Category: First Team News

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS: DOVER 2-1 GUISELEY

Catch up on the best of the action from Saturday’s win.

WHITES STRIKE LATE TO BEAT LIONS

DOVER 2-1 GUISELEY

(Brundle 7) (Southwell 63)
(Pinnock 88)

MITCH Pinnock struck late to hand Whites a valuable three points against a determined Guiseley side at a wet and windy Crabble on Saturday.

The midfielder collected Femi Ilesamni’s pass and after cutting inside Jack Sheppard, fired through the body of visiting keeper Luke Coddington as Chris Kinnear’s side registered back-to-back league victories for the first time since September.

Captain Mitch Brundle had given his side an early lead with a scorching 30-yard effort, but Dayle Southwell levelled midway through the second half in equally stunning fashion from a free-kick.

Dover almost made the ideal start as Pinnock crashed an effort onto the bar with the match barely five minutes old.

But Brundle was able to better his teammates’ effort, driving a 30-yard scorcher into the top corner after Anthony Jeffrey played the ball into the skipper’s path.

Ryan Bird thought he had doubled the lead after burying Brundle’s cross, but the linesman’s flag denied the forward his thirteenth National League goal of the campaign.

And Athletic’s top scorer went close again moments later, this time heading Jeffrey’s cross narrowly wide.

Whites were almost made to pay for their missed chances as new Lions recruit Harry Flowers nodded over Callum McFadzean’s corner.

The former Burnley defender then blazed wide of a static Mitch Walker moments after his previous chance.

Giancarlo Gallifuoco nodded off target from Pinnock’s corner as the home side searched for a second goal and Walker was called into action twice in succession at the other end, firstly tipping away McFadzean’s low drive and then producing a similar save to deny James Roberts.

Brundle almost had his first brace of the season, flashing Bird’s pass just past the post after the restart.

Walker punched away Roberts’ ferocious drive as the visitors seeked to end a run of three defeats on the spin away from home.

And it looked like one of Guiseley’s recent new signings had rescued a precious point for Paul Cox’s strugglers shortly after an hour.

Dayle Southwell, signed from Wycombe earlier in the week, curled a sumptious 20-yard free-kick past an onlooking Walker.

Cheers from the 2327 strong crowd, in attendance for the club’s third Community Day of the season, were short-lived after the linesman ruled out Pinnock’s curling shot after Bird had allegedly strayed offside.

And midfielder Pinnock almost made the controversial decision irrelevant as he blasted a set-piece past the wrong side of Northampton loanee Coddington’s post.

But the midfielder finally got his just rewards two minutes from time and Femi Ilesanmi almost wrapped up the points in injury time, but he was he was unable to find the finish needed following a lung-busting run from his own half.

Earlier, Kinnear kept with the same side that started away at Boreham Wood last weekend.

The win sees Whites move up one place to sixth in the table, five points off current leaders Macclesfield Town.

Dover next host Leyton Orient in the Buildbase FA Trophy on Saturday 3rd February. Kick off 3pm.

Dover: Walker, Gallifuoco, Essam, Parry, Passley, Nortey (Bellamy 78), Pinnock (Okosieme 90), Brundle (c), Ilesanmi, Bird, Jeffrey (Daniel 79).

Subs not used: Richards, Fazakerley.

Guiseley: Coddington, Sheppard, Flowers, St Ledger, Crookes, McFadzean, Lenighan, Harvey (c), Southwell, Odejayi (Fondop-Talom 62), Roberts (Liburd 88).

Subs not used: Palmer, Purver, Haworth.

Attendance: 2327

Referee: Sam Purkiss

COMMUNITY DAY TODAY

We will host our third Community Day of the season today.

We’ve given 50 tickets to every school in the Dover district to allow students to attend the day and savour the Crabble experience during the National League clash with Guiseley.

The game kicks-off at 3pm but Community Day sees the turnstiles open at noon.

There will be goody bags, flags and balloons for the children.

We look forward to welcoming you all to Crabble.

COYW!!

