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Weymouth 0-0 Dover Athletic

It finished 1-1 at the Bob Lucas Stadium for our 11th draw of the season. 

It was a windy afternoon in Weymouth for Jake Leberl’s second game in charge. The conditions provided a scrappy start to proceedings with few chances for either side. 

The first came for The Whites as George Nikaj got a good ball across the face of goal. A flurry of free kicks for Weymouth followed around the edge of the box, with David Aziaya making light work of each attempt.

In the 32nd minute Oyenuga had a strong cross-cum-shot tipped over by the Weymouth keeper. The Terras quickly followed this up with a looping cross to score the first goal at the other end. A fine volley from Goodship. The halftime whistle sounded 10 minutes later.

The start of the second half saw Dover pile on the pressure with Nikaj snatching one off a Weymouth defender and shooting inches wide. A few moments later Wilkinson’s shot went out for a corner.

The 59th minute corner, well delivered by Akehurst, resulted in a classic goal mouth scramble with loanee Scott Holding poking it home before the Weymouth defence could clear. 

The remaining thirty minutes saw end to end action with chances for both sides and good saves from David Aziaya. The points were shared but it was another resolute performance from Dover. 

We’re at home again on Boxing Day as we welcome Aveley to Crabble.

Attendance: 1,001

Weymouth: BENFIELD, HOWE, HAMBLIN, COOK, THOMPSON, BEARWISH (C), GOODSHIP, ROLLINSON, PARSONS, RUTHERFORD, ROWAN

SUBS – CLARKE, O’CONNELL, ROBERTS, TOURAY, BOLTON

Dover Athletic: AZIAYA, OYENUGA, AKEHURST, MENSAH, HOLDING, NAYLOR, DUNNE (C), WILKINSON, NIKAJ, SUTHERLAND, DEMBELE

SUBS – YOUNG, CHARLES-COOK, BAPTISTE, HATCHER, ALLEN

FESTIVE TRIPLE HEADER PREVIEW

It’s a busy Christmas for The Whites as coming up Dover face Weymouth away from home, and then games against Aveley home and away follow in quick succession.

Weymouth, Dover’s hosts for this Saturday, sit just above the relegation zone in 20th spot, having failed to win in their last 3 games. The two sides faced off in the FA trophy earlier in the season in an absolute cracker, with the game ending 4-4 and Weymouth taking the victory via a penalty shootout.

Weymouth then lost in their third round fixture away to Hendon. Their last league victory came against Truro City on the 21st November, which means this game is here for the taking.

Dover are, however, 11 points behind their next opponents and need this win in order to kick start their survival chances once again. Jake Leberl’s side put out an impressive display in their last match at Crabble, getting a respectable draw against a good Bath side, so hopes are high.

Aveley will prove to be a much tougher fixture for Dover, as they sit in a playoff place in their first season in the National League South. The Whites will have to be on top of their game if they’re to get all 3 points in a tough fixture.

Aveley will be visiting Dover first, and the hosts will be encouraged by the poor away form of the Boxing Day visitors, as the away side for that fixture have won just once in their last 5 away games.

Aveley have seen slightly more success at home, but are currently winless in 3 at their home ground, and have failed to take all 3 points in their last 5 league games.

Match preview by Fred Deveson

Weymouth vs Dover Athletic – Saturday 23 December

Adult £16
Concession
(Over 65, Armed Forces, Dorset Carers Card, Students – in full time education PROOF required) £12
Youth ( 13 – 17 ) £6
Junior ( 7 – 12 ) £4
Under 7* 0
Tickets can be pre purchased online here – https://sales.weymouthfootballclub.co.uk/index.php

Dover Athletic vs Aveley – Tuesday 26 December

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)

Aveley vs Dover Athletic – Saturday 30 December

Adults – £15
Concessions – £10
11 to 16- £5
U8 – Free

STRIKER – DID YOU HIT THE NET?

Latest Striker Results for Wednesday 20th December.

Congratulations to all the winners and better luck next time if your name wasn’t drawn out. It could well be your time next week.

For anyone who doesn’t know how the Striker Lottery works well let me explain if for you. Each week, so long as you have paid your £1 weekly subscription, your number will be entered into a draw. If your number is drawn, congratulations – you’re a winner! It’s as simple as that. The draw is held every Wednesday. Keep an eye on the website and social media pages for full details. Who knows, your number could scoop the £1,000 top prize.

