.

*BS*THE BATTLE of the in-form sides will be staged at SeaFrance Crabble on Saturday when Whites take on one of their closest title rivals Worthing.*BF*

While nothing is won or lost in December, a Dover victory would see them move 12 points clear of Worthing, who have made it clear that they are gunning for top spot.

After a faltering start, the Rebels are putting together a strong run of results. They currently lie in 5th place, nine points behind Dover with two games in hand.

Worthing have won eight of their last nine league games, dropping just two points (at home to 3rd placed Cray). Last Saturday they beat Kingstonian 2-0 at home, a match that Dover boss Andy Hessenthaler watched after Whites’ game at Walton Casuals was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

Hess spoke to doverathletic.com earlier this week and said of Worthing: “We saw them play at the weekend, Darren and myself. It’s going to be a really good test for us.

“They’ve got a really young side, a little bit of experience at the back. We were impressed with them when they beat Kingstonian. They’ve got a number of ex-pros, I think, released from Brighton.

“It will be a real good test for us but if we’re on our game I believe we’ll be good enough to win the game. Let’s hope we can make it eight wins on the bounce.”

*Q1*Worthing have also had a couple of players on loan from League One Brighton in the opening two months of the campaign. When they returned to Withdean it was thought Worthing might struggle but the south coast side have gone from strength to strength.

A tight defence has been key so far to the Rebels’ winning streak, having conceded just 10 goals in 14 league games. Goalkeeper Rikki Banks has recently been rewarded with the Ryman South Golden Gloves award for November.

Skipper Ben Andrews and goalscorer Ben Johnson have received the plaudits in recent weeks, both scoring hat-tricks in the past few games. Andrews is a former Brighton centre back, who likes to get forward and was their leading goalscorer last season in Ryman Premier.

Saturday’s game at Crabble will arguably be Worthing’s biggest test so far this season, a match which gives them the opportunity to narrow the gap between themselves and Dover to six points with two games in hand. More of a six-pointer for Worthing than Dover, perhaps, as they are the team playing catch-up.

In the summer when it appeared Worthing may be reinstated to the Ryman Premier division, boss Alan Pook said on their official website: “We will be playing with a young side and this [Ryman Premier] will be a much tougher division. The standard of the division below [Ryman South] is much lower and it would have given the young players more time to settle in. I could virtually guarantee promotion from the division below.”

Dover have put themselves in a very healthy position in the table with Monday night’s 2-0 victory against Walton & Hersham, who are now 14 points behind Whites in 8th place.
*Ppic1*
Andy Hessenthaler reviewed the game when speaking to doverathletic.com editor Justin Allen earlier this week. Whites’ boss said: “Seven wins now on the bounce in the league. For all our dominance in the first half, we only scored two which was a shame.”

Dover had the lions share of possession throughout the game, particularly in a dominant first half. However, it took a piece of instinctive quality from man of the match Jon Wallis to open the scoring.

Hess said: “I thought Wallis was terrific in the first half. His goal was the best we’ve seen at Crabble this season. Hell of a strike. His confidence levels look very high. I think Alan Pouton maybe brings the best out of him. Alan brings people into the game, the way he passes the ball.

“Pouts made a big impact in the first half. He was struggling before the game. He had stitches in his ankle, he was black and blue on his other leg from that game against Sutton so we took a risk on him really.

“He did struggle second half but he’s got minutes in his legs, which was important. First half he was the main instigator of most of our passing moves. Pleased to have him back, he’s going to be a big player for us, especially with the period coming up.

“November and December is a big time for us because over the years it’s not been very good for Dover. In November we had four wins and let’s hope we can have a really good December as well.”

Dover will need to keep their shooting boots on for tricky games against Worthing, Cray, Ashford and Whitstable this month. Striker Jimmy Dryden was awarded the Ryman South Golden Boot for his six league goals in November but didn’t get the rub of the green on Monday.

