Dover Athletic continued their pre-season schedule in emphatic fashion on Friday night, sweeping aside Deal Town with a ruthless 6–0 victory at the Megger Community Stadium. It was a dominant display from the Whites, with goals from Ruben Soares-Junior (2), Alfie Matthews, George Nikaj, Luke Baptiste and Decarrey Sheriff capping a confident team performance in front of 876 supporters.
From the opening whistle, Dover looked lively. A long throw from Harry Beadle created the first chance of the match on 9 minutes, falling to Alfie Matthews who fired over. Deal showed some composure during a bright spell midway through the half, pressing high and forcing a smart save from Mitch Walker on 31 minutes.
But it was Dover who broke the deadlock on 35 minutes. Matthews slipped a clever through ball into the box and Ruben Soares-Junior made no mistake, finishing calmly to make it 1–0.
The Whites quickly built on their lead. Two minutes later, Mampolo broke forward and went close, before Matthews capped another flowing attack with a clinical finish in the 39th minute. The third came just before the break, as George Nikaj capitalised on a poor backpass to dink the ball over the onrushing keeper.
Dover made a number of changes at the break, including the introduction of Luke Baptiste – who made an instant impact, heading home Dover’s fourth just two minutes after the restart.
Walker picked up a yellow card shortly after for a foul outside his area and was replaced on 58 minutes by Claudio Boakye-Sarfo. Further substitutions followed, but the tempo remained high – and so did the goal tally. Soares-Junior bagged his second of the evening on 57 minutes with another tidy finish, taking the score to 5–0.
Deal had few answers to Dover’s pace and precision but did force a good save from Boakye-Sarfo on 66 minutes. George Wilkinson came close to adding a sixth, rattling the crossbar from distance on 72 minutes, while Baptiste continued to cause problems with his direct running.
The final goal came in the 90th minute – a fitting end to a one-sided contest – as Decarrey Sheriff slotted home from close range following another slick attacking move.
Starting XI:
Mitch Walker, Henry Lukombo, A Trialist, B Trialist, Harry Beadle, Luca Cocoracchio, Ryan Hanson, Alfie Matthews, George Nikaj, Francis Mampolo, Ruben Soares-Junior
Subs:
Claudio Boakye-Sarfo, D Trialist, Luke Baptiste, George Wilkinson, Kenny Coker, Decarrey Sheriff, Max Fiddes, Roman Charles-Cook