ANGEL IS DULWICH
ALEX AKROFI came off the bench to snatch a late win for ten-man Tonbridge, who defied the odds to replace Hamlet in the play-off places.
Angels led at half-time against the run of play, but it was a dire day for ex-Dulwich players in the Tonbridge line-up,
Mitchell Nelson conceded an own goal and Damian Scannell was sent off before the ten men ended Dulwich’s ten-match unbeaten run with Akrofi’s 87thminute header.
Angels took the lead on 25 minutes when the Dulwich defence fluffed several chances to clear a corner and Tom Parkinson fired in the loose ball from ten yards.
Dulwich fought hard but could not find the net. Sanchez Ming hit the top of the bar with a cross.
Moments later, Danny Carr slipped Nyren Clunis in on goal, but Angels keeper Anthony Di Bernardo made an excellent save.
Just before half-time, a neat back-heel from Clunis released Nathan Green but the wing-back’s fierce drive flashed across the face of goal just out of the reach of Ibra Sekajja.
Carr shot wide just after halftime but on 49 minutes they drew level when Carr supplied Sekajja and his low right-wing cross was turned into his own net by Nelson.
Later Di Bernardo dived smartly to his left to save Ashley Carew’s free-kick.
But Hamlet’s finishing still failed to match their approach work.
A determined run by Clunis set up Carr on 74 minutes, but Di Bernardo made another fine save at his near post.
Scannell, already booked, received a second yellow card for fouling Clunis on 80 minutes, reducing Angels to ten men and giving Hamlet increased hope.
But another chance went begging on 84 minutes when teenage loanee Louis-Michel Yamfam narrowly failed to convert Carew’s searching back-post cross.
And three minutes later, Tonbridge snatched the winner when Nick Wheeler’s neat free-kick to the far post was netted by Akrofi with a well-directed header into the corner.
In stoppage time Carew ran onto a defence-splitting pass from Matt Drage, but directed his shot the wrong side of the post.
Hamlet boss Gavin Rose was naturally disappointed with the result.
He told The NLP: “I thought we did well throughout, dominating most of the game, but we didn’t take our chances. They did.”
Meanwhile, Angels boss Steve McKimm graciously conceded that Dulwich deserved to take something from the match.