JEFFREY LOAN DEAL EXTENDED

Dover Athletic have extended winger Anthony Jeffrey’s loan from Sutton United until the end of the season.

The 23-year-old arrived at Crabble from our National League rivals in November and has made eight league and two FA Trophy appearances for Chris Kinnear’s side in that time.

Before joining Whites, Jeffrey, who started his career as a trainee with Arsenal, made 11 appearances for the U’s this season.

PREVIEW: WHITES V GUISELEY

Dover will be aiming to secure a third consecutive victory when they take on Guiseley at Crabble on Saturday.

Chris Kinnear’s men won at Boreham Wood last weekend to end a winless streak of five National League matches.

And Athletic’s boss will be confident of three points against a Guiseley side on a run of three straight defeats on the road.

The Lions, currently bottom of the away league table, have turned to a man with international experience to help turn around their current plight.

Former Republic of Ireland defender Sean St Ledger signed for Paul Cox’s side last week. The 33-year old has 37 caps and scored his country’s only goal at Euro 2012.

GUISELEY’S RECENT FORM

13/01/18: AFC FYLDE 2-1 GUISELEY

Fylde bagged the three points late on thanks to Danny Rowe’s stunning free-kick.

The striker fired in from 30 yards to extend his side’s unbeaten run to ten matches and codemn the visitors to a second consecutive defeat.

Jonny Smith slotted in on 18 minutes to give the hosts a deserved lead.

But the Lions hit back 12 minutes later as James Roberts headed in Liam Hughes’ cross.

Visiting keeper Joe Green kept the home side at bay with a string of fine saves, but was powerless to prevent National League top scorer Rowe’s thunderous set piece two minutes from time.

PREVIOUS MEETING

23/09/17: GUISELEY 1-1 DOVER

Whites drew at Guiseley thanks to a stunning first-half equaliser from Nortei Nortey.

The midfielder curled home a sumptious 20-yard effort in the 40th minute to cancel out John Rooney’s deflected free-kick 11 minutes earlier.

The home side started strongly and Rob Atkinson nodded Rooney’s free-kick narrowly wide.

The forward then tried himself moments later, but could only strike the top of the crossbar with a thunderous effort from close in.

But shortly after Mitch Walker tipped over Kayode Odejayi’s header from a corner, Rooney had better luck with his next effort.

The playmaker’s set-piece struck the visiting wall and spun into the net past a stranded Walker to put the hosts ahead.

Dover’s stopper then somehow denied Jake Lawlor on the half-hour mark, tipping the defender’s header onto the post with his defence able to clear the danger afterwards.

And that save proved crucial as Athletic levelled moments later with their first shot on target.

Nortey, who had already blazed two shots from distance over, collected Kadell Daniel’s pass and fired home.

The hosts almost won the match late on after Reece Thompson robbed Connor Essam, but the striker could only find the side-netting when shooting towards the near post

The draw saw Whites drop one place in the table to third, one point behind then leaders Sutton United.

OTHER MEETINGS

25/03/17: Guiseley 0-4 Dover
19/11/16: Dover 2-0 Guiseley
19/03/16: Guiseley 0-1 Dover

TICKET NEWS

Prices are as follows:

Adults – £17
Over 60’s – £14
Under 18’s – £8
Under 11’s – Free (With an accompanying adult)

COVERAGE

The game starts at 3pm but if you are unable to make the trip, we will have live updates on Twitter – @DAFCLiveText – follow us and get all the news as it happens!

Coverage starts from 2pm.

SATURDAY’S OTHER NATIONAL LEAGUE FIXTURES

BARROW V SUTTON UNITED
BROMLEY V FC HALIFAX TOWN
DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE V SOLIHULL MOORS
EASTLEIGH V HARTLEPOOL UNITED
EBBSFLEET UNITED V BOREHAM WOOD
GATESHEAD V MAIDSTONE UNITED
LEYTON ORIENT V ALDERSHOT TOWN
MACCLESFIELD TOWN V TORQUAY UNITED
MAIDENHEAD UNITED V CHESTER
WOKING V AFC FYLDE
WREXHAM V TRANMERE ROVERS

AWAY TRAVEL

There is a coach travelling to Solihull Moors on Saturday 17th February and it is not too late to book your space on it.

