Rose: New boys have settled in well

BY YANN TEAR
yann@slpmedia.co.uk

Gavin Rose believes Dulwich Hamlet have given themselves a good foundation for the weeks ahead with a solid display in their opening league fixture.

They were rewarded for a fine performance at Champion Hill with all three points from a 2-1 victory over Braintree Town – newcomers George Porter and Jayden Clarke getting on the score sheet.

“It’s great to be back. It’s great to see the supporters and everyone back in good numbers, and also good to see us finish with a positive result,” said the Dulwich boss.

“The new players have settled in very well. In pre-season George scored a couple of goals [and showed] good energy. Jayden threatened to score in pre-season, didn’t but did today.

“Quite a few of the new boys did well today, so all-in-all, first game of the season, I didn’t expect us to be well-oiled or perfect, but it’s a little bit of a foundation for us to build on.”

Among others who caught the eye was Jo Felix down the right and Will Wood and Andre Blackman in defence.

“Really, really impressed with Joe,” Rose said. “He’s infectious. Always smiling. Always willing to do the work we ask him to do. No airs and graces and anything he does, you know he always does to his best. He’s a pleasure to work with.

“Andre and Will put us on the front foot and interchanged really well. I don’t want to put any aims on us right now. For me, if we weren’t in the play-offs, I’d be disappointed but I don’t want to put too much pressure on the boys. I just want to see if we can build and grow as a team and a squad and see where we end up.”

Next up, it’s Farnborough away.

It was not such a happy start for South London neighbours Bromley in the Conference as they lost 3-2 at Wealdstone, having led 2-1 at the interval to goals from Omar Sowunmi and Michael Cheek.

Boss Andy Woodman said a controversial equalising penalty for the home side deflated his team and killed their momentum.

“Our defending was a little bit not quite us but it hinged on that penalty decision. That was a big moment. It took an age to make that decision and it didn’t look clear and obvious to me. It was soft. We lost our way a little bit after that. We played some nice stuff but we’ve got to be careful we don’t play nice stuff in the wrong areas of the pitch and look pretty in our half.”

The Ravens play Altrincham in their first league fixture at Hayes Lane tomorrow.

Meanwhile, their clash with Notts County at Meadow Lane, scheduled for 3pm on Saturday September 10, will now kick-off at 5.20pm as it has been selected for TV.

Elsewhere, Tooting and Mitcham United won 3-0 at Cobham in the FA Cup, with goals from Shamal Edwards, Ayman Dahdouh and Enoch Ako-Adjei.

Main Photo by Rob Avis: George Porter