By Simeon Wright
Peter Crouch shared the frustrations of the travelling Dulwich Hamlet fans as the side blew a 3-0 lead to lose 4-3 away at Dorking Wanderers last weekend.
Crouch – who briefly played for the Hamlet on loan from Tottenham in 2000 and is these days a non-official member of the club’s board – watched on a sunny Bank Holiday Monday amongst the Dulwich supporters, shadowed by the cameras tracking his involvement with the club this season.
The documentary entitled Peter Crouch: Save Our Beautiful Game, commissioned by Discovery Plus, has been in-shoot throughout this season, and Crouch’s disappointment over the Hamlet’s collapse on the day may well become evident on television screens shortly.
At full-time, Crouch exclusively told the News: “Wherever Dulwich go they create a great atmosphere, but it’s a bit of a shame and everyone’s on a bit of a downer now. A great game of football for the neutrals but from a Dulwich point of view we were 3-0 up, so losing 4-3 is deflating.”
So far, three episodes have dropped on Amazon Prime Video behind a Discovery pay wall. It is not entirely clear how much influence Crouch has had in the Champion Hill boardroom, though he has certainly found elements of the role challenging.
Crouch added: “I’ve really enjoyed it [being back involved with Dulwich Hamlet]. Different to what I’ve been used to, I suppose. There’s been a lot of putting out fires and bumps in the road but it’s great being associated with a team again; watching out for results and coming to games like this. In the main I’ve enjoyed it.
“I think [I’d like to stay involved]. We’ll see what happens, but I’ve enjoyed it for the season and hopefully I’ve had a positive impact.”
Dulwich Hamlet finish a disappointing National League South campaign on Saturday at home to Hemel Hempstead, a fixture which could bring back poignant memories for fans.
Crouch’s series charts the difficulties non-league football has faced since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and on March 14, 2020 fans knew on the day that Dulwich’s win from behind against Hemel would be the last live football they would watch for a while.
Better times have since returned, and Crouch – who was travelling to Villarreal on Monday night as a pundit for Liverpool’s second leg of their European Cup semi-final – is expected back at Champion Hill at the weekend to see out his first season involved with the Hamlet.
Dulwich host Hemel Hempstead at 3pm.
Images: @robavis