It would be good to start establishing ourselves in The FA Trophy, says Gavin Rose

DULWICH HAMLET manager Gavin Rose says he is disappointed with his record in FA competitions.

The Hamlet were knocked out of The FA Cup at the weekend, going down to a 3-1 defeat away to Hemel Hempstead Town in the Third Qualifying Round.

The Pink & Blues welcome their Ryman Premier League rivals Harrow Borough in The FA Carlsberg Trophy First Qualifying Round at Champion Hill on Saturday.

The two sides have already met this season, with Harrow Borough winning 3-1 at Earlsmead on 7 September.

“We’ve played Harrow already this season,” said Rose.  “They beat us and we had the better of the game. We had plenty of possession but we didn’t turn it into goals and they caught us cold on the break a few times and scored.  They’re a decent team and they’ve got some good players. We want to make sure we rest that last result at their place.”

Reflecting on their FA Cup defeat at The Calor Premier (Southern) League leaders Hemel Hemsptead Town last weekend, Rose added: “Disappointing! I’ll be honest with you and say they shaded it! They were the better team on the day.  They’ve got a little more experience around the park than we had in key areas and I thought that told as the game wore on.

“We gave a good account of ourselves at times in the first half when we had a lot of opportunities to score goals.

“The FA Cup is a one-off game and I think the fair result was Hemel went through.”

The winners of Saturday’s FA Trophy tie will scoop £2,700 in prize money from The Football Association.

Dulwich Hamlet scooped £7,500 in prize money from their FA Cup run, which saw them knock out Shoreham and Margate.

But Rose admitted: “Since I’ve been here, we’ve been disappointing in the FA competitions.

“We’ve not done well in The FA Cup really and we’ve not played so well in The FA Trophy!

“It will be good to start establishing ourselves.  I think the first place to start establishing ourselves would be in The FA Trophy.  As a non-league club, it’s a non-league competition so if we can start establishing ourselves in this competition that would be good.

“The FA Cup is a bit more pie in the sky but The FA Trophy has a bit more realism.”

Rose is pleased with his side’s start to life back in the Ryman Premier League after winning the Ryman League Division One South title last season. 

They sit in third-place in the table, with nine wins and two draws from thirteen games.  They are one point adrift of leaders Maidstone United, who secured promotion as play-off winners after winning home games against their Kent rivals Folkestone Invicta and Faversham Town.

Rose said: “Very good start. We’ve had a lot of injuries this year with all our forward and wide players keeping getting injured or suspended and we’ve never really hard all of those to choose from.

“It has been hard injury wise and it’s testament to the boys that they have dug in and got results along the way when we’ve had those injuries and we’re just hoping when everyone’s back fit we can kick on and remain where we are really.”

Visit Dulwich Hamlet’s website: www.pitchero.com/clubs/dulwichhamlet

Dulwich Hamlet  v  Harrow Borough
The FA Carlsberg Trophy First Qualifying Round
Saturday 19^th October 2013
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Champion Hill Stadium, Dog Kennel Hill, Edgar Kail Way, East Dulwich, London SE22 8BD