Category: Academy News

GREEN GOES OUT ON LOAN

We can confirm that central defender Alex Green has today joined Southern Counties East Premier Division side Deal Town on loan for a month.

The 19-year-old former Academy captain made his National League debut as a second-half substitute against Boreham Wood at Crabble in August 2021 before a foot injury ruled him out for the season.

He made his first start of this season in the FA Trophy tie at Uxbridge last Saturday.

Go well, Alex, and enjoy your time with The Hoops.

POST-MATCH REACTION | MIKE SANDMANN | LOWESTOFT 0-3 ACADEMY

Our Academy continued its outstanding FA Youth Cup campaign in stunning style in Suffolk on Tuesday evening.

Goals from Leo Dodds, Mohammed Ali, and Archie Hatcher earned their side a place in the Third Round and a trip to Premier League Brighton & Hove Albion.

Manager Mike Sandmann knew who deserved the credit for the fantastic win – his players.

He said: ” I couldn’t be prouder of the players – to a man they performed and limited Lowestoft to few chances.

“We certainly saved our best performance in the competition for this game.

“It’s a massive occasion for the players and a lot of pressure for both teams, but I felt we dealt with that particular well.

“Lowestoft are a good side – you don’t get to this stage of the competition unless you’re a good side, but I felt our performance really limited them on the night.

“We now have the opportunity to travel to Brighton and enjoy the occasion and game against a Premier League side.

“It will be great for our players to compete against them and have the exposure that will come from it.

“The players deserve all the credit they will receive –  myself and staff couldn’t be prouder of them.

“We could also potentially become the only non-league club left in the competition which will speak volumes in itself.”

MATCH PREVIEW: UXBRIDGE V DOVER

Our FA Trophy campaign starts with a Second Round tie at Isthmian South Central side Uxbridge on Saturday.

The game at Honeycroft kicks-off at 3pm and the Supporters Club is running a coach and it’s not too late to book your seat on it.

Please contact Craig on 07934 300335 for all the details.

DOVER TEAM NEWS 

Andy Hessenthaler’s matchday squad sees the return from injury of player-assistant manager Mitch Brundle and young midfielder George Wilkinson.

Captain Lee Martin misses the trip as he will be serving a one-game ban following his red card against Chippenham Town at Crabble last Saturday while George Nikaj also misses out as he’s cup-tied after playing in the tournament while on loan at Ashford.

Defender Tyrone Sterling (ankle) and forward Noah Carney (knee) both remain on the sidelines.

COVERAGE 

Please note that there will be NO live updates on Twitter – @DAFCLiveText – for this game.

DOVER COLOURS

For fans heading to the game wanting to wear the same shirts as the players, we will be wearing our navy blue kit.

TICKET INFORMATION

Admission prices are:

Adults £10

Concessions £5

Under 16’s FREE when accompanied by an adult

 

MATCH PREVIEW: OXFORD CITY V DOVER

Tuesday night under the lights will see Dover playing hosts Oxford City for the first time since 2013.

Manager Andy Hessenthaler’s squad is unbeaten on the road in four National League South games and will be aiming to extend their three-game unbeaten run against an Oxford side that drew 2-2 against visiting Hemel Hempstead Town last Saturday.

DOVER TEAM NEWS 

Andy Hessenthaler’s squad will be unchanged from the one that drew 1-1 against Chippenham Town at Crabble last Saturday.

Captain Lee Martin, who was sent off on Saturday, is available tonight but will serve a one-game ban in the FA Trophy Second Round tie at Isthmian South Central Uxbridge on Saturday.

Midfielder George Wilkinson (foot), defender Tyrone Sterling (ankle), forward Noah Carney (knee), and Mitch Brundle (knee) all remain on the sidelines.

LAST TIME WE MET – OCTOBER 26th 2013

Dover Athletic 3-0 Oxford City

Whites lead 3-0 at half-time in the FA Cup First Round proper tie at Crabble thanks to goals from Sean Raggett, Nathan Elder, and Barry Cogan.

Dover: M. Walker, C. Stone, T. Wynter, T. Forbes, S. Raggett, B. Cogan, J. Rogers, C. Kinnear Jnr, N. Elder (E. Charles 75′), T. Murphy (M. Bakare 83′), R. Modeste (L. Bellamy 44′)

Subs not used: L. Hook, M. Emmanuel, M. Kamara

Attendance: 886

REACTION TO FA CUP DRAW

RAGGETT EXTENDS CONTRACT

 

COVERAGE 

We will have live updates on Twitter – @DAFCLiveText – follow us and get all the news as it happens.

