make an appearance, lest aggrieved punters turn up to went their anger at mug tips! ;-)

The obligatory team photo, this time a joint one....

Our front row left to right) is: Shaun Dooley; Jon Tennison; Mick O'Shaughnessy; Damon Green; Steve Rickerby; Ian Gannon; Phil Doyle; Mark Hutton; James O'Shaughnessy; Matt Hammond & Phil Baker (who didn't play, but kindly refereed)

The two brothers together...Lucas & Damon.

After the match Lucas gets ready for 'The Oval'!

As does Damon! That's a genuine flag from the Falkland Islands..he found it lying on the harbour on his 25th anniversary Big Yomp, for ITN in 2007!

Brief greetings from Helsinki!

2009-07-26T07:06:00.002+01:00

Very, very brief!

Just to say we've had a great time, & only lost to the Forza HJK supporters' by the odd goal in three!

They have been so friendly, & some sort of report, & photos, will follow over the next week or so, when I get home on Wednesday, as I'm in Riga, in Latvia from tomorrow, returning Wednesday.

Of course 'what goes on tour stays on tour' so you may never find out which team members spent most of their time in their hotels runmaaging through womens' underwear (!)....

The Helsinki invasion has begun!

2009-07-22T22:20:00.003+01:00

The advance party of Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' are already on Finnish soil as I type this from South-East London!

I will be in the second wave, flying from Gatwick in the morning.

We are all really looking forward to seeing all the friends we made on our trip last year, and will play the HJK Helsinki supporters' at 11.00am local time, on Saturday morning.

I return to English next Wednesday, flying back from Riga, in Latvia! So expect a report and photos about a week after that!

In case you're wondering our tour party is:

Mick O'Shaughnessy; Mark Hutton; Dawn Taylor; Steve Rickerby; Phil Baker; Darren Nicolas; Matt Hammond; John Prendergast; David O'Shaughnessy; Shaun Dooley; Paul Griffin & Mishi Morath. Also 'guesting' for us are Stephane Tournay, from UR Namur supporters' in Belgium; & a friend of his, Dave, an Anderlecht fan.

Here's hoping for another great trip!

Coming soon...

2009-07-21T22:17:00.000+01:00

I haven't had time to do a little write-up & publish a few pictures, from our recent match at Kennington Park against a group of friends of one of our players Lucas Green. We lost 4-1, and the match was part of his Stag Day, as he's getting married in August.

I hope to do a report in the not too distant future. Can't do now, as i'm getting ready for Helsinki! ;-)

Watch this space...as the old saying goes!

It's just like 'The Ashes'!

2009-07-10T15:32:00.002+01:00

Last night 'The Rabblers' took on the Hayes Lane Ultras, which is the Bromlet supporters', in the fourth annual 20/20 cricket match. A change of venue, it was at one of our old football venues, Coldharbour Sportsground, in Mottingham.

Just like England in 'The Ashes' our glorious victory last year was but a distant memory, & we lost again, with the 2008 encounter appearing to be a 'one in a generation' thing, just like England in the Ashes series with the old convicts from Australia.

I had hoped to bring you a team photo, and cobble together some sort of report on the occasion, but unfortunately I couldn't get a snap, as the players were uninterested. So I chose to do the same, and blanked them, choosing to go straight back to the station, & catch the first train home.

I can only run a blog for the team, & for everyone, including myself to enjoy, if people help me out! A team picture only takes a few seconds! Thanks chaps!

For the record, we were put into bat, & scored fifty runs at the end of our innings. Bromley wuickly surpassed this, & Phil Baker kindly agreed to extend the game so Bromley could enjoy their full twenty overs, & they finished up with 99 runs, though I didn't check how many wickets went on the way to this total.

Success of sorts sprouts in Brussels!

2009-06-24T16:38:00.007+01:00

A thoroughly enjoyable weekend was hard by those of us who travelled over to Brussels to take part in the 3rd Cyril Mangin Tournament, organised by the supporters' of Union Saint Gilloise.

