Match Report by Fred Deveson
An icy afternoon saw the hosts Dover Athletic fall short to the Cornwall outlet Truro, who made it 6 wins in 7 following this win.
There were a couple of changes to the starting lineup; Henry Young started the game in midfield and Roman Charles Cookearned a start at right wing back, with Oyenuga moving to centreback alongside Naylor and Holding. George Wilkinson dropped to the bench.
The weather might’ve been icy, but Dover made a fiery start to the game. Zidan Sutherland started the game on the right andhad a good opening few minutes. He ran at the Truro backline and caused all sorts of problems, one leading to an early corner which came to nothing.
Dover kept good possession of the ball early on and made some good inrodes. George Nikaj’s tight control of the ball made life hard for the Truro players and was almost rewarded but for a good save by the visiting goalkeeper down to his right. The signs were positive.
Defensively Dover started solidly, with Scott Holding tidying up at the back and Oyenuga putting in a few good challenges. The away side had very little to go off in the opening exchanges and found it tough.
The best chance of the game came in the first half for the Whites. Zidan Sutherland was put through on goal with only the goalkeeper to beat, but he put too much on it and lifted the ball over the keeper but also over the bar.
That was not all, as Akehurst put in a lovely low cross which fizzed across the six-yard box, but nobody was there to meet it.
The Cornish side came back towards the end of the first half, with a long-range effort hitting the side netting, much to the relief of Aziaya in the Dover goal.
The second half began and the visitors were on top from the restart. Goalkeeper Aziaya was called into action early on, making a good stop down to his right, but the signs were there that Dover were vulnerable.
The opening goal came a short while later and it was on the cards. A simple corner floated into the box caused confusion and the visitors got a head to it making it 0-1. There was a bit of controversy around the goal, with Aziaya claiming he had been fouled, but nevertheless the goal was given and Dover were behind.
The second goal followed not long later, and it was a poor goal to concede. A long ball found the Truro number 5 who ranunmarked from centre back all the way through Dover’s backline, and he found the back of the net with a cool finish into the bottom corner.
The game looked to be sealed. Dover introduced Hatcher, Wilkinson and Allen shortly after going 2 down, but the energy wasn’t there from the team. The visitors were rock solid at the back and let minimal through.
There was a glimmer of hope for the hosts, who in the last 5 minutes had a golden chance to half the deficit. The ball deflected it’s way to Allen who was about 6 yards out, but could not convert due to some heroic goalkeeping.
The game then petered out, with Truro taking all 3 points back to Cornwall, and making it 4 consecutive away wins at Dover’s expense.
Taunton Town await Dover in the next fixture on the 13thJanuary.
Dover Athletic: Aziaya, Oyenuga, Akehurst, Charles-Cook, Holding, Naylor, Dunne (Allen 75mins), Young (Wilkinson 68mins), Nikaj, Sutherland (Hatcher 68mins), Dembele. Subs not used: Oliver, Baptiste.
Truro City: Hamon, Melhado, Riley-Lowe, Adelsbury, Palmer, Harrison, Dean, Brett, Porter (Rooney 75mins), Neal (Sullivan 78mins), Harvey. Subs not used: Jones, Buse, Sanders.
Referee: Charles Martland.
Attendance: 598.