DOVER COLOURS

For fans heading to the game wanting to wear the same shirts as the players, we will be wearing our navy blue kit.

TICKET INFORMATION

You can get all the information you need HERE

Tickets are £2 cheaper if purchased online.

TUESDAY’S OTHER NATIONAL LEAGUE SOUTH FIXTURES

Braintree Town v Farnborough
Cheshunt v Ebbsfleet United
Chippenham Town v Havant & Waterlooville

MATCH PREVIEW: DOVER V CHIPPENHAM TOWN

Andy Hessenthaler will be taking charge of his 300th game as Dover’s manager in the National League South game against Chippenham at Crabble on Saturday.

He reaches the landmark after 140 games in his first spell when he was player-manager between 2007-2010 and 159 since he returned in October 2018.

Whites, unbeaten in their past two games following a win at Bath City and a draw at Chelmsford City last Monday, host a Chippenham team heading to Kent after expereinces the highs and lows of the game within a week.

They beat League One side Lincoln City 1-0 to reach the FA Cup Second Round for the first time in their history last Saturday before losing their National League South game at Cheshunt 3-2 on Tuesday, a game they led 2-0 at half-time in.

It was the Bluebirds fourth consecutive league defeat and it saw them drop into the bottom four.

.WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

You can read the Chippenham preview HERE

LAST TIME WE MET IN A LEAGUE GAME AT CRABBLE  –  SEPTEMBER 13th 2002

Dover Athletic 0-0 Chippenham Town

The 13th really did prove to be an unlucky number for Dover as the Whites missed two penalties as the points were shared in the Southern League Premier Division clash.

Matt Carruthers beat the keeper with his penalty kick but the effort crashed against the bar after 34 minutes.

In the 72nd minute, Chippenham defender Simon Charity handled in the box to gift Dover a second penalty.

Lee Spiller took over the spot-kick duties – but managed to blast the ball over the top.

Dover Athletic: Hyde, Browne, Dyer, D.Readings, Arnott, Chapman, Patterson, Spiller, Wilkins, Tyne (Glover 54), Carruthers.

Substitutes not used: Amadi, Smissen, Cloke, Postma

Attendance: 809

DOVER TEAM NEWS 

Defender Myles Judd and leading goalscorer Alfie Pavey are both back in the matchday squad after missing the draw at Chelmsford City on Monday through suspension.

Young midfielder George Wilkinson misses out with a foot injury and joins defender Tyrone Sterling (ankle), forward Noah Carney (knee), and Mitch Brundle (knee) on the sidelines.

COVERAGE 

The game kicks off at 3 pm you are unable to make it, we will be providing live updates on Twitter – @DAFCLiveText – follow us and get all the news as it happens.

BBC Radio Kent will also be covering the game with Matt Gerrard on commentary duties HERE

PROGRAMME

Printed matchday programmes will be available for sale around the ground and from the club shop.

 

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets for this game can be purchased at the turnstile only.

Prices are as follows:

Adults – £16

Over 60 – £14

Under 18 – £8

Under 11s continue to be free with paying adult

SATURDAY’S OTHER NATIONAL LEAGUE SOUTH FIXTURES

Chelmsford City v Hampton & Richmond
Concord Rangers v Welling United
Eastbourne Borough v St Albans City
Ebbsfleet United v Tonbridge Angels
Farnborough v Dartford
Havant & Waterlooville v Dulwich Hamlet
Hungerford Town v Slough Town
Oxford City v Hemel Hempstead Town
Taunton Town v Cheshunt
Weymouth v Braintree Town

POST-MATCH REACTION | MIKE SANDMANN | ACADEMY 3-2 LANGLEY

Our Academy played their way into the history books after they beat Langley FC 3-2 in the FA Youth Cup First Round proper tie at Crabble on Tuesday evening.

Archie Hatcher, Leo Dodds, and Joel-Michael Oderian scored the goals which saw the team become the first one to reach the Second Round for the first time in the 12-year history of the Academy.

Manager Mike Sandmann’s team will now head to Suffolk to play Lowestoft Town in the Second Round.

