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Chippenham Town 2-1 Dover Athletic

Match Report by Fred Deveson

A bright afternoon in Wiltshire saw Dover narrowly lose to Chippenham Town 2-1, but the performance from the Whites showed significant improvement.

The away side changed their thinking and approach for the game yesterday, with there being an increased emphasis on keeping the ball and looking to build attacks slowly from the back.

The Whites made the best start to the game. Baptiste was looking lively on the left and Nikaj was working hard on the right and getting some joy against their left back.

Dover won some early corners and looked threatening from them but there was no goal yet.

The majority of possession was Dover’s and they looked ever more threatening when building from the back. However, it was Chippenham who had the best chance of the half, when their number four went in behind Ojemen and hit the bar.

Soon after, the ball was picked up in the middle by Naylor, who ran into the box and was bundled over but no penalty was the decision. The hosts then counter but it comes to nothing.

The visitors looked threatening from set-pieces and that is exactly how they took the lead. A good ball from Wilkinson came in and it was Holding who rose highest and the ball dribbled in. Dover were one up.

The second half started similarly, with Dover dominating the ball. The hosts came out with more energy and enthusiasm as they sought an equaliser.

The Bluebirds got themselves a free-kick in a good positionoutside the area but Jinadu saved easily once again. The away side then went up the other end, earnt themselves a corner and almost doubled their lead but Naylor headed just over.

Not long after, the hosts were back on level terms. Some poor defending from Dover and confusion in the penalty area gave their forward an open goal to tap the ball into.

The pressure from the home side grew as the game wore on. The Whites were getting tired towards the end and this only helped the hosts.

Then in the 87^th minute, it was Chippenham Town who took the lead. A corner came in and was headed out but not far enough, as their number four crashed a shot off the bar which just went over the line. The referee gave the goal much to the delight of the home fans.

Dover made a late surge to try and level the game but their hopes and efforts came to nothing and it was the hosts who took all three points.

It’s Maidstone at home next Saturday for Dover who will look to bounce back against the FA Cup story of the season.

Chippenham Town: 1 HENRY 2. HEWLETT 4. FASANMADE 6. HAINES 9. MCCLURE (C) 10. OWEN-EVANS 12. MEHEW 14. SPOKES 15. ELLISON 16. BRADBURY 20. KING

Subs: AMADI-HOLLOWAY, 7. JOHNSON, 8. EVANS, 17. WILLIAMS, 19. JONES

Dover Athletic: 1 JINADU, 3 CHARLES-COOK 16 MENSAH (C), 26 HOLDING, 4 OJEMEN, 15 NAYLOR, 14 WILKINSON, 8 OLIVER, 22 BAPTISTE, 10 NIKAJ, 20 DEMBELE

Subs: 7 OLADIPO, 17 HATCHER, 18 YOUNG, 11 ALLEN, 23 STEWART

Club Statement: Kent Senior Cup

Dover Athletic can confirm that due to fielding an ineligible player in the Kent Senior Cup second round match on 6 February we have been dismissed from the competition and Beckenham Town have been reinstated.

Prior to the game the player in question informed our management team that he had never played in the Kent Senior Cup. He also disclosed that he had never signed for Welling which was evident as this was not present on his registration form.

After the game the player had no knowledge of playing in Kent Senior Cup and thought he had only played in a ‘friendly’ for Welling. The players agent was also unaware that the player had played in the competition.

At no point did the management team have any idea of his involvement for Welling or playing in KSC prior to the game. The management team had no reason to check as the last club on his registration form was Brentford who do not take part in the competition.

We are very disappointed and would like to apologise to our fans that this has happened.

Up Next – Chippenham Town vs Dover Athletic

Match Preview by Fred Deveson

This weekend Dover are back on the M4 as they face Chippenham in a game that people will feel is a must win if the Whites are to survive this season.

Chippenham Town have not been on the best run lately; they have only won two of their last eight games, losing three and drawing three.

The hosts this weekend currently sit in 15^th place in the National League South and are not too far off the relegation places so they will feel this is a must win game too.

Before their 2-2 away to Slough, Chippenham had not been scoring well at all, with just two goals in four games prior to their draw last time out, which is something Dover may look to exploit.

The hosts this weekend went 0-2 up against Slough, only to give up the lead in the 84^th and 87^th minutes.