We exceeded all of our (limited) expectations, when we finished a creditable fourth out of ten sides. I don't think it would be unfair of me to say that we would have been favourites for the 'wooden spoon', if it were not for the arrival of our honourary Belgian Pink 'n' Blue contingent from Namur, the trio being Nicolas Lucas & his brother Francois; as well as Stephane Tournay. A bit thank you to the three of them for their assistance! They certainly brought down the average age of the squad, with Francois being the youngest, & the only one of our number born in the eighties! Our average age for this trip being around 38!

Back row(left to right): Mick O'Shaughnessy (manager), Mishi Morath, Matt Hammond, Mark Hutton (player/co-manager), Lawrence Marsh, Phil Baker.
Front row(left to right): Darren Nicolas, Stephane Tournay (guest from UR Namur), Nicolas Lucas (honourary 'Rabbler'), Andy Tucker, Francois Lucas (guest from the Paris Saint Germain Supporters' Club Belgium Branch).

A few arrived in Brussels on the Friday evening, & went straight into party mode.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man...unless your name is Darren! He made a point of checking where the 'meet up' was for the Saturday morning, but still turned up over half an hour late! You'd think he'd have learnt after Helsinki!

The competition was re-jigged on the day, as a result of two teams dropping out. So we now had four group matches of fifteen minutes each way; with a placing match, depending on where we finished in our group, against the corresponding placed side in the other group. Somewhat spookily our final placing was that of our changing room number!

One strange rule was a penalty shoot out, best of three, at the end of each match, to count for a 'bonus point' if the game was drawn, but held after each encounter!

Luckily the competition was running slightly late, so Darren had used his 'get out of jail free' card, after delaying us, & we had time to get changed at leisure for our first match.
This was against the much fitter & younger Italian fans of Serie C1 outfit Pergocrema. Despite this we battled superbly, & held them to a superb 0-0 draw. The 'bonus point' came into play, but we lost the shoot-out in 'sudden death' after Darren Nicolas missed his attempt, & dropped to the floor in a scene reminiscent of Paul Griffin, after he scored an oggie past Matt Hammond last summer in Tallin, against Jalgpallihaigla!

We don't need a 'team bonding hug', like the Italians, as we all know we love each other! ;-)

Here's some of the penalties...

Who says the camera doesn't lie? This looks a lot closer than it was! ;-)

Our next clash was a real 'hiding to nothing' match, against a team of locals, called Cameroon, all from the West African country, but now settled in Belgium. Such was their 'competitiveness' they even had pre-match warm ups!
So it came as no surprise when the Cameroonian Lions took the lead, but Francois Lucas slotted the ball past their mountain of a keeper, not an easy feat with the smaller size of the goals, to equalise. But Cameroon restored their lead, as we needed to step up a gear, & be that little bit sharper against stronger opposition, which we didn't look capable of. Their third came after a corner, & a superb strike left Matt with no chance as the ball flew into the bottom corner. Which doesn't sound so bad, until you realise that the aforesaid strike came from the boot of our very own Darren Nicolas! But we were not about to give up, and continued to give our all in the RIGHT direction! The next goal was, in my view, our best of the day. Francoise Lucas, out wide, crossed the ball over to Lawrence Marsh on the right, who them played an exquisite pass to the feet of Andy Tucker, who made no mistake in hitting the back of the net.
A battling performance, the scoreline was somewhat undeserved after the Cameroonians bagged one more. From the penalty spot, after one was awarded harshly against Francois, more a case of ball to hand, rather than deliberate.
We lost the meaningless penalty shoot out 3-1, but you couldn't blame the 'English disease' for this, as it was our Namur based trio who took them!