Please note that only paid-for tickets are entered in the draw. For your convenience, your membership fee can be collected from you, or you can pay at the Club Office or, to save time, you can pay monthly or quarterly by standing order.

Contact [email protected] to register your interest and good luck

Dover Athletic 0-0 Bath City

Match report by Fred Deveson

A wintery Crabble saw Dover and Bath share the points in a goalless affair which could have been won by either side had they been more clinical.

The starting lineup was somewhat different for the hosts, as new signings Holding and Aziaya made their first starts for the club as The Whites shifted to a back five. George Nikaj also earnt himself a start, whilst Iffy Allen and Dontai Stewart missed out.

The visitors started the game on top, having a good share of the ball and having a shot narrowly miss the target. The back 5 of Dover were solid, and they contained the away side well, limiting them to meaningless possession. Scott Holding, the man on loan from Watford, had a great start to the game. He was incredibly composed and made some good tackles to keep The Romans at bay. His distribution from the back also contributed to his good start, as he made some good accurate long balls. Oyenuga also impressed, winning his duels and fighting hard for his team.

There was a newfound energy about the team and this was evident throughout the match. Each player worked hard for each other and never gave up any fight. Their bravery and team spirit did not go unrewarded, as there were plenty of chances for the hosts to get their noses in front. Zidan Sutherland had a good chance in-on goal but his lob attempt was saved.

Another chance came from a corner shortly after, where Naylor crashed his header against the bar. While heading for goal, Naylor clashed heads with a Bath player and there was a stoppage in play so both could receive treatment. The Dover man returned to the pitch and impressively saw out the rest of the match.

Bath did fight back, however, and they almost opened the scoring mid-way through the first half, if not for Jacob Mensah clearing off the line, after the debutant goalkeeper Aziaya was beaten.

It wasn’t long before Dover were on the attack again though. Wilkinson worked a beautiful pass in behind The Romans’ defence and Zidan Sutherland netted a beautiful finish into the top right corner, only to see it ruled out for offside. Close. The promising signs were there.

There were other chances to counterattack during this spell. George Nikaj had a couple of chances to pick the right ball but on both occasions, he couldn’t quite get it to his man. Zidan had a similar opportunity, but the ball sent Nikaj too wide, and the attack fizzled out. The game was there for the taking, if Dover could be clinical enough to take one of these chances.

The away side weren’t without their opportunities too. A free-kick just outside the box whistled beyond the goal and Dover survived. Later on, they also had a chance around the edge of the box, which just went over the bar.

Luke Baptiste came on and replaced Nikaj on the wing and looked promising. He offered more pace and unpredictability in the wide areas and causes problems. The problems for the visitors continued as Dembele chased a long ball behind the defence and looked certain to get there. He was arguably pulleddown to the ground inside the area, but the hosts’ protests were waved away by the referee.

From then on, the game looked increasingly likely to end goalless, and that is exactly how it finished. Dover had chances to take all 3 points, but a clean sheet at home saw them take just one, in a game where a lot of positives can be taken for Mike Sandmann and Jake Leberl.

Weymouth are Dover’s hosts next time out in the National League South.

Dover Athletic: Aziaya, Oyenuga, Akehurst, Mensah, Holding, Naylor, Dunne, Wilkinson (Young 93mins), Nikaj (Baptiste 61mins), Sutherland, Dembele. Subs not used: Powell, Hatcher, Sesay.

Bath City: Buse, Raynes, Greenslade, Dyer, Parselle, Clark (Thorn 79mins), Hayfield, Cooke, Thomas (Smith 65mins), Wilson, Russe. Subs not used: Batten, Frear, Lines.

Referee: Ayrton Hussey.

Attendance: 506.

UP NEXT – BATH CITY

Romans return to Dover for our next home league fixture.

Bath City make their longest National League South journey of the season this Saturday as they make the 400-mile round trip to Crabble in what will be Jake Leberl and Mike Sandmann’s first game together in the dugout.

Bath beat National League outfit Boreham Wood in the third round of the FA Trophy last Saturday with a late goal from Dan Hayfield and sit 7th in the NLS table. The reverse fixture between Bath and Dover back in September finished 2-2 as The Whites drew after being 2-0 up, the goals came from Archie Hatcher and Iffy Allen.