In terms of the head-to-head statistics, Dover are worse off, having not beaten Chippenham at all, whilst Dover’s opposition have won once and the other two games ending in a draw.

The Whites’ record of late has not been up to the level that Jake Leberl would have been hoping of his team. Dover have lost seven of the last nine and have been struggling for goals lately, apart from the away game at Worthing.

Dover’s last away win came at the very start of the season against Slough Town, and since then the away form has not been good, however the performances have largely improved.

Destiny Oladipo may also be hoping to get his name back on the scoresheet for Dover this weekend as he looks to provide a glimmer of hope as we head towards the back end of the season.

However the game goes it is sure to be a good one and the players will be beginning to feel the pressure as they look to make one last big push for survival this season.

Chippenham Town vs Dover Athletic. Saturday 24 February 2024, 3PM.

If you are planning to visit Chippenham this weekend, be advised that tickets can be purchased on the gate for this game, and cash / card is accepted. Please find ticket prices below:

Adults: £15, Senior Citizens*: £11, Junior (16-18): £5, Child (5-15)**: £3
*Students with a student card and serving Armed Forces personnel with an ID card.

U16’s FREE when accompanied by a paying adult.

Fixture Update: Truro City

The Whites National League South fixture against Truro City has been rescheduled for Tuesday 16 April.

This away trip will now take place at Taunton Town’s Wordsworth Drive.

Girls Football Sessions

The club are delighted to be starting Girls Football sessions!

The sessions will be starting on Saturday 23^rd March and will be hosted on the Community Pitch at Crabble. Sessions will run from 10:15-11:15am for girls aged 11-16 years old.

Sessions are being run by FA qualified coaches at a cost of £4 per session.

For more information email [email protected]

Dover Athletic 0-1 St Albans City

Match report by Fred Deveson.

The fans were in full voice for last night’s match against St Albans, but it was the away side who took all three points.

The away side started the game on top and had lots of the ball and some good chances. Dover couldn’t get near the visitors at the start of the game.

Daniel Jinadu was called into action a couple of times early on and the Dover goalkeeper made a number of good saves to keep the score level.

The away side were efficient in attack and were making some good combinations that were working well for them and Dover just couldn’t handle it.

Destiny Oladipo made his first start for the club in the league but did not have much to do due to the visitors pinning Dover back, but when he did get the ball he used his strength effectively and was a very good outlet.

George Wilkinson had a long range effort from the half way line go wide of the goal and that was Dover’s only real threat in the first half.

It wasn’t long after this that the visitors took the lead however. Shaun Jeffers, St Albans’ main man, found the back of the net after a good passing move by the away side. The goal had been coming.

The second half started much brighter for Dover. Two substitutions were made by Jake Leberl at half time which saw Dembele and Young come on, both of which provided an injection of energy and enthusiasm.

Dembele made some positive runs in behind the defence and worked incredibly hard to try and level the scoring.

The chances did eventually come thick and fast for the hosts. Dembele chased a hopeful ball in behind and managed to get the better of the defender but his effort was saved. He then picked up the loose ball and tried to lift it over the goalkeeper but the ball bounced back off the bar. Nikaj then had a chance to finish but his effort was blocked and the chance to equalise went amiss.

Dover continued to have lots of the ball but chances for either side were few and far between.

Towards the end of the game St Albans had a shot crash off the post after a brilliant effort left the goalkeeper rooted to the spot.

The game then petered out with the away side wasting time and seeing out there 0-1 win to make 9 wins in their last 13 games.

Dover Athletic: 1 DANIEL JINADU, 3 ROMAN CHARLES-COOK, 16 JACOB MENSAH (C), 26 SCOTT HOLDING, 4 PETER OJEMEN, 25 JOHN OYENUGA, 14 GEORGE WILKINSON, 8 FREDDIE OLIVER, 22 LUKE BAPTISTE, 10 GEORGE NIKAJ, 7 DESTINY OLADIPO

Subs: 9 ZIDAN SUTHERLAND, 15 CHARLIE NAYLOR, 18 HENRY YOUNG, 11 IFFY ALLEN, 20 NICK DEMBELE

St Albans City: 1 JOHNSON, 2 JAMES, 3 BROWN, 4 SMITH, 6 CLARK, 8 RASULO, 9 JEFFERS, 11 BANTON, 15 HUTCHINSON, 18 FRANCIS-CLARK, 28 HODDLE

Subs: 5 BOWRY, 7 BLACKMAN, 12 WEISS, 19 BURGER, 31 MENSAH

Attendance: 410

Referee: Steven Hughes

New Signing: Kai Neil-Gray

Prior to our home game against Dartford on February 17^th, Dover Athletic confirmed the signing of Kai Neil-Gray, who signs permanently after impressing against Beckenham.

