In a fiercely contested encounter at the WW Martin Community Stadium, Dulwich Hamlet secured a 2-0 victory over a resilient Ramsgate side, with both goals coming from talismanic winger Luke Wanadio. The match saw Dulwich’s clinical edge and defensive solidity prove decisive against a Ramsgate team that pressed hard but couldn’t convert their chances.
Manager Ben Smith made one change from the Rams XI that lost 4-2 at Chatham Town on Tuesday, with Sha’mar Lawson coming in to start his first game for the club in place of Anthony Grant.
The game began cautiously, with both sides probing for weaknesses. In the sixth minute, Ramsgate carved out the first real opportunity when Aaron Barnes’ precise pass from the left found Lawson, who cut inside before seeing his curling effort deflected wide, earning a corner. Billy Munday rose highest from the set-piece but headed over the bar from eight yards.
Dulwich, however, were unfazed, with their defense a formidable wall – marshaled expertly to blunt Ramsgate’s early enthusiasm. The visitors broke quickly and attacked with purpose when they won the ball, and in the 10th minute, Wanadio raced to the byline, cutting back for Danny Mills, whose shot was blocked before Munday heroically stopped a second effort.
Just a minute later, the Hamlet opened the scoring. A swift move down the right saw a low cutback from Nyren Clunis met by the Wanadio, who calmly slotted past Ramsgate keeper Aiden Prall from just inside the area to make it 1-0.
Ramsgate responded with vigor. In the 13th minute, a strong challenge on Bioletti in the box sparked penalty appeals, but the referee waved play on. Jadama’s follow-up was smothered before he could shoot.
As the half progressed, the home side’s pressure mounted. On twenty minutes, Ryan Kingsford’s 30-yard free kick forced a superb fingertip save from Dulwich keeper Toby Bull, who was called into action again from the resulting corner – pushing Kingsford’s looping cross over the bar.
Seconds later, Benny Bioletti’s delivery found Alfie Paxman at the back post, only for a defender’s last-ditch intervention to clear the danger. In the 39th minute, Kingsford tried his luck again from distance. Bull was unsighted, but managed to tip the ball over the crossbar.
Dulwich nearly doubled their lead a minute later when Wanadio’e low twenty yard strike was brilliantly tipped wide by Prall, ensuring the score remained 1-0 at the break.
The second half saw the Rams pile on early pressure, earning a flurry of corners, but Dulwich’s defense stood firm. A heart-in-mouth moment came for the visitors on 53 minutes when Sean Bonnett-Johnson nearly scored a freak own goal, only for Bull’s acrobatic save to preserve the lead.
Dulwich hit back, with Clunis cutting inside on 56 minutes, before his low shot was tipped wide by Prall. The same player tested Ramsgate’s resolve again three minutes later, but bodies were thrown in the way to block his effort.
On the hour mark, a Dulwich cross was headed wide by centre half Geofrey Okonkwo. Ramsgate’s best chance of the half came seven minutes later, when Grant’s cross found fellow substitute Mitchell May, but his header from 10 yards lacked conviction.
The decisive moment arrived in the 77th minute. Dulwich, winning the ball deep inside their half, surged forward. Wanadio best Harry Webster to the ball and rounded Prall, only to go down under the keeper’s challenge.
Referee Jake Woodman pointed to the spot, and the Hamlet forward dusted himself off and coolly dispatched the spot-kick into the bottom left corner, sealing a 2-0 win.
Despite Ramsgate’s spirited display, Dulwich’s clinical finishing and defensive resilience earned them the points in a hard-fought contest. The Rams are next in action with a trip to old adversaries Cray Valley Paper Mills this coming Saturday 23 August. Kickoff is at 3pm.
Ramsgate: Prall, Webster, Brown, Binnom-Williams (Garrett), Barnes, Lawson (Grant), Munday, Kingsford (May), Bioletti (Jobe), Paxman, Jadama. Sub: Jackson.
Star man: Raphe Brown.
Photos by AT Photography
