Giant goalkeeper Jorgensen looking to make huge impression at Dulwich Hamlet
yann@slpmedia.co.uk
Dulwich’s giant new Danish keeper, Simon Jorgensen, is eager to knuckle down and press his claim to become a regular between the sticks, according to his boss.
Hamlet manager Gavin Rose has long relied on Preston Edwards as his number one, but with the stopper temporarily standing down because his partner is ready to go into labour, an alternative has been needed.
Jorgensen, who was on the books of Accrington Stanley and Whitehawk two years ago, was snapped up as a free agent and has played in the past two games.
The 26-year-old was always likely to get noticed because of his stature as well as his abilities.
At a shade over 6ft 10in, he has been billed as ‘the tallest goalkeeper in the world’ in some media outlets, although he wants to concentrate on his football rather than talk to newspapers for now, according to his new boss.
And having conceded three against Hemel Hemstead on his debut and five more at the weekend, there is still much to prove, but Rose is upbeat.
“I’ve now got two good goalkeepers and we’ve not had that before,” he said. “We needed another keeper in our squad and Simon has come in, determined to make an impact.
“He’s athletic for such a big lad – and brave. He’s quick to get off his line and good in the air, as you’d expect. He’s very enthusiastic and still sees himself as developing. He wants to play at a higher level and we’ll benefit from having him with us.
“It’s a healthier set up. Preston has not had competition for a few years now and it will be good for him.
“No-one has a divine right to play and I don’t say who is my number one. I will choose the player who is in form and who deserves to have the shirt. If Preston is available again at the weekend, there will be a decision to make but I don’t mind that. I’ll pick the right player for the day.”
Rose will be looking for a vast improvement against Dartford tomorrow after a hugely disappointing display at National League South leaders Torquay last weekend, which ended in a 5-2 defeat.
But he is not holding Jorgensen responsible for the abject first-half display, in particular, which saw Hamlet trail 4-0.
“He was probably at fault for the last goal but a lot of the damage had already been done by then,” Rose said.
“In the same way, Preston has been mostly great for us but played badly at times. It happens. The important thing for us is to have options.
“I’m looking for a big improvement in attitude all round this weekend. We saw in the second half at Torquay that we are more than capable of competing well against the best sides.
“I know we were playing the best team in the league, but the first half just wasn’t good enough. We just didn’t approach it in the right manner. We know we need to do better.”
Picture: Wikimedia Commons (Author: Hrse12)