Our first victory came in our next match, against the supporters' of Belgian First Division club Cercle Brugge. Playing some of our more 'ability challenged' players we fluffed a couple of chances, which stronger players might have scored. with both Mark Hutton & Mishi Morath going close, before Francois Lucas nipped in and rounded the keeper, to put 'The Rabblers' one up. Despite being generally on top we allowed Cercle to equalise, with-I'm sure-more than one playing quietly thinking 'oh dear, here we go again!' But this wasn't a Hamlet side to give up, and goals from Francois Lucas & Lawrence Marsh put us into a commanding lead, & despite the last goal being a Cercle one it was the Dulwich boys who won by the odd goal in five! The shoot out wasn't entirely taken seriously, as there was nothing on the outcome, so the Gaffer Mick O'Shaughnessy chose Mark Hutton, Mishi Morath & keeper Matt Hammond to take them, sparing Darrens blushes. The shoot out finished one apiece, with Mattie getting ours!

Sorry there's no snaps from this match, but I played in it!

An so onto our last group match was against a quick, youthful & talented Union Saint Gilloise supporters' side. But we were going to give them a game, and almost opened up the scoring, not once, but twice! The post rattled after a Francois free kick, & then Larry smashed a shot against the bar! The luck was not with us in this game, so far. And then USG opened the lead, with a shot in off the post, and they they doubled their lead. things got worse when Nicolas went off injured, replaced by Phil Baker. more than capable of doing a job, but hardly 'like for like!' Lawrence Marsh reduced the arrears, having capitalised on keeper hesitancy, by nipping in a shooting into the back of the net. But the Union Bhoys restored their lead, after an excellent long range shot, that left Matt with no chance, & giving credence to the rumour that they had some Belgian Second Division standard players in their ranks! Two goal behind again, if there were any bookmakers present the odds on 'The Rabblers' winning would have been long! But a powerful shot from Francois, down the left, gave us hope. After the break we continued to roll up our sleeves & never say die, & this attitude paid off as the fabulous Francois cut through the middle to unleash a shot that hit the back of the net unaided, despite an attempt from Stephane Tournay on the line to get a touch/help it over & claim the glory! With the clock ticking down it reall was game on! And it was that man Francois who was again involved in the move that gave 'The Rabblers' the lead for the first time! He powered down the right, shrugged off their challenges & crossed inch perfect to Lawrence Marsh in front of goal, for him to tap it into the net with clinical precision! USG then equalised, & it looked like a draw would be the outcome, Phil Baker going close with a chance from the left. The pressure mounted against us, Matt Hammond almost lobbed, but he managed to make his body bigger than it was & put them off! He saved a point blank shot next, as the pressure was on us. But the last goal of the match was at the other end, after Francois received the ball, teased their keeper before slotting the ball past him! USG pushed everyone forward, with Matt managing to stretch to a lovely fingertip save, with even their keeper coming out to pile on the pressure, to no avail, as we held out for a glorious victory! Honours were even in a meaningless two apiece penalty shoot out, with Darren being to scared to attempt one and give himself some sort of redemption!

This is one of Francois scoring.

Prompting a bit of a sulk from their keeper!

And so we had qualified for the 3rd/4th play-off slot. This was to be against a team made up of the host side, FC Forest, whose First Team play in the local Belgian leagues, a regional seventh level in their pyramid. For us it was a case of 'trying our best', & getting through the match, as both the Lucas brothers had dropped out injured. So, although we lost, we didn't let ourselves down by going down by three goals to one. The opening goal was a 'strange' tactically though. In seven a side they scored past Matt Hammond in goal. Which is fair enough, but what was weird was Darren Nicolas positioning himself on the line as a defender, instead of trying to close down the player who had the shot! A second followed for Forest, but Darren made up for his earlier footballing faux pas by playing a long ball through the middle to Andy Tucker, who claimed our last goal of the competition. With that we were rapidly running out of steam, & they had time for one more against us before the final whistle, & a joint team photo.

This was actually a fine save from Matt!

Time to relax now, with a few beers, & the presentations. Our Gaffer Mick went up on our behalf to recieve a bottle of USG wine, and some souvenir badges for us all.