It departs Crabble at 9:15am and the the prices are as follows:

Adult members £25, adult non-members £40 and accompanied child (Under 16) £10.

Please call or text Andy on 0793 4300335 to book your seat, or see him in the Centre Spot after the matches against Guiseley, Leyton Orient or Sutton.

Please note you are now required to pay for your seat in advance by cash or via bank transfer.

CHESTER FC DATE SET

Our National League game at Chester FC has now been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 6th at 7.45pm.

The game against the Blues was scheduled to take place on Saturday February 3rd but had to be re-arranged due to our progress in the Buildbase FA Trophy, which sees us host a Third Round tie against Leyton Orient at Crabble on that date.

VIDEO: PLAYER REACTION

Goalscorers Manny Parry, Kadell Daniel and Femi Ilesanmi all speak to the camera following Dover’s 3-2 win at Boreham Wood on Saturday.

VIDEO: ASSISTANT MANAGER REACTION

Jake Leberl has his say following Whites 3-2 win at Boreham Wood on Saturday.

WHITES WIN AT WOOD

BOREHAM WOOD 2-3 DOVER

(Stephens 70) (Parry 52)
(Davey 87) (Daniel 72)
(Ilesanmi 85)

Whites ended a four-match losing run against Boreham Wood to leapfrog their opponents in the table with an exciting 3-2 win at Meadow Park.

Following a goalless first half, Manny Parry gave the visitors the lead with his third goal in as many games before Dale Stephens volleyed the Wood back on level terms with 20 minutes remaining.

Sub Kadell Daniel put Athletic ahead again before Femi Ilesanmi made it 3-1 after he fired home against his former club.

Alex Davey pulled one back late on but Whites held on to secure their first league victory of 2018.

The visitors started brightly with Ryan Bird just missing out on Mitch Pinnock’s dangerous cross.

And Dover were almost made to pay five minutes later as Angelo Balanta placed the ball wide with the net gaping after Giancarlo’s miss-kick allowed Kane Smith to burst through and pass to the Colombian from the byline.

Keira Murtagh then volleyed wide and Ricky Shakes blazed over after picking up on a rebound from a free kick.

Stephens headed wide of the mark from a Bruno Andrade corner and the hosts went even closer as half-time loomed.

Murtagh’s blocked effort fell for Shakes to drive home from the edge of the box, however Connor Essam was on hand to clear the ball off the line.

Chris Kinnear’s men went ahead seven minutes after the restart thanks to Parry.

The defender, celebrating his 24th birthday, diverted Bird’s lobbed pass goalwards through a crowded area, finding the bottom corner via the post much to the surprise of home goalie Grant Smith.

Dover should have doubled their lead after Anthony Jeffrey out paced the opposing backline, but the loanee dragged his shot wide when one-on-one with Smith.

And that miss proved costly as Boreham Wood levelled through Stephens.

The centre-back, volleyed into the roof of the net from close range after Andrade’s corner ended up at his feet.

But the home side’s parity only lasted matter of seconds.

Bird nodded on Pinnock’s long throw and with Smith already diving to his right, Daniel hooked the ball into the middle of the goal, in spite of the keeper’s attempts to palm the ball away.

Wood Sub Michael Folivi was unable to pass to a teammate after finding space down the left hand side and the Watford loanee then saw his next strike blocked by the sea of yellow shirts ahead of him.

And Whites seemingly wrapped up the three points thanks to Ilesanmi’s fine finish against his former club.

The wing-back collected Daniel’s cross and after cutting inside, smashed the ball with his right foot into the bottom corner.

But the 117 visiting fans had to endure a nervy few minutes when Alex Davey clawed a goal back for the Hertfordshire team.

Andrade’s 20-yard set piece struck the bar and after some pinball in the box, Davey fired in to set up a grandstand finish.

