After Friday night’s FA Cup game, it is back to league action today at Champion Hill.

Great cup runs create such excitement and the team, supporters’ and the local community showed the viewing public why this is such a great football club and fully deserve the plaudits that have come our way in the past few weeks..

Although the game finished with a four – one win for the visitors Carlisle United, for long periods of the game the team matched them and we were pressing for an equaliser when they scored their third goal which effectively ended the tie.

In the end, the League Two club was simply too strong for us on the night.

Now it is back to league action today with the visit of Billericay Town, a team we have done battle with on many occasions in recent seasons, who themselves have had their fair share of headlines of late.

Sadly, in the run up to last weekend’s cup-tie, the Supporters’ Trust had been informed that Farouk Menia, Coach of Dulwich Hamlet FC women’s team, had passed away after a long battle with cancer.

The Supporters’ Trust sends its collective condolences to his family and two children.

He leaves behind a strong women’s team that I know will continue to build on the foundations he helped create during the 8 years he had been involved with them.

Over the past few weeks, many hours have been worked by an amazing team of volunteers, not only on the night, but through-out the build up to the FA Cup game doing roles such as selling tickets, setting up for the match, 50/50 tickets and programme sales as well as operating the Trust’s Mega-container club shop.

Merchandise sales have been amazing and we received over 80 orders alone over the weekend via our online shop, many of which had been made whilst our FA Cup tie was taking place!

Orders of replacement stock have now been placed and so we will soon be back up to full stock in the shop (open on match days only) and online (www.dhfcshop.co.uk).

Please note that Trust Board members and volunteers, who pay to attend the matches and give up their time, operate the shop and I would like to remind supporters’ that we will be closed (as usual) whilst the match takes place.

Have you any warm winter coats you could bring it down to the club to be passed onto those who may find themselves homeless during this winter?

Over this weekend, the football club and Supporters’ Trust are collecting coats for Wrap Up London (an organisation that works with local charities and community groups to assist the homeless) at both todays and tomorrow’s (DHFCW) home fixtures – so please donate those unwanted coats at our collection points.

Before we open bookings for the planned supporters’ coach to the league match against Oxford City on Saturday 30 November, we are asking fans to contact us if they are interested in traveling with us to the game.

Ideally, we want to be able to run as many coaches as possible but have found ourselves in a Catch 22 situation that (a) we cannot confirm that a coach will run until we take a sufficient number of bookings, but (b) there is a reluctance to book before the coach is confirmed.

Asking supporters’ to email (info@dhst.org.uk) their interest worked for the recent cup tie away to Havant and Waterlooville so we have decided to continue with this process for the Oxford City fixture.

Enjoy the game

Mark (Scolly) Scoltock