Not long after he was asked to return for the shock of the tournament, from our point of vie'w. RFC Liege had just been awarded the Fair Play Trophy, when the winner of the 'Combatative Spirit' award was made, & the name of Dulwich Hamlet was announced!

Mick is planning to hang the painting up in the bar at Champion Hill, I believe.

Speaking personally, winning that award capped a lovely weekend away. There was a lump in my throat when it was announced, & I was truly proud when Mick went up to receive it.

Many, many thanks to Fabrizio Basano for inviting the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' Team to Brussels, it was a pleasure & an honour to be there!

And a few non-footballing snaps...

2009-06-24T16:25:00.001+01:00

The management discuss tactics before the first match, with Hutty wondering how mick gets away with not getting kitted up!

Darren enjoys the half time oranges, before realising there's no vodka with them!

Allez Namur! Nicolas dons the new Namur kit for next season, while Stephane wears a sexier Pink 'n' Blue number!

Phil at his happiest...beer in hand!

Is that really proper refreshment between games...tea?

Part of the tournament BBQ! It looks delicious, but by the time I'd remembered about it, it had all sold out! Doh!

Hutty making a bit of a tit of himself!

Well if the Ing-er-lund team can have WAGs at World Cups, why can't we in Brussels?
That's Danuta, Jane & Melanie.

Waiter service for Matt!

Oi girls! The half time oranges were supplied for the players, not you!

Matt comes joint first in the 'Fat Keeper' competition!

Somehow I don't think you're going to need that sun tan lotion, Andy!

Darren kipping again, after he slept in earlier!

Phil tries to (re)capture his 'yoof'! Once a chav always a chav, I suppose...

What is it with old people making fools of themselves?

Wakey, wakey Darren! some local bloke wants to practice his English on you!

The 'Booze Brothers'!

Have a look at the old scoreboard...

This is what we could've won!

Mick presents a Hamlet 1937 TOFFS shirt to Fabrizio, the tournament organiser.

Relaxing in an Irish pub, in the centre of town.

This,erm, 'establishment' just happened to be right next door to Matt & Phil's hotel!

Finally, the proud management duo with the team awards. A big thank you to them both for arranging the tour. Roll on Helsinki next month!

Belgium bound!

2009-06-18T12:48:00.005+01:00

We're off on our first European trip of the summer, playing in the Cyril Mangin 7-a-side tournament, in Brussels on Saturday; which is organised by the Union Saint Gilloise supporters'. We first met them in the RFC Liege 11-a-side tournament, back in May 2005.

Which was incidentally the very place where we first met Nicolas Lucas, who will be one of three Belgian 'guests' for us on Saturday. The others being his brother Francois, making his debut in the Pink 'n' Blue. And the top boy from UR Namur, namely Stephane Tournay, who played for us in Tallinn & Helsinki last summer.
(Where he tooks lots of photos, promised me a disc of them, But I'm still waiting a year later!)

The tournament starts with four groups of three, & then the knock out stages. We have been drawn with the fans of the home side, Union Bhoys, & an Italian side, Pergocrema, whose First Team play in Serie C1, based in the town of Crema. This is a small town in the north of Italy, just to the south of Milan.

Other teams represented are Cercle Bruggge; Metz B (supporters) & Cameroon (a team of locals, orginally from the west of Africa, but now from Brussels) in Group A.

We are in Group B.

Group C consists of Union 60 (another Union Saint Gilloise team); Excelsior Rotterdam; & RWD Molenbeek, an old club from Brussels.

The last group is FC Liege; FC Forest (who are a local non-league side, & the host club); & Metz A (made up of friends and family of Cyril)

So who was Cyril Mangin, in whose memory the tournament is held?

