Last week’s battle against QPR was an unsettling one for all concerned, with Dulwich struggling to contain the West Londoners, and Lucy Monkman’s Onumonu-esque equaliser sliding in under the whistle to deny QPR the narrow victory they thought was theirs. A week on, the teams met again for a rematch, this time for the Capital Women’s Cup, a competition that brings together teams under the London, Middlesex, Surrey FAs and the AFA. This was a grudge match, with all to play for. Unfortunately, it didn’t go Dulwich’s way – and worse, it illustrated a problem that plagues the women’s game up and down the pyramid and around the world.

The mood was intense and chippy from the start. Dulwich rushed forward in the opening minutes to test QPR’s boundaries, with Sas Philp and Daniella Tyson trying for chances around the box. There was a chance for Sophie Manzi as keeper Lucie White was well off her line, but a QPR defender reached it first and scooped it away. An early corner offered another opportunity for Dulwich, but it soared past the front of the box. QPR, who seemed disorganised at first, gathered themselves and sorted out their attack. Unfortunately, the scoreline wasn’t the only target. What followed was a wave of fouls that seemed more about bringing players down than seizing the ball. Monkman was floored in the midfield, the first of many challenges from QPR – some more legal than others.

Dulwich looked to build a threat with a run down the left flank from Ella Wales-Bonner, but she was tripped and taken down by a QPR defender, drawing a free kick, and her cross overshot the far post. Philp sought another chance but a clever challenge from a QPR defender relieved her of the ball; minutes later, a ball ricocheted off Harriet Crofts, and in the 14th minute QPR’s Jenny Moore headed it into the back of the net. Dulwich fought to find their way back, and had their chance moments later; a careless QPR sliding tackle handed the Hamlet a free kick, and Manzi beasted it into over White’s head to equalise in the 16th.

The tension rose between the teams, without the game management to match. An offside QPR attempt was ignored, and Monkman was flattened as a QPR player steamrolled her, before another player played push and shove with Manzi on the sideline. The fouling was persistent, and the referee (former Hamlet stalwart Dean Lodge) should have had his book out early on to bring the hostilities under control. Whether he missed the calls or was focused on not showing undue favour to his old side, it made for increasingly painful viewing. As the teams emerged in the second half and the fouls continued, it was hard not to think the visitors had centred their strategy on taking their opponents’ legs out from under them.

It was ironic, and unfortunate, that the first major casualty of the game was QPR’s goalkeeper. White put herself in the firing line blamelessly with a valiant save that caught her in the face and left her reeling. After a concussion check, she left the field, replaced by Erin Pope. Pope stepped up ably, dismantling a desperate fumble in the box that threatened to tip things Dulwich’s way. The Hamlet seemed rattled, outfoxed by QPR’s wide play, tight defence and hammering attack, they played reactively and couldn’t regroup to take control of the game.

QPR should have been able to exploit the home side’s panic to take the lead cleanly, and yet the fouls intensified, as cleats ploughed into the backs of ankles and the midfield started to resemble a battle royale. QPR mistook Ella Wales-Bonner for a lawnmower, and sent her to chew grass over and over again, singling her out for a string of vicious challenges that left her on the floor for much of the second half. The referee didn’t see fit to pull the single yellow card of the game until the dying minutes for what seemed like the 694th foul on Wales-Bonner.

As a disheartened Dulwich tried to hold the line, Demi Edwards swung a clean goal right past a discombobulated Mia North in the 75th minute. A free kick for Dulwich delivered what should have been a dead cert, but the strike slammed heartbreakingly off the post. Jordan Williamson tried to bring fresh legs to the challenge, seeking a way through the QPR back line, but there were no gaps to exploit, and the final whistle ended Dulwich’s Capital Cup hopes for this year.

QPR are a formidable squad, and the story should have been one of an organised and relentless team triumphing over their hosts in revenge being thwarted the previous week. Dulwich were caught on the back foot early, and having unusually let their rivals get into their heads, they found themselves disarmed; it could have been a clean win. Instead the dominant narrative was one of lax refereeing and a player being cynically and persistently targeted on the pitch. It’s common knowledge that refereeing in the women’s game needs to improve. Women play as physically as men, and when aggression gets out of hand, the same rules should apply. Recent incidents at the highest levels of the game, with fights and multiple red cards tardily dealt out, have shown that there’s a long way to go. Referees’ willingness to let things slide is how players get hurt, and Dulwich will have returned to the locker room nursing plentiful bruises as well as deflated Cup hopes.

Attention now returns to the Spring Round Robin Tournament and a trip to Saltdean United.

Attendance: Behind closed doors

Dulwich Hamlet:
1 Mia North; 4 Liz Berkeley; 7 Sas Philps; 8 Brit Saylor (capt); 9 Sophie Manzi; 10 Daniella Tyson; 13 Ceylon Hickman; 14 Lucy Monkman; 16 Ella Wales-Bonner; 17 Sarah Milner; 20 Harriet Crofts
Subs: 11 Zoe Elmore; 12 Stephanie Addison; 18 Eman Kessem; 19 Jordan Williamson; 22 Jo Gibson

QPR:
1 Lucie White; 2 Merle Redhead-Ling; 3 Ellie Searle; 4 Afiya Johnson; 5 Vicky Grieve (capt); 6 Mollie Dench; 7 Katie Akerman; 8 Jenny Moore; 9 Milly Cutler; 10 Demi Edwards; 11 Melanie Hall

Subs: 12 Kasha Petit; 15 Ailish Carolan; 16 Eshe Davies; 17 Erin Pope; 18 Ellen Wardlaw

Referee: Dean Lodge

Photo: Liam Asman