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REDUCED ADMISSION FOR CUP CLASH

DOVER Athletic have reduced the admission price for the Kent Reliance Senior Cup quarter-final clash with VCD Athletic next Monday (February 6).

The club has cut the price down to just £5 for all, while under-11s get into Crabble for free, to allow as many fans and members of the community as possible to come and see the game against the Ryman League North club.

Boss Chris Kinnear’s side won 1-0 at Ryman League, Division 1 South side Herne Bay thanks to Tyrone Marsh’s first half goal earlier this month to earn the home tie.

VCD beat Gillingham 3-2 in the last round.

The game kicks-off at 7.45pm.

PREVIEW: WHITES V CHESTER FC

Dover will be out to end a run of two consecutive National League defeats when they host Chester FC at Crabble on Saturday.

Losses at Macclesfield Town and Lincoln City have seen boss Chris Kinnear’s side drop to sixth on the ladder on goal difference behind Barrow.

Whites will also want to secure a first win at home since the 3-1 triumph against Woking on November 22.

But the boss is not letting the formbook get to him.

He said: “It is always disappointing to lose, but we are not going to overreact to recent defeats.

“With second to fifth all facing each other, Saturday will provide a great opportunity for us to make up some ground and hopefully we can end the day in the play-off positions again.”

Chester FC scored five second half goals to beat Dover 5-0 earlier this season and condemn Whites to their heaviest league defeat in two years.

Something captain Jamie Grimes wants to erase from the memory bank.

He said: “We owe Chester after probably our worst performance of the season at their place in October.

“It was possibly a false score in the end after having played 60 minutes with goalkeeper Steve Arnold hobbling around with a fractured foot.

“But that doesn’t make that result any easier to bear – that hurt, so hopefully we can put it right on Saturday.”

 

CHESTER’S RECENT FORM

The Blues came from behind the draw 1-1 against visiting Wrexham in the cross-border derby last Saturday.

Former Chester man John Rooney put Wrexham ahead in the second half after he scored from close range.

James Alabi levelled for the hosts from the penalty spot after he had been brought down by James Jennings.

Chester finished the game with 10 men after a second yellow card for captain Luke George.

Alabi also scored a double in Chester’s previous league game, a 2-1 win at Braintree Town.

RECENT MEETINGS

01/10/16: Chester 5-0 Dover Athletic

24/11/15: Chester 1-1 Dover Athletic

15/08/15: Dover Athletic 0-0 Chester

11/04/15: Chester 3-1 Dover Athletic

11/10/14: Dover Athletic 2-0 Chester

HITMEN

Whites’ top scorer in the National League this season is Ricky Miller with 25.

Miller’s strike partners Ross Lafayette and Moses Emmanuel are also both in double figures with Emmanuel on 11 and Lafayette with 10 to his name.

Alabi is Chester’s leading man with 11 goals.

DOVER TEAM NEWS

Assistant boss Jake Leberl said on Friday that there are no injury concerns although Ricky Modeste’s involvement remains to be seen as he awaits the birth of his first child.

TICKET NEWS

Tickets can still be purchased on the day and this match is NOT segregated.

 COVERAGE

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

SATURDAY’S OTHER NATIONAL LEAGUE FIXTURES (3pm)

Aldershot Town v York City

Barrow v Forest Green Rovers

Bromley v Southport

Eastleigh v Woking

North Ferriby United v Macclesfield Town

Solihull Moors v Maidstone United

Torquay United v Gateshead

Tranmere Rovers v Dagenham & Redbridge

Wrexham v Boreham Wood 

AWAY DAYS

Dover hit the road for two National League games at North Ferriby United and Woking Town with Supporters Club coach details as follows for travelling fans.

NORTH FERRIBY UNITED (3pm Saturday, February 18)

Coach leaves Crabble at 7.30am and the cost is as follows:

Adults Members £30, Adult Non Members £45 and accompanied child (under 16) £10.

WOKING TOWN (7.45pm Tuesday, February 28)

Coach leaves Crabble at 4.30pm and the cost is as follows:

Adults Members £15, Adult Non Members £30 and accompanied child (under 16) £10.

Please call or text Andy Fisher on 0793 4300335 to book your seat or see him in the Centre Spot before or after today’s game.

You are now required to pay for your seat in advance in cash or by cheque or via bank transfer.

Visit http://www.dasc.co.uk/ for all the details.

DAFC ACADEMY 1-2 HASTINGS

CONNOR Miller’s goal was not enough to prevent Dover Academy from suffering their first home defeat of the season after losing 2-1 against Hastings on Wednesday.

Dover made a promising start to the game with Kyran Connolly having his diving header ruled offside.

But coach Mike Sandmann’s young side did finally break the deadlock through Miller in the 25th minute.

A great run into the box and cross from Ben Cardwell ended with Miller (pictured above) firing home.

Dover were in control now and were creating plenty of chances but couldn’t make them count, so they had to settle for a slender lead at half-time.