"Cyril Mangin 25.06.1984 - 17.07.2004

Cyril died from leukemia while playing at Union Saint-Gilloise, he had come the previous year - 2002-2003 season - joining us from FC Metz the French club where he grouw up ; at FC Metz he played since a very young age through all the youth teams and because of his quality he was captain under 15 under 17, reaching the youth french finals with Metz, and finally at 17 he was made captain of the FC Metz II ( french CFA - 4 national level) ; year later at 18 he signed for Union
beside hhe was a real "great" prospect ; he was a real charming person, and during his struggle against the illness he revealed his true spirit and hard character of "fighter", gaining much respect from all the unionistes."

It promises to be a great trip, & a good 'warm up' to our next one, to Helsinki, at the end of July!

Our playing squad for this weekend will hopefully be:

Phil Baker; Matt Hammond; Mark Hutton; Francois Lucas; Nicolas Lucas; Larry Marsh; Mishi Morath; Darren Nicolas; Mick O'Shaughnessy; Steve Rickerby; Stephane Tournay & Andy Tucker.

Rabblers represented in Glasgow!

2009-06-16T12:41:00.003+01:00

Last weekend our good friends from Belgium, the Paris Saint Germain Supporters' Club Belgium Branch, were up in Scotland, to take part in the Queens Park Supporters' Tournament.

Cementing our strong links over the Channel even more with Nicolas & co. was regular 'Rabblers' player Lawrence Marsh, who 'guested' for them.

It was a wonderfully run competition, actually in its 23rd year! The Queens Park folk couldn't have been more friendly & welcoming, & have intimated that they would love our Supporters' Team to go up there & play an eleven a side match. They now have the contact details of our management duo, so....watch this space, as the old saying goes.

On a personal note, I achieved a culinary ambition of mine, by managing to track down a chip shop that sold Deep Fried Mars Bars! Now if that's not an excuse for us to go up there, I really don't know what is! ;-)

And it was also delicious!

Thank you Millwall...

2009-05-25T17:18:00.006+01:00

"The Rabblers" 3
Dulwich Hamlet Under Eighteens XI 6.
Friendly
at Champion Hill Stadium
on Sunday 24th May 2009

Indeed 'thank you Millwall'...
Not for losing at Wembley in the Play-Off Final, but for getting there & depriving the Dulwich Hamlet Youth Team of around half of their squad & Ian Neal, the manager for this friendly against them on the hallowed 'dust bowl' of Champion Hill Stadium.

As it happens the game was played with the true spirit it was intended. The 'young pups' who did play, (plus one dad!) were quick, skillful & sharp. But they treated the match in good fashion. Dominating from start to finish, but not really showboating & taking the piss!

We were four down at half time, with chances few & far between for us. But the tide turned in the second half with our 'secret weapon' of playing the young Dooley clan, where they just couldn't cope with our still at school maestros! Here is Shaun, with his godfers Millie, Liam & Steven. With Steven hitting the back of the net.

This was certainly an encounter that corss the generation gap! Also having a run out was Ian Caldecourt; with his young son Ben-who played the whole match- & his nephew Richard Strivens. It goes without saying that Ben was by far the most talented out of the trio! A fine performance he capped with a goal.

Our other goal came from-shock,horror! Wait for it!- an adult! Chris Garrett also getting on the socresheet. Prompting a harsh (but almost true) comment after the match posing the question 'was this the first time all of our goalscorers have been under five foot?'

Also a big welcome to our ranks go to Jim Marshall, who made his debut for us in this match! Welcome aboard Jim, hope we haven't put you off...the opposition aren't usually that good!

Many thanks to the Youth Team squad for asking us to play the game, it was great to have a run out against them, & cheers to them for being 'kind' to us!

The real winner though was the £100 match subs we collected in our dressing room, to go to the Youth Team funds.

Our team was

2009-05-25T17:16:00.004+01:00

Back row (left to right): Mick O'Shaughnessy (manager); Steve Rickerby; Richard Strivens; Chris Tabrett; Ian Caldecourt; Phil Baker; Mishi Morath; Paul griffin; Mark Hutton; Ian Gannon. Front row(left to right): James O'Shaughnessy; Matt Hammond; Jim Marshall; Chris Garrett; Ben Caldecourt; Shaun Dooley.

