Dover Athletic continue a run of four straight home matches as we welcome promotion-chasing Isthmian South East side Sittingbourne to The Megger Community Stadium in the FA Trophy First Round as we aim to extend our four-match unbeaten run.
We enter the First Round after a comfortable 3-0 win over Cheshunt. This will be the third time we play Sittingbourne this season after our two games in the FA Cup First Qualifying Round.
Dover Athletic
On Saturday, Dover Athletic moved to the top of the Isthmian Premier Division with a 4-2 win over Hashtag United in front of their largest crowd since 2017. Goals from Alfie Matthews, Harrison Pont, Luke Baptiste, and George Nikaj sealed the victory. Matthews struck early, with Hashtag’s Sakariya Hassan equalizing in the 19th minute. Pont’s long-range strike restored Dover’s lead, and Baptiste added a third before halftime. Nikaj’s stunning goal in the 85th minute confirmed the win, despite a late consolation from Max Cornhill. Dover’s victory keeps them in excellent form ahead of their FA Trophy match.
Kieron Agbebi (foot) remains unavailable with injury.
From the Manager
“We’ve got a weeks rest now from the league where we go into the trophy. Obviously, we need to try and get our revenge on Sittingbourne, it’s going to be a tough game. We know all about them now and I think it will be very tight. Teams come to Crabble and raise their game, we’re really disappointed to have gone out to them in the FA Cup and we really hope we can sort of put that to bed and progress in the trophy.”
Sittingbourne FC
On Saturday, Sittingbourne faced off against a struggling Hythe Town at The Staxson Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Hythe were missing one of their key players, former Brickie Lex Allan, due to suspension. In a dominant, one-sided match, Sittingbourne cruised to a 6-0 victory, moving them up to fourth place in the league table.
Mitchell May was the star of the show, netting four goals. He scored twice within eight minutes midway through the first half and completed his hat-trick after Donvieve Jones had extended Sittingbourne’s lead to 3-0. May added his fourth early in the second half, and Ryan Kingsford rounded off the scoring in stoppage time, sealing Hythe’s sixth consecutive league defeat.
Last 6
19/10 – Hythe Town (H) – Won 6-0
16/10 – Sevenoaks Town (A) – Drew 1-1
12/10 – Beckenham Town (A) – Drew 2-2
08/10 – Deal Town (A) – Won 3-2
05/10 – Bognor Regis Town (H) – Won 2-1 (FA Trophy)
28/09 – Plymouth Parkway (H) – Lost 0-3 (FA Cup)
The Venue
We look forward to welcoming Sittingbourne to the Megger Community Stadium. More information on getting to the ground can be found here: https://doverathletic.com/visit-crabble/
Megger Community Stadium. Crabble Athletic Ground, Lewisham Road, Dover, Kent, CT17 0JB.
Admission
Cup tie, all must pay.
Adults: £15
Concessions: £14
U18: £9
U11: FREE with a paying adult
We now only accept card on the gate and operate a cashless ground.