Hessenthaler said: “I think the Golden Boot jinxed Jimmy a little bit! He had a number of chances that in November he would have tucked them away but it didn’t happen for him. The lad’s got lots of confidence. Credit to him, it looks like he’s enjoying his football. He’s just got to keep that going.”

*Q2*Shaun Welford endured some frustration in front of goal too on Monday, hitting the post with a header from a couple of yards out but the powerful striker didn’t have to wait long to get on the score-sheet as he netted just a minute later.

Hess said: “He gives us something different, Shaun. He’s more of a battering ram, an old fashioned centre forward. The one he scored was a good finish, he got across the near post – good ball from Jimmy. The one he missed, when he’s hit the post, he should have scored. He knows that.

“I’m pleased with his all-round game. He got tired in the end but that’s because he hasn’t played for a couple of weeks. He just gives us something different up front, which is nice to have.”

Currently on the injury sidelines for Whites are goalkeeper Dean Ruddy, who hopes to be back in contention within a fortnight, and forward Lee Browning. During Ruddy’s absence Dover have been fortunate to call upon Crystal Palace’s 3rd choice goalkeeper David Wilkinson on loan. The youngster has conceded just four goals in six appearances, two of which were against Sutton in the FA Trophy.

Wilkinson’s loan spell is due to run out after Saturday but Hessenthaler is hoping that Crystal Palace will extend it: “I will know on Thursday whether we’ve got him. I want to take him for another month, he’s been fantastic for us.

“I’ve spoken to Jim Stannard at Palace. I know him really well, he was at Gillingham with me. He’s going to speak to Neil and Neil’s having a think on it. Hopefully we might get him right through December as well, which would be fantastic. If that’s the case that will be good news for us.”

*Ppic2*Whites have several weeks now without midweek league matches, which the Dover boss believes will be useful to build up fitness for the weeks and months to come.

Hessenthaler said: “We looked a bit leggy in the end (of Monday’s game). I think some of the players who’ve come from the league clubs, i.e. Frannie Collin, Wallis, Matt Fish, Sam Gore, the difference for them is they’re only doing two nights (training) a week so they’ve got to get on top of their fitness levels I feel. That means they have to do a bit themselves during the week. We talked about that and we will be monitoring their fitness levels because pitches are getting heavier.

“We’ve got a couple of weeks where we’ve got free midweeks so we’ll be working on their fitness levels on Tuesday nights because of the Christmas period coming up.

“It’s a long season, pitches become heavier and we’ve got to have the legs to get through that. If we’re going to win this league, as much as we’re a very good footballing side, we’ve got to be the fittest side as well.”

*BS*THE BATTLE of the in-form sides will be staged at SeaFrance Crabble on Saturday when Whites take on one of their closest title rivals Worthing.*BF*

While nothing is won or lost in December, a Dover victory would see them move 12 points clear of Worthing, who have made it clear that they are gunning for top spot.

After a faltering start, the Rebels are putting together a strong run of results. They currently lie in 5th place, nine points behind Dover with two games in hand.

Worthing have won eight of their last nine league games, dropping just two points (at home to 3rd placed Cray). Last Saturday they beat Kingstonian 2-0 at home, a match that Dover boss Andy Hessenthaler watched after Whites’ game at Walton Casuals was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

Hess spoke to doverathletic.com earlier this week and said of Worthing: “We saw them play at the weekend, Darren and myself. It’s going to be a really good test for us.

“They’ve got a really young side, a little bit of experience at the back. We were impressed with them when they beat Kingstonian. They’ve got a number of ex-pros, I think, released from Brighton.

“It will be a real good test for us but if we’re on our game I believe we’ll be good enough to win the game. Let’s hope we can make it eight wins on the bounce.”

*Q1*Worthing have also had a couple of players on loan from League One Brighton in the opening two months of the campaign. When they returned to Withdean it was thought Worthing might struggle but the south coast side have gone from strength to strength.

A tight defence has been key so far to the Rebels’ winning streak, having conceded just 10 goals in 14 league games. Goalkeeper Rikki Banks has recently been rewarded with the Ryman South Golden Gloves award for November.

