We’ve got to make a real big push and we’re determined to just keep winning and hopefully try to achieve as much as we can, says Dulwich Hamlet assistant manager Junior Kadi

DULWICH HAMLET assistant manager Junior Kadi says the only pressure to do well comes from within the dug-out and not the boardroom.

The Hamlet pulled off an upset in The Buildbase FA Trophy on Tuesday night when they humiliated Vanarama National League side Braintree Town, winning 5-2 at Champion Hill.

Gavin Rose’s men took the lead through Ashley Carew’s first half penalty, but Hakan Hayrettin’s side equalised through Jerome Okimo’s header following a corner only 10 minutes later.

Braintree’s central defender Manny Parry scored a freak own-goal five minutes into the second half to galvanise Dulwich Hamlet, who added goals from striker Gavin Tomlin, a 35-yard screamer from winger turned central midfielder Sanchez Ming, before Jacob Erskine made a goalscoring return with the fifth goal, after the Essex side pulled a goal back from Parry’s 80^th minute header.

Dulwich Hamlet now host Vanarama National League side Macclesfield Town at Champion Hill in the Quarter-Finals on Saturday 25 February.

Braintree Town’s main threat came from headers from set-pieces but Bognor Regis Town playing Dulwich Hamlet will be a much better eye pleasing game down on the coast on Saturday.

Jamie Howell’s side have collected 64 points from their 32 league games, while Dulwich Hamlet have slipped down to ninth-place in the Ryman Premier League table on 47 points, although they do have two games in hand.

“We’ll be fine, we’ll be fine.  The boys all enjoyed Tuesday night, rightly so, they deserve it. Tonight they’ll get back to the training ground, work really hard to prepare for Bognor,” said Kadi.

“They’re good guys down there, a great football team. It’s always a great game, two teams playing the right way. We’ve got a massive, massive game right now.

“We’ve got to make a real, real, big push. We’ve got to make a real big push and we’re determined to just keep winning and hopefully try to achieve as much as we can.”

Dulwich Hamlet sealed a dramatic late winner at Nyewood Lane in last season’s play-off semi-final, only to lose the play-off final 3-1 at surprise package East Thurrock United, who are in 11^th place in their debut campaign in the Vanarama National League South.

When asked whether there’s pressure from the board being in ninth-place going into their final 16 league games, five points adrift of fifth-placed Tonbridge Angels, Kadi explained: “The pressure comes from ourselves because we try to improve every year and we’ve done so every year we’ve been here as a management team so yes, the brief doesn’t change.

“We’ll try to improve on last year. If we can, great, if we don’t, we’ll assess it but that’s the pressure we put on ourselves.  No one needs to put that on us. We put pressure on ourselves because we want to improve and strive to be the best we can be.”

Visit Dulwich Hamlet’s website:  www.pitchero.com/clubs/dulwichhamlet

Bognor Regis Town  v  Dulwich Hamlet
Ryman Premier League
Saturday 11^th February 2017
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Nyewood Lane, Bognor Regis, West Sussex PO21 2TY