*************************************************

Thanks to Hamlet fan Tony Squires, who kindly took the team photo.

I returned the favour by taking one with him in it, though he didn't actually play! ;-)

And a few snaps of the event...

2009-05-25T17:14:00.005+01:00

One eyed Mark Hutton, less than a year away from his free bus pass; & Phil Baker, sitting on his hands to stop them shaking after no less than fourteen pints the day before, strike fear into the opposition, when they see the strength of our bench!

Not a care in the world from these substitutes! Who are this Youth Team lot anyway?

Half time...and hardly breaking into a sweat!

Topless like a Geordie...but without the tears! ;-)

Now for a few shots of the match, not very good ones I hasten to add, we've been spoilt by Melanie's excellent photos recently. Back to my trusty 'digital box brownie!' ;-)

Well nobody told me I had to get the ball in the picture! ;-)

Ah there it is! Paul Griffin makes one of his rare seasonal appearances. The season being'just before we go on summer tour', when he turns out so he can justify his place on the trips!

He certainly works for his place anyway!

Youth Team? Oi! Where's your birth certificate?

Debutant Jim Marshall gets stuck in.

Steve Rickerby dominates in the box in his own trusty style!

Little Ben, with some bloke old enough to be his grandad behind him!

Two Hamlet cousins in action.

Go on Ben, don't give up!

There are now a couple of long range action shots, from when I asked Griff to take some, when I went on for a few minutes. I should have told him where the 'zoom' function was...

Time to relax in 'Hoopers' afterwards!

Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours...

2009-05-21T17:05:00.009+01:00

"The Rabblers" rallied to the ailing Fisher Athletic cause when we answered a call from them to enter their first ever Supporters' Tournament on Sunday 3rd May, at our very own Champion Hill Stadium.

Organised almost single handedly by their main man on the terrace Joe Arif to raise a few pennies to help them pay a few bills, & do have some fun at the end of a traumatic season for them, which ultimately ended with one hundred & one years of Fisher Athletic football being wound up in the High Court.

The other teams were Millwall supporters' & Eastbourne Borough supporters'.

The day turned out to be a bit of a disaster all round for 'The Rabblers', when we only had eight players, from a supposed squad of sixteen! To make matters worse the temporary 'gaffers' for the day were not only misinformed by the current 'gaffers' as to the start of the competition, they never had any numbers to hand to ring round!

Thankfully both Eastbourne & Fisher came to our aid, & lent us players so we could field a full XI in each match.

Our first game, each encounter being thirty minutes playing through one way, we faced the pre-tournament favourites Millwall, qho we know well from our regular stuffungs in IFA matches . despite battling gamely we went down three goals to nil, ably assisted by the Eastbourne Borough lads. They stepped in having beaten 'hosts' Fisher in the tournament opener by the odd goal in three.

Our the briefest of breaks we had 'drawn the short straw' & were straight back on, against the Fisher supporters' & assorted ringers, with the odd semi pro footballer thrown in! Another defeat followed, despite a different trio of Eastbourneites rallying to our cause. We were also assisted by Phil Doyle, who only popped in to watch for a few minutes, while popping into Sainsburys, his little kid left in te pram pitchside, ably babysat by Melanie!

We actually lost four one, which left a bit of a sour taste in the mouth, not because we lost, but in the manner! Admittedly the referee was a volunteer without any qualifications, but you saw a similar performance out on the pitch by the man in black at a First Team game he would have been lynched! We had a goal disallowed, and a blatant penalty shout turned down, from which they broke away & scored up the other end. To be fair the last two goals were ok, but the stuffing had already been knocked out of us, & this is the game we undoubtedly deserved to win.
But that wasn't to detract from the enjoyment we still had. We knew we were on a hiding to nothing, & if they wanted to beat us that badly that was for their conscience to wrest with!

It was the Lions' fans turn for two games on the spin, which they won comfortably, another three nil, against Eastbourne Borough. Then five for no reply against their former SE16 neighbours Fisher. So Millwall were top of the group, safely through to the final.