The Whites’ new attacking midfielder scored in the 0-4 win at Beckenham and impressed the manager so much so that he has signed permanently for the club.

In an interview with the new Dover man, Kai said he was “really excited” to get going and that he feels like he has already settled in with the squad well, having played against Beckenham already with the team and having been around the squad for a while already.

Neil-Gray also said that due to having partaken in training and having seen how the team plays and what the manager wants, he feels like he has settled in well already and is ready to hit the ground running.

Kai expressed his desire to give back to the fans for the remainder of the season and to show everyone what he is capable of. The new attacking midfielder also says he is capable of playing out wide on either flank which is something that the team will welcome.

The new number 24 also said he can “do a bit of everything” from tracking back to running in behind and being progressive with the ball, which is no doubt going to have a positive impact on the team.

Interview by Fred Deveson

Up Next – Dover Athletic vs St Albans City

Match preview by Fred Deveson.

It’s back-to-back home games for Dover Athletic who play twice in four days at Crabble as they look to make a push for survival.

St Albans are on a good run at the moment, being unbeaten in all but one of their last eight games, winning five of those. They currently sit in a playoff spot and are looking to make a push for promotion to the National League.

They have had some difficult games in this run, but they have drawn to Yeovil, beaten Torquay and drawn to Hampton and Richmond, all of which are promotion rivals.

A positive for Dover is that they are winless in their two away games, but they have beaten Torquay 0-4 in the south west.

The visitors on Tuesday have won eight of their last twelve games and appear to be scoring freely of late, despite their latest game being a 3-1 defeat to Bath.

George Wilkinson said before the Dartford match that the team are going to do all they can in the little time that there is to prepare for the Tuesday game. The midfielder said it is important that the players playing full 90 minutes look after themselves and that the team as a whole has to be on it.

Whilst St Albans’ record is looking very good of late, Dover’s home record hasn’t been too bad of late. Despite the loss to Dartford, the performance was promising and wins against Slough and Aveley have shown that Crabble isn’t always an easy place to go.

The Whites have lost seven of their last nine games, however, which is a worrying sign in itself, but not all of the defeats have been deserved.

In the head-to-head between the two, Dover have edged it. The Whites have won three times, drawing twice and losing twice, which is a positive sign.

It’s sure to be a good game on Tuesday night, and Dover will be looking to bounce back after the loss to Dartford.

First team coach Mike Sandmann has said before the game:

A quick turnaround from the disappointment of Saturdays result, it’s important to not to dwell too much and make sure we learn from every match taking into the next.

We need to get back to be difficult to play against and make sure we are organised better throughout the pitch from set plays.
Mike Sandmann

Dover Athletic vs St Albans City, Tuesday 20 February 2024, 7.45pm.

Ticket Information:

Admission for this match is by turnstile only. We accept both card and cash on the gate.

Adults – £17

Over 60 – £15

Under 18 – £9

Under 11s continue to be free with paying adult

We are also offering a five game ticket. These can only be used by one individual per match and not in groups.

Adult – £75 (£10 saving)
Concession – £65 (£10 saving)

Dover Athletic 1-2 Dartford

Match report by Fred Deveson

A milder afternoon saw Dover fall short once again, as they lostout to Billy Terrell and Dartford in a narrow 1-2 defeat.

The game kicked off was Dover kicking from left to right, and it was the hosts who dominated the start of the game, having plenty of the ball in the Dartford half.

George Nikaj was looking positive on the right for the hosts and had a penalty shout waved away in the early exchanges. The away side then broke away but they attack came to nothing.

The Whites were utilising the wide areas well and Baptiste found himself in some good space in the wide area, but his ball came to nothing, and Dartford survived again.

The visitors did make a comeback halfway through the first half. A close-range effort was saved by Jinadu after a well worked move by the away side.

Dartford then picked up the ball around the edge of the area and fired a shot at Jinadu, who made a great diving save to his right to keep the score level.