Skipper Ben Andrews and goalscorer Ben Johnson have received the plaudits in recent weeks, both scoring hat-tricks in the past few games. Andrews is a former Brighton centre back, who likes to get forward and was their leading goalscorer last season in Ryman Premier.

Saturday’s game at Crabble will arguably be Worthing’s biggest test so far this season, a match which gives them the opportunity to narrow the gap between themselves and Dover to six points with two games in hand. More of a six-pointer for Worthing than Dover, perhaps, as they are the team playing catch-up.

In the summer when it appeared Worthing may be reinstated to the Ryman Premier division, boss Alan Pook said on their official website: “We will be playing with a young side and this [Ryman Premier] will be a much tougher division. The standard of the division below [Ryman South] is much lower and it would have given the young players more time to settle in. I could virtually guarantee promotion from the division below.”

Dover have put themselves in a very healthy position in the table with Monday night’s 2-0 victory against Walton & Hersham, who are now 14 points behind Whites in 8th place.
*Ppic1*
Andy Hessenthaler reviewed the game when speaking to doverathletic.com editor Justin Allen earlier this week. Whites’ boss said: “Seven wins now on the bounce in the league. For all our dominance in the first half, we only scored two which was a shame.”

Dover had the lions share of possession throughout the game, particularly in a dominant first half. However, it took a piece of instinctive quality from man of the match Jon Wallis to open the scoring.

Hess said: “I thought Wallis was terrific in the first half. His goal was the best we’ve seen at Crabble this season. Hell of a strike. His confidence levels look very high. I think Alan Pouton maybe brings the best out of him. Alan brings people into the game, the way he passes the ball.

“Pouts made a big impact in the first half. He was struggling before the game. He had stitches in his ankle, he was black and blue on his other leg from that game against Sutton so we took a risk on him really.

“He did struggle second half but he’s got minutes in his legs, which was important. First half he was the main instigator of most of our passing moves. Pleased to have him back, he’s going to be a big player for us, especially with the period coming up.

“November and December is a big time for us because over the years it’s not been very good for Dover. In November we had four wins and let’s hope we can have a really good December as well.”

Dover will need to keep their shooting boots on for tricky games against Worthing, Cray, Ashford and Whitstable this month. Striker Jimmy Dryden was awarded the Ryman South Golden Boot for his six league goals in November but didn’t get the rub of the green on Monday.

Hessenthaler said: “I think the Golden Boot jinxed Jimmy a little bit! He had a number of chances that in November he would have tucked them away but it didn’t happen for him. The lad’s got lots of confidence. Credit to him, it looks like he’s enjoying his football. He’s just got to keep that going.”

*Q2*Shaun Welford endured some frustration in front of goal too on Monday, hitting the post with a header from a couple of yards out but the powerful striker didn’t have to wait long to get on the score-sheet as he netted just a minute later.

Hess said: “He gives us something different, Shaun. He’s more of a battering ram, an old fashioned centre forward. The one he scored was a good finish, he got across the near post – good ball from Jimmy. The one he missed, when he’s hit the post, he should have scored. He knows that.

“I’m pleased with his all-round game. He got tired in the end but that’s because he hasn’t played for a couple of weeks. He just gives us something different up front, which is nice to have.”

Currently on the injury sidelines for Whites are goalkeeper Dean Ruddy, who hopes to be back in contention within a fortnight, and forward Lee Browning. During Ruddy’s absence Dover have been fortunate to call upon Crystal Palace’s 3rd choice goalkeeper David Wilkinson on loan. The youngster has conceded just four goals in six appearances, two of which were against Sutton in the FA Trophy.

Wilkinson’s loan spell is due to run out after Saturday but Hessenthaler is hoping that Crystal Palace will extend it: “I will know on Thursday whether we’ve got him. I want to take him for another month, he’s been fantastic for us.

“I’ve spoken to Jim Stannard at Palace. I know him really well, he was at Gillingham with me. He’s going to speak to Neil and Neil’s having a think on it. Hopefully we might get him right through December as well, which would be fantastic. If that’s the case that will be good news for us.”