That was to be either ourselves, or the Boro. It was possible we could pip them, with a good win, but we were still the underdogs. Not that some of the Fisher team were that interested, as some were already changing, & on their way home as we kicked off! Somewhat disrespectful to the other teams, when it's your own tournament, if I may say so!

But some of the Fish were decent chaps, and they kindly lent us three players, to make up our numbers. When they were putting on the Pink 'n' Blue stripes their manager for the day Donna Powell shouted out 'Judas!' at them, which was a bit rich, seeing as she had appeared in the non-league press the previous season, wearing the famous colours herself as 'Miss Dulwich Hamlet!'
One of the players who guested for us in this match was 61 year old Fisher fan Danny Lodge, who had worn our colours before. He played for the Hamlet in the early sixties & recalled the likes of Dave Darvill & Johnny Everett, to name but two! We also gave a brief run out to young Megan, who was with the tea bar crowd watching.

The match itself, we actually shocked them by taking the lead, before they hit back with four goals, and deservedly made the final, as our tired but surprisingly still cheerful band of players headed for the showers & the bar.

The final was extremely close, Eastbourne holding Millwall until the last couple of minutes, until two late goals won it for the Lions.

It was a shame that more members of 'The Rabblers' squad couldn't make the effort to turn out for this competition. I won't lie & say I personally found it a bit disappointing, but am pleased we managed to get a team of sorts out. It was a tournament at our own stadium, & I feel we should have had a better show. I understand people have other commitments, but we also represent the Club who we support, & it was touch & go on the day if we were actually going to play!

Everyone who did turn up enjoyed the day, despite finishing as wooden spoonists. And tha's the most important thing.

Thank you to Joe Arif, for organising the whole thing, which isn't the easiest thing to do, to say the least! He did Fisher proud! And also thank you to the Fisher team for lending us players against Eastbourne.

Also a big thank you to the Eastbourne Borough brigade, who we've not encountered before. They were really generous in helping us out, and a credit to Eastbourne Borough Football Club.
Hopefully we can arrange an eleven-a-side or two against them next season. Fingers crossed they are at home when we travel to Eastbourne Town. And maybe we can accomodate them on their way to one of their away matches if the fixtures fall kindly enough somewhere for them.

We did receive an invite to their own 6-a-side tournament on the coast, which is scheduled for Sunday 12th July. Sadly we have been unable to have enough volunteers to raise a side, which is a shame because they really were a decent bunch. I guess it's one trip too many, as we are in the Union Saint Gilloise6-a-sides in Brussels, on Saturday 20th June; before we have our main eleven-a-side tour to Helsinki, where we once again take on our good friends from HJK on Saturday 25th July.

One final thank you goes to Melanie Lucking for taking all the photos from our matches...and more! It's taken me a while to sort and publish them, but understandable when she took over eight hundred snaps on the day! Not that I'm complaining, it's much appreciated!

Our 'squad' was...

2009-05-20T17:12:00.004+01:00

Back row (left to right): Mishi Morath; Steve rickerby; Paul Griffin; Ian Gannon; Lawrence Marsh.
Front row (left to right): Alex Margolis; Matt Hammond; Megan; James O'Shaughnessy.

Millwall Supporters' 3, "The Rabblers" 0.

2009-05-19T17:05:00.005+01:00

Here are some of the picture Melanie took of the Millwall game.

There are ninety nine photos in all of this match. To view them all click here.

Fisher Athletic supporters' 4, "The Rabblers" 1

2009-05-18T17:04:00.006+01:00

This selection is from the second of our matches.

In this compilation there are one hundred and eleven pictures. Click here to see them all.

Eastbourne Borough supporters' 4, "The Rabblers" 1

2009-05-17T17:04:00.006+01:00

And here are some from our final match of the competition.

Including the ones above, there are one hundred & one snaps in this set. Click here to see them all.

