REPORT | Haringey Borough vs Dulwich Hamlet

Ayuk Tarh’s second-half strike was cancelled out by Bobson Bawling as both sides picked up a point

After a forgettable first half, all the fireworks came in the second 45 at Coles Park, where Dulwich faced bottom of the table Haringey Borough.

Dulwich failed to fashion a single shot on target in the opening 45 minutes, with Ayuk Tarh’s miscued header in the 11th minute the closest they came to troubling Dillon Barnes in the Haringey goal. That’s not to say Dulwich didn’t create openings, it’s just the final ball was lacking, most notably when Luke Wanadio freed Ayuk and he miscued his attempted cross out for a goal kick.

Fortunately for Dulwich, the home side didn’t manage to muster much more in the attacking third. A long-range effort from Matt Young in the 16th minute was comfortable enough for Will Lakin and Young shot wide a minute later when a pass to Bobson Bawling would’ve put the latter through on goal.

The home side's best chance of the first half came in the 36th minute. A crossfield ball evaded Dwight Pascal at the back post, but Alphanso Kennedy’s first touch was poor and it gave Lakin time to rush out and smother the chance.

Despite the lack of chances in the first half, neither side made a change at the break and Dulwich began to take a grip on the game. Our chief threat was Anthony Jeffrey, who was making his first start since returning from injury. His blistering pace was causing Borough problems down their right-hand side. Their first warning came in the 49th minute. Jeffrey skinned his marker and cut the ball back to the penalty spot where Mills collected. Hamlet’s centre-forward spun his man, but his shot was well blocked by Barnes and Krasniqi side-footed the rebound over the bar.

It was a warning that Borough didn’t heed. Just eight minutes later, in a move that was almost a carbon copy of the previous attack, Jeffrey’s cross was met by the onrushing Ayuk and he calmly smashed the ball into the corner of the net to give Hamlet the lead.

In a game of so few clear-cut chances, and against a side who had scored just nine times in their opening 11 games, the traveling support must’ve felt confident that Dulwich could see this one out and claim a vital three points on the road. But, within 10 minutes, the home side were level. Mekhi McLeod’s low cross from the right was turned in by Bawling, via a touch by Lakin.

Dulwich had 25 minutes to find a winner, Mills had a goal-bound shot blocked and Binnom-Williams fired just over with a free-kick from 20 yards, but Hamlet will be disappointed not to have forced Barnes to make a meaningful save after being pegged back and a draw, in the end, was a fair result.

Dulwich Hamlet Line-Up:

1 Will Lakin, 2 Dwight Pascal, 5 Michael Chambers, 7 Luke Wanadio (19 Josh Shonibare 76’), 8 Ryley Scott, 9 Danny Mills (14 Adrian Clifton 76’), 10 Anthony Jeffrey (3 Craig Braham-Barrett 88’), 15 Kreshnic Krasniqi 16 Akwo Ayuk, 18 Jerome Binnom-Williams, 20 Manny Parry

Unused Substitutes:4 Mark Ricketts, 11 Alfie Allen

Goalscorers: Ayuk Tarh 57’

Haringey Borough Line-Up:

1 Dillon Barnes, 2 Ebenezer Addo Kufuor (12 Mekhi Leacock – McLeod 64’), 3 Michael O'Donoghue, 4 Dexter Peter, 5 Jorge Djassi -Sambu, 6 Khalifa Jabbie, 7 Alfred Bobson Bawling, 8 Georgios Aresti, 9 Nadum Melvin-Lambert, 10 Matthew Young, 11 Alphanso Kennedy (14 Kasim Aidoo 88’)

Unused Substitutes: 13 Alex Zamani, 15 Oli Fusiek, 16 Ruben Tavares-Baptista

Goalscorers: Bobson Bawling 66’

Yellow Cards: Khalifa Jabbie 78’, Dexter Peter 82’