With our game against Truro last Saturday being postponed, Jake and the team have had plenty of time to work on the training ground as we look to turn our season around. New loan keeper David Aziaya is set to make his debut between the sticks with new defender Scott Holding arriving for the month from Watford.

COYW!

Bath City Form Guide:

Pictures courtesy of Flashscore.com

Head to Head:

We still have players available to sponsor, an updated list will be in todays match day programme. If you are interested click HERE

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)

Staff Update

John McNicoll has recently departed from his role with the club.

We’d like to thank John for all his hard work as both Media Officer and Kitman as he leaves Crabble. John, who joined us at the start of 2023 has supported the club from near and far including a stint coaching the youth teams during the last decade. We wish John all the best in the future!

In John’s departure, we would like to welcome George Cory as our new Media Officer.

George, who has supported The Whites for as long as he can remember, has taken the step up from Media Volunteer to one of our core members of staff. George will take care of the social media side of things as well as keeping the website updated with all the relevant information as well as helping to create our matchday programme.

‘I’m really pleased to have progressed from a volunteer to a member of the DAFC team and looking forward to continuing my work on the clubs media – I’m really grateful to be involved with the club that means so much to me. COYW!’

For any media enquiries contact George directly on [email protected]

Welcome to Crabble, George.

Two leave the Whites

The club can confirm the departure of midfielder Josh Anifowose who has joined Hampton & Richmond Borough. We’re disappointed that Josh is leaving us but thank him for all his efforts so far this season and wish him the best in his career.

We can also announce that Sinn’Kaye Christie has left the club and is no longer on dual-registration with Ramsgate. We’d like to thank Sinn’Kaye for his efforts during his short time with us

Holding Loaned To Dover

Watford Academy defender Scott Holding has completed a short-term loan move to Dover Athletic.

The 20-year-old – who signed for the Hornets’ Under-21s in May 2022 – will remain with the National League South side until January 9, 2024.

Having been on Manchester United’s books in his youth, Holding continued his development in Stockport County’s academy and made his first-team debut for the Hatters in January 2022.

He has previously experienced loan spells with Northern Premier League Premier Division outfits Ashton United and Stalybridge Celtic.

Welcome, Scott!

STRIKER – DID YOU HIT THE NET?

Latest Striker Results for Wednesday 13th December.

Congratulations to all the winners and better luck next time if your name wasn’t drawn out. It could well be your time next week.

For anyone who doesn’t know how the Striker Lottery works well let me explain if for you. Each week, so long as you have paid your £1 weekly subscription, your number will be entered into a draw. If your number is drawn, congratulations – you’re a winner! It’s as simple as that. The draw is held every Wednesday. Keep an eye on the website and social media pages for full details. Who knows, your number could scoop the £1,000 top prize.

Please note that only paid-for tickets are entered in the draw. For your convenience, your membership fee can be collected from you, or you can pay at the Club Office or, to save time, you can pay monthly or quarterly by standing order.

Contact [email protected] to register your interest and good luck

BATH CITY – VIP STYLE

Fancy watching the Whites take on Bath City in style? Of course you do.

The boys will be looking to put on a show and where else would you rather watch it than here with us.

Watch the game from the best seats in the house and let our match day hospitality provide the ultimate way to spend your time with us.

The package includes:

  • Butler hosted lounge with large TVs and a projector showing the game
  • A three-course meal served at your table
  • Reserved undercover premium padded seating
  • Complimentary tea, coffee & mineral water, plus a dedicated paid bar before and after the match
  • Complimentary match day team sheet

The very special experience costs £28 per person and is available for individual and group bookings, or as a gift voucher.

Please note that this price does NOT include entry for non-season ticket holders who do attend, and they will still need to pay at the turnstile on the day.

On the menu for the game will be :

  • Duck and Orange pate
  • Roast beef sirloin, roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables
  • Belgium chocolate and black cherry mountain

Arrival at the ground should be at 1pm and food will be served at 1.30pm.

There are only 64 spaces available, so all tickets will be sold on a first-come-first-served basis.

The dress code is smart casual.

To buy your VIP ticket please email [email protected] or call the office on 01304 822373