DULWICH Hamlet made it nine Isthmian League Premier Division games unbeaten with a 1-1 draw against Bognor Regis Town at Champion Hill last weekend – but Hakan Hayrettin felt the hosts were denied a “stonewall” late penalty.
Manny Parry put Dulwich 1-0 up in the 36th minute before Tommy-Lee Higgs quieted the majority of the 2,069 crowd with the equaliser in the 45th minute.
It was the Hamlet’s fifth draw in their last six league games.
Parry finished from Luke Wanadio’s free-kick but substitute Higgs quickly levelled.
And right at the death, Craig Braham-Barrett appeared to be fouled but home pleas were waved away.
Dulwich have taken the lead four times in the last three games only to be hauled back and the points to be shared.
“We go 1-0 up and have to manage the game better. That’s been fundamentally the issue for us at the moment where we take leads or whatever period of the game it is, we just need to do a little better to manage it,” Hayrettin said.
“We were on top, I think for the whole game, but second half especially, it was a one-sided game. So to score at the time we did and then concede was disappointing.
“But that’s nine league games unbeaten and we have to somehow make these draws into wins. It doesn’t matter if we’re home or away, we’ve got to churn out some wins.
“The boys worked really hard but I thought the refereeing – and I don’t really talk about it very often – there was a stonewall penalty. Some of the decisions were not in our favour which should have been. It’s definitely a penalty, 100 per cent.
“There was definitely a penalty in the last 30 seconds of the game. I’ve been told by my secretary that he’s been given a report saying how good our bench was, and it was. Our bench is alway nice and tidy, we don’t give any officials a hard time. I said I’d like to talk to [the referee] because I think he’s missed a few there.
“Just as they’ve got to do well we’ve got to do well because they could cost people their jobs, they’ve got to do better. There’s no agenda here from us as a club or me as a manager, but I think he’s had an off-day. Which is fine, and I’m not criticising, they’re going to do that.”
Hamlet fans helped to ensure the game went ahead when they went to Champion Hill earlier in the day to take the protective covers in the freezing weather off the pitch.
Hayrettin added: “I would like to thank all the supporters that turned up this morning, I think there was about 30 or 40 of them that turned up and got all the sheets off the pitch. I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart. I turned up as well! But without them this game wouldn’t have been on.
“It shows what a united football club we’ve got. We’ve got a great football club. We’re doing the right things, we’re heading in the right direction. Let’s keep this run going.”
The Hamlet are twelfth in the table with 22 points from eighteen games. Dulwich travel to Lewes in the league this Saturday at 3pm.