A little bit of this, that & the other!

2009-05-16T17:04:00.007+01:00

This lot are a selection of non-action photos from the day, with no particular rhyme or reason. Simply ones that caught my eye.

Ian looks bored as a referee tells him how the job should be done!

Come on chaps...proper team photo please!

Griff scratches his head as he tries to work out if he's a customer or a supporter!

I may be fat, but I can touch my toes! ;-)

Supersub Megan waits for her moment!

'Bootiful!'

Melanie goes for an arty snap, with Larry looking a bit cream crackered!

It looks easy from up here!

some of the Fisher faithful...one a 'Dulwich reject!' ;-)

Don't ask! Best NOT to suggest a caption competition! ;-)

Someone booked the wrong strippergram! ;-)

Looks like they've had a gutful already...

Another take on the traditional 'spot the ball' competition..you're supposed to airbrush out the ball, not the players!

Far too young & fit for supporters' football this Eastbourne lot, or maybe we're just all old farts?

This bloke was with Millwall, & insidted Melanie took his photo....

In this last set from the Fisher tournament there are forty four pictures. Click here to see the set.

Some more pictures from the Club XI match

2009-05-15T19:40:00.003+01:00

Dave Fry is one of our long distance fans, who travels down to a number of Hamlet home & away games over the season from Liverpool!
That's him in the photo taking his own snaps of the match, & if I may say so myself he takes excellent sports snaps. Here is his superb selecection from the match against the Club XI.
There are seventy to view altogether.

A BIG thank you to Dave for sharing them.

The winner was all those with cheesy grins!

2009-05-01T20:43:00.002+01:00

It's strange to think that the last ever game that Craig Edwards took 'charge' of for Dulwich Hamlet was a fun Club XI against the Supporters' Team!

Less than a week after he arranged the match as a 'thank you' to the fans for supporting the Hamlet week in, week out he was out of the Champion Hill hotseat.

A case of 'thanks for the memories', & for some fans the memory of this game will live for a long time.

A large squad of Hamlet fans 'came out of the woodwork' for ths match, a number of whom have never had a runout for the Supporters' Team before, jumping at the opportunity to be on the same hallowed turf/dustbowl as their heroes. And revelling in the moment. Which is what this game was all about.

It wasn't a serious game, the final score reflecting the fact that at one stage the "Rabblers" had no less than NINETEEN outfield players on the pitch, of all shapes & sizes! Ranging from primary school kids to a sixty three year old Supporters' Team regular!

Despite the fact we went down 6-5 technically we 'won' the match after Craig shouted 'next goal wins it, as we were six four down!

It wasn't a serious match, but it was played in a great spirit, with the Club XI treating it with both the respect & irreverance such an encounter merited. I won't even attempt to cobble together a match report-not least because I didn't know everyones' names! Except to say our goals were scored by James O'Shaughnessy, who hit four, & Lawrence Marsh.

Hopefully some of those who had a run out for the first time will have realised that the Supporters' Team is about fun, & not too high a standard, and will contact the Gaffer- mospurley@hotmail.com - so they can be part of the team next season.

The two teams

2009-05-01T19:39:00.004+01:00

A BIG thank you goes to Melanie Lucking for taking all of the snaps from the game.
Be warned...there are a lot of them!

This was our squad...

Here is the Club XI

The hardest thing about a team photo

2009-05-01T19:38:00.003+01:00

Is getting everyone to stand still & look the right way. Not to mention getting all of the team in the right place at the right time!

I asked Melanie to take a few shots of the team(s) getting organised for the group photos. For no other reason than I'm a bit of a sad git, & like these sort of snaps!

I'll get this one out of the way!

2009-05-01T19:37:00.004+01:00

If you're eating your dinner...LOOK AWAY NOW!

This is yours truly, getting kitted up, running late as I'd missed the First Team match, & had dashed straight from work.

I had no choice but to publish this one, I can hardly display 'dodgy' photos of others without showing off mine! ;-)