Besides the weekly fixtures, the annual U10 and U11 tournaments were also a huge success, with 32 local primary and preparatory schools attending the for- mer. The festival of football that followed showed the enjoyment and high standards of the sport locally, and it is always a pleasure to welcome so many schools to Dulwich. This year’s winners were Heath House, who beat Cumnor House in the final. In the U11 overload tournament, teams are challenged to think tactically and play with varying numbers of players. In this fun, unique format, DPL came out victorious, beating Thomas’s Clapham in the final. During the Michaelmas term, the U13, U15 and 1st XI all embarked on their ISFA national cup runs. The U13s, after reaching the final for the past two years, made a successful start to their campaign with a win over DPL and a draw with Trinity. They followed this up with a tri- umphant home win over John Lyon School 7–1 in round three. In the last 16, they faced Haberdashers’ Elstree. In a thrilling end-to-end game, both teams played some exhilarating football. Dulwich took the lead before Hab- erdashers’ fought back and took the lead themselves; unfortunately Dulwich could not find a way to equalise in the final minutes and lost 3–2. The U15s started the year with a trip to Arsenal’s training ground to play in the Arsenal Independent Schools Trophy. In an exciting day-long event, the team played against a host of other independent schools from around the country and ended up finishing third, a good start to another strong season. In the third round of the ISFA cup, the U15s faced Trinity. After a slow start from the hosts, Trinity took the lead before Dulwich fought back to win 3–2. This set up a tie with ACS Cobham in the last 16. On a blustery day, Dulwich took their chances well and booked their place in the quarter-finals with a 3–1 win. In the quarter-final, the team faced Whitgift School. The game was certainly a tale of two halves, with Whitgift starting brighter and taking a two-goal lead into half-time. But Dulwich dug deep, showing why they had deserved their place in the final stages over the past few seasons by pulling two goals back to level the game at 2–2. There was nothing to split the sides during extra time and so the game was decided by penalties. Unfortunately, on this occasion Whitgift won through but the team should be so proud of their resilience and efforts in what would turn out to be the only match the team lost all season.
The 1st XI faced Box Hill in round 1 of the ISFA cup and after a solid display booked their place with a 6–0 vic- tory. In the second round, Dulwich faced Eton. They took the lead, but Eton grew into the game and fought back to level the game before taking the lead themselves. In the dying seconds Dulwich hit the bar and had a ball cleared off the line but they could not break through the Eton defence, leading to their exit. In the National Trophy, the team fared better, beating Mill Hill 3–0 and Harrodian 4–0 with strong displays after the October half term. In the quarter-final, the team put in one of their best displays of the year, winning 5–1 over a strong Lancing College team. This set up a semi-final at home to Epsom. In a tight, cag- ey affair, both teams cancelled one another out, with Dul- wich having more of the ball but not being able to make any inroads into the Epsom backline. After Epsom took the lead, Dulwich levelled but it was Epsom who booked their place in the final after a quick counter-attack. It was a valiant effort by the 1st XI boys; they played some fan- tastic football but just lacked the final cutting edge.
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THE ALLEYNIAN 712
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