Five red cards as Clarke double earns Dulwich Hamlet 2-1 win over Chelmsford City

BY MOHAMUD AHMED

Dulwich Hamlet overcame a tough Chelmsford City side to win 2-1 at Champion Hill in a match that saw five red cards dished out.

A brace for Jayden Clarke put the visitors 2-0 up by before Chelmsford City’s Tom Blackwell got one back for the visitors in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

The game also saw a feisty brawl in the 80th minute with both managers sent off along with Temi Eweka, Jamie Yila and Eduino Vaz.

Dulwich boss Paul Barnes told the South London Press: “It was just the ref trying to mark his authority on the game. I felt it was harsh as I never get involved in these spats.

“It wasn’t an ill-tempered affair and now people will talk about the incidents rather than the three points we collected today.”

A free-flowing start to the game saw the South Londoners twice come close to scoring inside the opening five minutes, as George Porter and Joe Felix fluffed their lines one-v-one against Ovie Ejeheri.

The breakthrough did come in the 19th minute, with Clarke tucking away a loose ball after Sanchez Ming’s cross saw Ejehri unable to claim it and gift the midfielder a golden opportunity.

Dulwich persisted with their strong attacking display and ended the first half a goal up.

A cagey second half with few chances quickly exploded as Clarke and Vaz clashed following a headlock between both players.

It quickly descended into a brawl with  both sets of players and coaching staff coming together and after a lengthy stoppage, the referee issued yellow cards for Vaz and Clarke before sending off both managers along with Yilla and Eweka.

Moments after play resumed, Vaz received a second yellow card and was sent off following a late challenge on Clarke, who was ready to counter.

It set up a frantic last 15 minutes after the referee added 10 minutes of additional time.

Hamlet were able to capitalise on a disorganised Chelmsford defence with Clarke slotting in another rebound to make it 2-0 in the 87th minute after the away side failed to clear the lines when Porter was through on goal.

Despite digging in deep, and with only three minutes of injury time left, Dulwich were unable to keep their clean sheet after a low cross was tapped in at the back post by Chelmsford’s Blackwell to make it 2-1.

Barnes said: “It was a great three points. The challenge was to back up our point against Oxford with three points against a tough Chelmsford side and show our people what we’ve got.

“We want to make Jayden known for the work he does being a number eight, I can see him being a Frank Lampard for our team. Jayden isn’t a luxury player and it’s unfair on players like him to be labelled with this, as he digs in and works hard for our team and I’m glad he’s getting rewarded for this on the pitch.”

Dulwich will hope to make it two wins on the bounce in the league as they travel to the home of Braintree Town this Saturday, live on BT Sport.

PICTURES: ROB AVIS