It was Hastings who started the stronger side after the break and they equalised from close range 10 minutes into the half.

Once again Dover created plenty of chances and again failed to put them away.

The best chance of the second half saw Cardwell fail to put away a cross from man-of-the match Matty Robinson.

Dover continued to pile on the pressure and Connolly had another goal disallowed in the 65th minute after Josh Spencer was ruled to have fouled the goalkeeper.

The young Whites kept working hard and tried to counter through Jordan Bartlett, which was cut out by the Hastings defence.

But those missed chances came back to hurt Dover when Hastings netted the winner after a ball across the Academy’s box was slotted home.

Match report by James Belcher and Rohullah Habibi.

PREVIEW: LINCOLN CITY V DOVER ATHLETIC

JAMIE Grimes scored his first goal of the season in the 2-0 win against Lincoln City at Crabble in September.

The captain says he wouldn’t mind repeating it when Whites play the now table-topping Imps at Sincil Bank on Friday night.

But the defender, who has scored in his past two National League games, admits that comes way down on his list of priorities as boss Chris Kinnear’s side aim to complete the double over Lincoln for the second consecutive season.

Grimes said: “A win is my first priority, regardless of who scores – I don’t mind at all as long as we get the three points.

“I would then say a win with a clean sheet is next on my list and then a win with goal from yours truly would be nice as I will have about 12 family members in the crowd!

And Grimes is well aware of the challenge that lies ahead in Lincolnshire.

He said: “We want the points – they want them too.

“It’s going to be a massive game with a massive crowd in attendance.

“As player, these are games you want to play in. Me and lads are really looking forward to it.”

LINCOLN’S RECENT FORM

The Imps dumped Championship side Ipswich Town out of the FA Cup on Tuesday night after winning the Third Round replay 1-0 at Sincil Bank.

Nathan Arnold scored the all-important goal in injury time after the sides had drawn 2-2 at Portman Road 10 days earlier.

In their last National League game, Lincoln came from behind to beat nine-man Guiseley 3-1 at Sincil Bank on New Year’s Day.

Guiseley took the lead through Sam Habergham’s own goal before the hosts replied with an Alan Power penalty and goals from Sean Raggett and Arnold.

That win took them top of the ladder and they are currently five places and six points ahead of Whites.

RECENT MEETINGS

31/01/15: Lincoln City 1-0 Dover Athletic

07/03/15: Dover Athletic 1-2 Lincoln City

09/01/16: Lincoln City 2-3 Dover Athletic

15/03/16: Dover Athletic 4-1 Lincoln City

24/09/16: Dover Athletic 2-0 Lincoln City

HITMEN

Whites’ top scorer in the league this season is Ricky Miller with 25.

Miller’s strike partners Moses Emmanuel and Ross Lafayette are also both in double figures with 11 and 10 respectively.

Matt Rhead is Lincoln’s top marksman in the league with 11 goals while Arnold has got 10.

TEAM NEWS

Boss Chris Kinnear says all players are fit for the trip apart from an ill Ricky Modeste.

The squad will also include loan signing, defender Connor Essam. who arrived from Eastleigh last week and played in the Kent Reliance Senior Cup win at Herne Bay on Monday.

Lincoln signed Brighton & Hove Albion winger Joe Ward on a one-month loan deal last week.

The 21-year-old has played four games this season for Albion’s under-21 side in the EFL Trophy.

DOVER COLOURS

For Dover fans wanting to show their colours at Lincoln by wearing the matching shirts as the players, captain Jamie Grimes and his team-mates will be wearing their blue shirts.

TICKET NEWS

With the game being broadcast live on BT Sport, and due to the interest in the fixture from Imps’ supporters, the decision has been made to open up the Stacey West Stand for home fans.

That means Dover supporters will now be in blocks 1-3 of the Bridge McFarland Stand and not in the normal away end.

Dover fans will be able to buy tickets at the away turnstiles on Friday night and prices are as follows:

Adult  £18

60+/*Disabled £13

Student (Photo ID)  £7

Junior U18  £7

 *Disabled – Proof of DLA Medium/ High | PIP – enhanced. If travelling disabled supporters have the HIGH or ENHANCED rate they will be entitled to the helpers ticket free of charge.

COVERAGE

The game starts at 7.45pm but if you are unable to make the trip north, we will have live updates on Twitter – @DAFCLiveText ƒ- follow us and get all the news as it happens!

Coverage starts from 7pm.

COACH TRAVEL

The Supporters Club are running a coach to the game at Lincoln City and it’s not too late to get on it.

Thanks to a generous donation by local businessman and huge Dover Athletic fan Nick Cunningham– who owns Nick Cunningham Plumbing and Heating Engineers, based in Sandwich –seats on the coach are being sold at a reduced price.

We thank Nick for his kind gesture and hope that fans take advantage of his generosity.

Coach leaves Crabble at 1pm and the cost is:

Adults Members £10, Adult Non Members £20 and accompanied child (under 16) £5.

Please call or text Andy on 0793 4300335 to book your seat.