Pre-season victory over Dulwich for Under-23s

J’Neil Bennett, Jack Roles and Shilow Tracey were on target as our Under-23s continued their pre-season campaign with a 3-1 win over Dulwich Hamlet in a behind-closed-doors training ground friendly on Saturday.

Winger Bennett’s fine solo effort on the quarter-of-an-hour mark was cancelled out by Jeffrey Monakana for the National League South side at Hotspur Way, but Roles restored our lead from the penalty spot with an hour gone, before Tracey completed the scoring shortly afterwards.

Roles’ early header from Bennett’s cross came back off the bar as we made early inroads into the Hamlet defence, before the latter found space to speed into down the left channel, cutting inside to finish well and give us the upper hand.

Monakana’s curler crept past Brandon Austin and inside the far post as Dulwich responded on 21 minutes, but we saw a handful of subsequent chances go begging. Maurizio Pochettino was denied by the goalkeeper with an angled shot from inside the area while Kion Etete’s header from Roles’ cross somehow missed the target.

Etete fired wide on the counter-attack five minutes later but we finally regained the advantage on the hour mark when Roles was bundled over in the box before dusting himself down to convert the resulting penalty.

Tracey made it 3-1 in the 62nd minute, collecting the ball in the box and firing home from the left angle at close range while substitute Chay Cooper was denied by superb saves from the keeper on three separate occasions in the closing stages. Nile John had the final attempt at goal from distance in the 89th minute, his deflected strike well saved by the keeper down to his left.