APRIL SKIES: WHEN WE WERE KINGS

The heavens open

"Sometimes it snows in April" Prince once crooned. "Sometimes I feel so bad / Sometimes I wish life was never ending / And all good things they say never last." He also said 'Tracie died soon after the civil war' but I never really dug that bit. What a clot.

Anyhows, after the rollercoaster season we've just rattled through, confusion and craziness come as no surprise. A Shakespearean tragi-comic ending seemed inevitable. Would #wallgate come back to haunt us? Would Herne Bay prove to be one heady coastal trip too far? Could the curse of Burgess strike in the last game of the season?



Ged returned (see below) just in time to see the events of our final furlong unfold and they did so in ultimately glorious fashion.

The month started well. Three league wins out of three (9 goals for, 1 against) were peppered with a valiant 3-2 extra-time defeat in the League Cup Final to Concord Rangers (now promoted to the Conference South).

Then came #wallgate. The replay at Leatherhead was something of a sick joke. Covered in hard hats and high-viz jackets, our gallows humour on a downcast Tuesday evening died amidst the (alleged) racist chants and aggro from the Tanners home support who 'celebrated' their 1-0 win with vile abuse.

In hindsight it may have been the last drop of motivation we needed to haul ourselves across the finish line.

Herne Bay away was a riotous lark about with booze and narcotics flowing in equal measure as our Turkish midfield maestro sealed it yet again with a majestic free-kick and we crushed the bewildered and beautiful Bayers 3-1. We toppled Crawley Down Gatwick by the same scoreline at home. Top of the league. One to go.

And so it came down to the last game of the season. It was such a strange day. While Maidstone were comfortably winning we needed a draw against Burgess Hill to be crowned champions. At 1-0 down it looked ominous. The prospect of another play-off melodrama loomed large. The half-time whistle went. The heavens opened and unleashed a torrent of huge hail stones, the like of which I've never seen, on our 1100-strong effervescent fans. Then the sun came out. And then we sang our ruddy hearts out until another worldy from Xavier Vidal pierced the Burgess defence just after the hour mark and we were suddenly 1-1. It was one-way traffic and party-time from then and the celebrations have barely calmed since.

"We did it for you, the fans" beamed Gavin Rose as he was mobbed on the pitch.

Ged was last seen dead on the home team's changing room floor. Police are still searching for midfielder Luke Hickie who has been persistently linked with the incident. RIP Ged. #prayfordeadged

Some pics and reports:
http://www.wimbledonguardian.co.uk/sport/10389686.Champions_Dulwich_Hamlet_are_loving_the_moment/
http://www.urban75.org/blog/dulwich-hamlet-clinch-promotion-after-nail-biting-draw-with-burgess-hill-and-champion-hill-goes-wild/
http://blog.martincloake.com/2013/04/28/champions-at-champion-hill/