*Ppic2*Whites have several weeks now without midweek league matches, which the Dover boss believes will be useful to build up fitness for the weeks and months to come.

Hessenthaler said: “We looked a bit leggy in the end (of Monday’s game). I think some of the players who’ve come from the league clubs, i.e. Frannie Collin, Wallis, Matt Fish, Sam Gore, the difference for them is they’re only doing two nights (training) a week so they’ve got to get on top of their fitness levels I feel. That means they have to do a bit themselves during the week. We talked about that and we will be monitoring their fitness levels because pitches are getting heavier.

“We’ve got a couple of weeks where we’ve got free midweeks so we’ll be working on their fitness levels on Tuesday nights because of the Christmas period coming up.

“It’s a long season, pitches become heavier and we’ve got to have the legs to get through that. If we’re going to win this league, as much as we’re a very good footballing side, we’ve got to be the fittest side as well.”

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*BS*ANDY HESSENTHALER has been named Gillingham’s greatest player by the Professional Footballers’ Association.

*BF*The PFA is celebrating its 100th anniversary and are producing a range of events to mark the occassion, including a centenary match this weekend.

And they have also named a best player for each club, and in truth it is of little surprise that Hessenthaler was the Gills’ number one.

Signed by Tony Pulis for £235,000 in August 1996, Hess went on to make more than 350 appearances for the club, as well as having a four-year stint as the club’s manager between 2000 and 2004.

He is now manager of Whites and admits he is honoured to be given the award.

He said: “If you think about the great players who have played for Gillingham, Steve Bruce to name one, it’s no mean achievement and I’m absolutely delighted – it’s a great honour.

“Gillingham are my club and they’ll always be in my heart and they’re the first result I look out for.”

Hessenthaler – who eventually left Priestfield in January 2006 to move to Barnet – also believes Mark Stimson is the man to turn the club’s fortunes around.

He said: “I know Mark well and he’s a nice guy. He’s gone in and changed things around and brought in a non-league mentality and I think he`ll do well.

“He’s young and ambitious and I think the club needed shaking up. I would love to see him do well.”

*BS*ANDY HESSENTHALER has been named Gillingham’s greatest player by the Professional Footballers’ Association.

*BF*The PFA is celebrating its 100th anniversary and are producing a range of events to mark the occassion, including a centenary match this weekend.

And they have also named a best player for each club, and in truth it is of little surprise that Hessenthaler was the Gills’ number one.

Signed by Tony Pulis for £235,000 in August 1996, Hess went on to make more than 350 appearances for the club, as well as having a four-year stint as the club’s manager between 2000 and 2004.

He is now manager of Whites and admits he is honoured to be given the award.

He said: “If you think about the great players who have played for Gillingham, Steve Bruce to name one, it’s no mean achievement and I’m absolutely delighted – it’s a great honour.

“Gillingham are my club and they’ll always be in my heart and they’re the first result I look out for.”

Hessenthaler – who eventually left Priestfield in January 2006 to move to Barnet – also believes Mark Stimson is the man to turn the club’s fortunes around.

He said: “I know Mark well and he’s a nice guy. He’s gone in and changed things around and brought in a non-league mentality and I think he`ll do well.

“He’s young and ambitious and I think the club needed shaking up. I would love to see him do well.”

*BS*Whites face the unusual task of playing two teams from the same town in the space of three days, one at home and one away, starting at Walton Casuals.*BF*

After Saturday’s away trip to Casuals, Walton & Hersham visit SeaFrance Crabble on Monday.

Walton & Hersham have been touted as one of the favourites for promotion this season while near-neighbours Walton Casuals were expected to fight against the drop.

Go back two weeks and that theory was alive and well. Casuals were bottom of the league and looking for their second win of the season, while Walton & Hersham were close behind the front runners with games in hand.

So you may be expecting the trip to Casuals to be the easier of the two matches. Well, perhaps not because the recent form of both clubs is quite the opposite. Casuals are in fact above Walton & Hersham in the form guide. W&H have won just once in the last six games, losing three on the spin in the past two weeks, whereas Casuals have lost only once in six games, drawing three and winning two.