Lowestoft beat Concord Rangers 4-3 on penalties last week after it finished 1-1 after extra time.

Not surprisingly, Sandmann was full of praise for his talented youngsters.

He said: “What a great achievement and what a fantastic performance – I couldn’t be prouder of the players.

“Langley played their part and were a good side with some very good individuals and we knew that coming into the game.

“We watched them in the build-up to the game and thought we performed well on the night limiting their creative players

“We showed great character after missing the penalty and the players didn’t allow it to affect them, which is important.

“I felt we could have been in front by more at half-time but you have to give Langley credit for making it difficult.

“Heading into the final 10 minutes with only a one-goal lead was always going to be nervy, but I thought we limited them to very few chances and defended well as a team.

“As the manager, I’m always going to be looking to improve, but I don’t want to take anything away from the players – they were excellent and have made history getting to this stage, and let’s see where it takes us.

” I would also like to thank the fans who came to watch, so thank you so very much for your ongoing support of the Academy lads – they do really appreciate it.”

CHAIRMAN’S UPDATE

Dover Athletic Chairman Jim Parmenter provides us with an exciting update on what’s been happening behind-the-scenes at the club.

For some weeks now I have been developing a new community strategy for the Club and can now update our Supporters and the wider community of our plans which have been formulated in conjunction with our main sponsor Megger, who have been fantastically supportive of our plans, and you will hear more about their involvement and support in due course.

3G PITCH PROJECT

I have been in positive discussions with the Kent County FA and Dover District Council about a project to convert our old training pitch behind the River End Stand to a 3G pitch exclusively for community use.

We have already started to discuss the matter with the youth football community and the feedback has been very positive indeed.

The time has now come to consult the wider community and our neighbours on the project.

So any person or organisation who has an interest in using the facility and would like to add their support to the project please contact me at [email protected]

Equally, if any of our neighbours have any questions or concerns I would be happy to meet with them at the stadium and explain the project.

To be clear, the facility will be designed for small-sided games up to 9 a side with an option for two 5-a-side pitches on the same area.

Our emphasis will be on Community engagement particularly mini-Soccer, Youth football, Futsal and walking football.

We will be continuing with our excellent Saturday morning “Happy Feet” project.

Our emphasis will be to reach out also to members of the Community with disabilities and diverse ethnic backgrounds as well as developing women’s and girls’ football.

So please, if you have an interest in the project or any concerns do not hesitate to contact me.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND INCLUSION OFFICER

Thanks to the support of our friends at Megger we are able to bring a colleague into the team to drive our community activities.

We will be embarking on a diverse programme within the Community (sporting and non-sporting) and whilst football will form an important part of our community activities, they will by no means be exclusively football related.

More details will be published soon.

So in the meantime, I would like to send my best wishes to everyone and I will continue to keep you all updated.

FA CUP TIE IS ON!

Our Academy will now play their postponed FA Youth Cup First Round proper tie against Langley FC at Crabble tonight at 7.45pm.

The original game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch last Thursday.

With a win tonight, Manager Mike Sandmann’s young team will become the first team to reach the Second Round for the first time in the 12-year history of the Academy.

In the four games they have played in the competition so far, the Academy have beaten Hollands & Blair (9-1), Margate (5-0), Ebbsfleet United (5-1), and Walton & Hersham (6-2).

Admission for the game is £10 and £5 for concessions with cash only being accepted.

 

NEW DATE FOR CUP TIE

Our Academy will now play their postponed FA Youth Cup First Round proper tie against Langley FC at Crabble next Tuesday, November 8th at 7.45pm.

The original game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch on Thursday.

Should Manager Mike Sandmann’s team win, they will head to Suffolk to play Lowestoft Town in the Second Round.

Lowestoft beat Concord Rangers 4-3 on penalties on Wednesday after it finished 1-1 after extra time.

The young Whites will also become the first team to reach the Second Round for the first time in the 12-year history of the Academy.

In the four games they have played in the competition so far, the Academy have beaten Hollands & Blair (9-1), Margate (5-0), Ebbsfleet United (5-1), and Walton & Hersham (6-2).

Admission for the game is £10 and £5 for concessions with cash only being accepted.

 

GAME OFF!

Tonight’s Academy’s FA Youth Cup First Round proper tie against Langley FC at Crabble has fallen victim to the weather and, following a referee’s inspection, has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.