But Whites held on to move up one place to sixth in the standings and extend their unbeaten run on the road to five matches.

Earlier boss Kinnear made one change to the side that started at home to Marine last weekend. Anthony Jeffrey replaced Kane Richards, who started as a substitute.

Boreham Wood: G Smith, K Smith, Stephens, Shakes, Champion(c), Murtagh, Andrade, Quigley (Folivi 59), Turley, Balanta, Davey (Woodards 90).

Subs not used: Ricketts, Jeffers, Turgott.

Dover: Walker, Passley, Gallifuoco, Essam, Parry, Ilesanmi, Brundle(c), Nortey (Okosieme 82), Pinnock, Bird, Jeffrey (Daniel 66).

Subs not used: Richards, Fazakerley, Bellamy.

Attendance: 527

Referee: Neil Hair

PREVIEW: BOREHAM WOOD V WHITES

Dover will be looking to reverse their poor run of form against The Wood when they travel to Hertfordshire on Saturday.

Chris Kinnear’s men have lost on the last four occasions these sides have met, including a 5-0 drubbing when they played at Meadow Park back in March.

However Whites go into the game unbeaten in three away matches and secured their first victory of 2018 in last weekend’s thrilling 4-3 FA Trophy win over Marine.

Luke Garrard’s side, themselves on a four-game unbeaten run in the National League, currently sit one place and two points above Dover in the table.

And two of the visiting squad will be familiar with their surroundings when they arrive on Saturday.

Femi Ilesamni played 43 games for Wood last season, while Anthony Jeffrey featured 53 times over four separate spells.

BOREHAM WOOD’S RECENT FORM

16/01/18 – BOREHAM WOOD 1-2 GATESHEAD (FA Trophy replay)

Steve Watson’s men came from behind to advance to the last 16 of the Trophy.

The home side opened the scoring on 20 minutes thanks to their dangerman Bruno Andrade.

The striker, who scored an injury time penalty at Gateshead to set up the replay, pulled the ball back for loanee Joe Quigley to net his first for the club since signing from Bournemouth.

And the striker almost had his second of the night soon after but volleyed narrowly over.

The Heed battled back and were level twenty minutes from time after Paddy McLaughlin cut inside and powered an effort past Wood stopper Grant Smith.

And the turnaround was complete seven minutes later.

Luke Hannant reacted fastest following a defensive mix-up and slotted into an empty net to send his side into round three.

PREVIOUS MEETING

12/09/17 DOVER 0-1 BOREHAM WOOD

Whites were knocked off top spot after a defensive error handed Boreham Wood all three points at a wet and windy Crabble on Tuesday evening.

Blair Turgott slotted in the only goal of the game in the 43rd minute after Connor Essam’s clearance cannoned off the striker and sent him through on goal.

Mitch Walker initially saved his first effort, but the ball rebounded back for the on-loan forward to fire past two despairing Dover defenders on the line.

The first real home chance fell the way of Ryan Bird, but David Stephens was on hand to clear off the line after the striker nodded Mitch Pinnock’s cross goalwards.

Turgott struck just before the half-time whistle, but Whites almost levelled immediately after through Mitch Brundle.

The Whites skipper’s volley from outside the area narrowly cleared the crossbar via a deflection, much to the relief of Grant Smith in the away goal.

After the restart, Walker was at his acrobatic best to firstly prevent Danny Woodards bullet header finding the top corner and then tip Brundo Andrade’s fierce free-kick over the bar.

With only minutes remaining, Smith somehow got a hand to Pinnock’s curling set piece as Dover suffered their first loss in three matches and dropped into fifth spot in the table.

OTHER MEETINGS

14/03/17: Boreham Wood 5-0 Dover
9/08/16: Dover 1-4 Boreham Wood
28/03/16: Boreham Wood 3-0 Dover

TEAM COLOURS

For those travelling fans wanting to wear the same colours as the players, captain Mitch Brundle and his teammates will be wearing their yellow ones.