The visitors kept the pressure up and Jinadu was called into action again, as were Mensah and Holding, who kept the away side at bay well for large parts of the first half.

The number 7 of Dartford had a shot that went just over, but that wasn’t it for the first half, as the visitors did eventually take the lead. George Wilkinson said pre-match that Dover had been working on set-pieces during the week, but that was exactly how Dartford went ahead. A corner came in from the visitors and the header away only fell to a purple shirt and he fired it past the goalkeeper to put the visitors in front.

The Whites started the first half much like they started first; on the front foot, and whatever the manager said at half time definitely had an impact.

Baptiste found some more space in the wide areas and delivered a great ball, only for Billy Terrell to stop it reaching Zidan Sutherland with a good save.

Another chance came soon after for The Whites as George Nikaj fires the ball across the face of goal, with no one there to meet it.

George Nikaj had some more joy down the right hand side, as another ball in from him fell to Wilkinson, who’s effort crashed off the bar.

Substitutions started to come for Dover, as manager Jake Leberlbrought on Destiny Oladipo and Iffy Allen in a bid to get the equaliser.

And shortly after bringing on Oladipo, it was the big number 7 who got the goal for Dover to level it up. Roman Charles-Cook made a good overlapping run into the box and delivered a perfect ball to Oladipo who squeezed it in from close range.

However, just eight minutes later, a corner came in from Dartford and Jacob Mensah was adjudged to have handballed and a penalty was given.

The visitors converted the penalty, sending the travelling fans into delirium.

That wasn’t it for Dover’s chances however, as a free-kick came in from the left by Wilkinson which was met by Nikaj, who headed it goalwards but it was somehow cleared off the line.

Dartford then survived the final few minutes to take all 3 points back home with them for the first time since Boxing Day.

Dover Athletic: Jinadu, Charles-Cook, Mensah, Holding, Naylor (Oladipo 69mins), Oyenuga, Wilkinson, Oliver, Baptiste (Allen 61mins), Nikaj, Sutherland. Subs not used: Ojemen, Young, Dembele.

Dartford: Terrell, Wynter, Smith (Maloney 86mins), Nembhard, Rooney (Adebowale 86mins), Romain, Coulson, Shomotun, Box (Wall 77mins), Clifford, Statham, Subs not used: Whitefield, Boulton.

Referee: Dan England.

Attendance: 794.

Up Next – Dover Athletic vs Dartford

Match Preview by Fred Deveson.

Dover are back at Crabble this weekend as they host Dartford, who are struggling towards the bottom end of the league.

The visitors have a particularly poor record in their last five matches, losing every one of them, and only scoring two goals in that tricky period.

The away side are without a win since boxing day, when they came out on top away to Welling United, who are themselves fighting for survival.

Dartford are not big scorers either, having only scored four goals this calender year, which is something Dover will be looking to exploit this weekend, as the Whites’ defence has largely improved despite letting in six last weekend at Worthing.

The away side have also failed to keep a clean sheet in their last seven games and have been the first to concede in four of their last five, showing just how poor their record is of late.

The visitors have had a slightly busier schedule recently, with postponements making their schedule difficult. Dartford hosted Chippenham during the week; a game in which the visitors took a 0-1 win.

As for Dover Athletic, their record has not been much better than Dartford’s lately but they did find their scoring boots last week at Worthing, scoring four times in a 6-4 defeat.

The defence has somewhat weakened in the last two away fixtures, conceding nine in the last two, but at home it is a different story, with Dover keeping a clean sheet against Slough last time out at Crabble.

The two George’s at Dover have scored plenty for Dover in the past few games, with George Wilkinson getting two wonderful goals against Worthing, and George Nikaj netting the winner against Slough and the equaliser at Taunton.

The Whites will be hoping that the pair can find their form once again against a leaky Dartford defence.

before the game Manager Jake Leberl has said:

We look to bounce back here today & get back to being a lot harder to beat than we have been in the two previous away games, where at home to date we have been, it’s our job to motivate the players & install the correct work ethic & temperament into the group to keep going to the last kick of the season which I feel we have just come away from in last two games, we need to build for whatever lay ahead what we can’t do or accept is down tools.
Jake Leberl

Dover Athletic vs Dartford – Saturday 17 February 2024, 3pm