*BS*Saturday 1 December – Walton Casuals
Franklyn Road Sports Ground – 3.00pm kick-off*BF*

Walton Casuals form could be attributed to their new manager. Kim Harris left the club in September and his former assistant Luke Dowling took over the reins. The young boss can count on the experience of John Morris, who ran a successful reserve team at AFC Wimbledon and knows the Ryman League scene well.

Casuals, currently lying 18th in the table, lost key forward Craig Carley in the summer to Met Police. However, they still have the quality of ex-Kingstonian striker Greg Ball and have also signed ex-Dulwich winger Jean-Serge Musungu and former Maidenhead forward Nana Badu to bolster their attacking options.

*Ppic1*It seems that Casuals are a stronger outfit on home turf at the moment but Whites will go into the game having won on both of their trips to the Franklyn Road Sports Ground in the past two seasons. Dover are used to visiting in March or April, however, so we shall see if the December weather makes any difference.

One similarity between Dover and Casuals is that both clubs are attempting ambitious clubhouse redevelopment plans for 2008. Walton Casuals are planning to replace their existing clubhouse with a long two-storey facility. They also hope to lay seven grass pitches for youth football by 2009.

*BS*DAFC Team News*BF*

Shaun Welford will return to the Dover squad, after missing the Sutton FA Trophy tie due to being cup-tied. The striker’s presence was missed in attack for Whites, particularly on Tuesday night at Gander Green Lane.

Alan Pouton picked up an ankle injury in the first half at Sutton and therefore may not start this weekend. The experienced midfielder still has a way to go fitness-wise so may be better utilised off the bench.

James Rogers and Hessenthaler filled the midfield role on Saturday and Tuesday respectively, the latter after Pouton had gone off. However, Hess may decide to return to the more attacking Lee Browning in an advanced midfield role. This would allow Welford to return up front alongside Jimmy Dryden and Frannie Collin.

In defence, Craig Wilkins has come in for Matt Bourne and “concrete head” put in an excellent performance on Tuesday evening. Whites’ defensive options have limited Liam Quinn to a substitutes role recently and Hessenthaler has decided to give the promising defender more games by loaning him out to struggling Whitstable. The Oystermen desperately need defensive reinforcements but were beaten on Quinn’s debut last Saturday 3-2 against Kingstonian.

John Keister picked up his fifth booking of the season on Tuesday – for certain, this time. However, I believe that the only game he will miss is the Kent Senior Cup tie at Princes Park, Dartford on Tuesday 11 December. If so, that would be a slice of good fortune with games against promotion chasing Worthing and Cray either side of the KSC tie.
*Lpic1*
Finally, Jimmy Dryden will be hoping to get back amongst the goals after failing to net against Sutton. This perhaps wasn’t a surprise though, as Whites’ top-scorer has only netted once in cup competitions this season. He has scored 12 times in the league. Jimmy would no doubt settle for a performance on Saturday similar to the one that earned him a brace at Walton Casuals last season.

*BS*Monday 3 December – Walton & Hersham
SeaFrance Crabble Stadium – 7.45pm kick-off*BF*

The Swans will visit Dover on Monday on the back of another trip to Kent this weekend against Ashford. It’s a big weekend for the club who are struggling for form and starting to drift down the table. Having been within eight points of top spot with several games in hand a couple of weeks ago, they now lie 11 points behind Whites with no games in hand.

Les Cleevely has put together a young side at Stompond Lane and the Swans have found goals hard to come by so far. Ex-Molesey hotshot Phil Ruggles recently signed so Cleevely will be hoping he can fire his team back up the table.

Walton & Hersham have struggled to gain points from their matches against the stronger Ryman South sides so far this term, losing to Tooting and Cray, drawing 2-2 with Kingstonian after leading 2-0 and losing to Worthing in the FA Trophy.

Dover will hope to continue that trend when we’re “at home with the Waltons” on Monday.