DOWSE FANS THE FLAMES

BOSS HAS HIS FIRE BACK

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BANK Holiday lunchtime in an Aldershot pub just along the road from where his former striker Nicke Kabamba will make his England C debut, Alan Dowson is regaling stories of players he’s proud to have helped progress in their careers.

Kabamba was plucked from Hemel Hempstead’s reserves, along with Jamal Lowe, and formed a fearsome Beavers’ front three with Brendan Kiernan.

All went on to full-time football and keep in touch with the former Walton & Hersham, Kingstonian and Dartford boss, known as Dowse.

“It’s still the same this morning, ‘Uncle Dowse, come and watch us’,” Dowson smiles. “It will be lovely to see Nicke playing for England – that’s the good side of football where you help these kids on. It like when you get these WhatsApp groups with footballers. We had a special group at Hampton, a special changing room and special players.

“They’ve all kept in touch. They call it the Unemployed Beaver Group. I’ve joined that now – and Josh Casey has too.

“They text us all the time, ‘Gaffer, do you want to come in it?’ I go in for a little bit, I say something wrong and they bomb us out, they do.

“We did unbelievable at Hampton. The first we stopped relegation, the second year we won the Ryman Premier. We got to the play-offs and lost to Ebbsfleet, then we got to the play-off final and got beat on penalties. That’s when I left for Woking.

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