By Fred Deveson
We are back! Dover Athletic’s preseason gets underway this weekend, as the Whites travel to Sevenoaks for their first friendly of the new season, and plenty has changed ahead of the new season.
A new look Dover team will travel up the M20 this week to face Sevenoaks, and there are some new (and old) faces around the place. Mitch Walker, the legendary goalkeeper of the National League days, has re-signed at the club from Whitehawk.
Following him from the same club is Joe Tennent and Luca Cocoracchio, both of whom had a good season, finishing with the 4th best defence in the same league that Dover are going into, which is a promising sign for the season ahead. The Whitehawk trio will be in action over this preseason, so we can all get a taste of what is to come from our new boys.
Also, we have some players who have decided to sign-on with Dover for this season. Henry Young, Luke Baptiste, George Nikaj, Archie Hatcher, Matty Holness and Roman Charles-Cook have all signed contract extensions. You can watch them all link up on the pitch again starting this preseason.
Jeremiah Gyebi and Harrison Pont have also signed for the Whites ahead of the new season, and with their experience they will no doubt be of great importance to the side as preseason kicks off this weekend.
There is a lot of excitement and optimism around the club ahead of the new season, with manager Jake Leberl and assistant manager Mike Sandmann emphasising that better times are to come for Dover Athletic.
There are seven games in this preseason for fans to come and enjoy, all of which are local to the town. After the trip to Sevenoaks, we play Margate FC away from home on Tuesday 9th July, who will be looking to kick off their pre-season in positive fashion after their relegation last season.
Following that on Saturday 13th July, the Whites face one of the big FA Cup stories of last season In Ramsgate, who will be on a high after their successes last season. The following day sees Jake Leberl’s XI go up against a fan XI in a charity match, with that one kicking off at 16:30.
Dover will then have one more away game to attend in their preseason fixture list, with a trip to Whistable Town kicking off at 19:45 on Tuesday 16th July. The final 3 games of the preseason are all at home, with clashes against Welling United and Tonbridge Angels of the National League South coming before the final game on the 3rd of August against Lancing.
It is sure to be an exciting preseason, with match ups against teams of varying leagues, better and worse than Dover Athletic’s. It’s the perfect chance for you to come and watch the new signings in action and to get a glimpse of what’s to come in this new season, as Dover get ready to take on the Isthmian Premier League in 2024/25.