PREVIEW: Dulwich Hamlet v Weymouth – Tuesday 20th December 2022 – 19:45

It’s the Terras’ final league match before Christmas, as Bobby Wilkinson’s side travel to Champion Hill looking for an early present in more points to help carry on this positive momentum.

 

The gaffer spoke to us ahead of tonight’s clash with Dulwich Hamlet:

 

On preparations: “We’ve worked really hard behind the scenes. We want to carry on this momentum, we go there seeking another three points – no different to usual. If we can play well, give 110%, we’ll be really pleased.”

On whether the week’s break has helped: “No, we’ve not looked at it that way, we’ve not had any sort of break. Boys have been in training and have been working extremely hard as usual.”

On what to expect from Dulwich: “We’ve gone and seen them, they are in good form, they haven’t played for a while so they will be fresh. Expecting a big crowd which will help them, but the way I see it, it’s 11v11 on a football pitch. We need to be able to perform and show the kind of displays we’ve seen for the last few weeks. So we’ve prepped well, let’s see how we get on. Win, lose or draw, we’re still very much on track for where we want to be.”

On further team news to yesterday’s injury report (see below): “We’ll be with the same squad as last week. Luke Nippard is not 100%, but is back with us and will make the bench. I’m very happy he’s back as we’ve got some quality into our team again.”

 

Injury news:

– Full-back Teddy Howe does not require surgery on his knee injury and could be fit in 10 weeks time.

– Full back Harry Kyprianou has returned to training and is one week from fitness after suffering a hamstring issue.

– Striker Ben Thomson out for another three weeks with an ankle injury.

 

@TerraStatman’s Facts of the Match

We have only played two competitive games against Dulwich Hamlet, but two pulsating games which were far from dull! The first was on a wet day in London in October 2019 in our successful National League South playoff campaign. On that day, we fell behind mid-way through the first period but drew level through a Yemi Odubade penalty just before the break. And then, with less than five minutes on the clock following the restart, we took the lead for the first time, Lionel Ainsworth with an exquisite low, swerving half-volley that bamboozled the home keeper. Sadly we could not maintain the lead as The Hamlet equalised again just seven minutes later and, with no more goals from either side, we had to settle for just a point to take back down the M3.
Three months later, in the return fixture, our opponents were again the first to open their accounts, this time just after the quarter hour. Their scorer that day was a certain Lionel Ainsworth who had moved clubs in the interim! However we returned fire through McCarthy two minutes before the interval and ultimately we settled for a point once more.
Ainsworth is not the only player to have played for both clubs in recent times – Shamir Mullings and Taofiq Olomowewe also share that accolade.
Our recent win at Welling in the league ended an 11 game run without winning in the capital, so the team will be hoping for more success in the big smoke for this mid-week fixture. And we certainly currently have the firepower to achieve that with 12 goals scored in just the last three league and cup games!

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