Dulwich Hamlet 0-1 Kingstonian
HAMLET KEEPING ERROR CHUCKS VICTORY KINGSTONIAN WAY

Dean Lodge pounced on a goal-keeping error to secure three points for Kingstonian as Luke Garrard at the other end put on a late display to deny the home side anything.

In a game which stuttered until Dulwich began to attack in a last desperate few minutes, it was the Lodge goal after only 16 minutes that shone brightly in the darkening sky.

A long range lob from Liam Cockerill was caught high but safely and then dropped by Sheikh Ceesay, the home side's second choice 'keeper on for ex-K's favourite Chuck Martini who had left the club suddenly mid-week.

With the defence around him and the keeper desperately trying to regain the lost ball, Lodge ran the ball to the goal mouth before tapping it in from less than 10 yards.

Photo: Chris Hatton - Kingstonian FC

Minutes later Saheed Sankoh could have doubled the advantage when he found himself alone with only the keeper to beat but he could only hit the shot at the keeper 15 yards out from goal.

Photo: Chris Hatton - Kingstonian FC

But in a desperate last 10 minutes Garrard denied the home side an undeserved equaliser with a string of saves.

The game had begun quietly until Lodge fell under pressure after a skilful run as he approached the goal area in the 12th minute. Four minutes later he did score courtesy of the lob from Cockerill. The Sankoh attempt also injected life and Dulwich began to fight back.

First Serge Musingu over-ran his own ball and then the ever-threatening Shawn Beverney had his shot blocked by Garrard in the 27th minute. The counter-attack had Lodge running at the defence until he seemed to be bought down on the edge of the penalty area. The fall had the Kingstonian fans screaming foul but referee David Buck refused to give anything.

Beverney once again threatened within four minutes, running up the right but he was too far ahead of his own team and the K's defence regrouped.

In the 34th minute Sankoh made good his earlier attempt with a great low shot from the right but a low dive by Ceesay pushed the ball around the far post. And on the stroke of half-time Wes Goggin combined with Sankoh to set up the latter but the defence was more than equal to the threat.

The start of the second half saw Goggin once more in action, when Lodge started an attack up the left before passing a short ball back to Aaron Goode. His pass across the pitch found Goggin but then the defence once again crowded him out.

Photo: Chris Hatton - Kingstonian FC

The action then went the length of the pitch as Garrard caught an attempted lob from Hamlet's defender Steve May on the right. Minutes later Beverney wasted a freekick, which went high over the goal.

Then Bobby Traynor got into the act with a shot that was well parried by the Hamlet keeper. A long run on the right saw his low shot denied. A counter attack then found Garrard back in action, but the subsequent corner was defended by K's.

However increasingly Kingstonian began to look like they were happy with the one-goal advantage and most of the attacking was done by the ever-desperate home team.

In the 69th minute Garrard pulled off a top-drawer save when Stanley Muguo's curling shot from left to right was stopped.

This is not to say that the visitors sat down for the win, Lodge minutes earlier had over hit an attacking pass to Sankoh and then once again in the 83rd minute Traynor had a chance courtesy of Sankoh but the longish shot went wide.

In spite of the sometimes-physical nature of Dulwich's play the referee at no time brandished a card of any type to anyone, a rarity in any match these days.

Sometimes a single-goal win is enough and if Kingstonian are to remain the current form, then some more games and results like this will come their way. Either way the result was the correct one and set up a pleasant weekend for the many fans whom were able to skip work slightly earlier and face the rush hour across south London.