*BS*TWO LEAGUE GAMES in three days has come round again for Andy Hessenthaler’s team, who are aiming for six points out of six to keep up with the manager’s points target for October.*BF*
Hessenthaler will be keen to avoid the same errors made against Chatham when Met Police come to SeaFrance Crabble on Monday evening, in what promises to be another tough home game considering Dover are yet to take a point off the Met at Crabble in a league game.
Before then, however, is an away fixture at Burgess Hill, where Hessenthaler and Matt Carruthers scored late goals in a 2-0 win in the FA Cup earlier this season. Dover hold a 100% record in their three matches away to the Sussex club but have twice left it late to leave with the victory. In 2006 Lee Spiller nicked the three points with a last-minute winner in a tight game. Only in April 2007 have Whites had a comfortable afternoon against the Hillians.
*BS*Team News*BF*
Fairly strong for Hess at present. Frannie Collin is expected to return to the starting line-up, having missed the FA Trophy win at Maldon with a tight hamstring. He is likely to replace Byron Walker in attack. Centre back Matt Bourne is a doubt though with a continuing groin niggle but fellow defender Liam Quinn could be back in the squad having missed out on a chance to play at Maldon due to a slight injury.
Whites front three of Collin, Jimmy Dryden and Lee Browning will be keen to see the net ripple after a frustrating few games of near misses. Fans will hope to see them back in the goals and their confidence given a boost in a crucial 72 hours for the team’s season.
*BS*BURGESS HILL (AWAY) – SATURDAY 27 OCTOBER*BF*
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*BS*2006-07 meetings*BF*
Two fairly comfortable wins for Athletic against a Hillians side suffering from a failure to defend set pieces. Craig Cloke and Matt Bourne capitalised on this frailty at Crabble in a 2-0 win indicative of Clive Walker’s reign.
Back in April Dover continued their good form and free-scoring at Leylands Park in a 4-1 victory, with Jimmy Dryden scoring a wonderful brace of left-footed volleys.
*BS*Key Players*BF*
Goalkeeper Chris Winterton was in good form for the Hillians when Whites beat them in the FA Cup earlier this season, showing good handling skills and composure for a 19 year old. Powerful defender Tom Edmonds also left an impression that day.
Burgess Hill’s most dangerous player is undoubtedly Shaheen Sadough, who started his career at Crawley and has wandered round six or seven Sussex sides in the past five years. Sadough has hit the net 11 times so far this season, including a hat-trick against struggling Molesey in August. He has scored three times in the past two league matches, including one at Met Police in a 2-1 loss.
*BS*Early Club History*BF*
Burgess Hill Town Football Club was founded in 1882 and was a founder member of the Sussex County Football Association. In the Club’s formative years it was one of the founder members of the Mid-Sussex Football League, and won the League Championship in it’s inaugural season.
*BS*METROPOLITAN POLICE (HOME) – MONDAY 29 OCTOBER*BF*
*BS*2006-07 meetings*BF*
Whites endured two awful matches against the Met last season, losing 1-0 at Crabble and 2-0 at Imber Court. The Imber Court game will perhaps be one of the hardest to erase from the memory of Dover’s travelling fans, on an all-round disaster of a day that perhaps summed up why the club failed to gain promotion two years on the spin.
Whites are yet to beat Met Police at Crabble in the Ryman League, having been thumped 3-0 in the 05/06 season.
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*BS*Key Players*BF*
There really is one main player for Met Police this season and that is Craig Carley. Signed from Walton Casuals in the summer, Carley has been one of the most enjoyable players to watch in the past three years of Ryman League football.
Carley’s best performance against Dover was last December when he destroyed Whites’ midfield and defence in the first 20 minutes, a virtuoso display of dribbling skills and link-up play in a 2-0 victory that left the Crabble faithful stunned.
Carley has scored 11 times so far this season, including two penalties. Three of those 11 goals were scored in a 5-0 league cup romp against Harrow. He also hit the back of the net twice in a 3-2 win at his former club.
Up front alongside Carley is Dave Stevens, a true non-league character. Another player with plenty of flair and creativity, Stevens is on scoring form at present. Not the most athletic player but Stevens is a potential match-winner and an entertainer to boot.
*BS*Early Club History*BF*
On 6th July 1829, Sir Robert Peel formed the Metropolitan Police, the first organised Police Force in the world. Ninety years later, in 1919 the Metropolitan Police Football Club was formed. They played friendly matches until joining the Spartan League in 1928 and, apart from the war years (1939-45), remained in that competition until 1960.
A major step forward was made when the club were accepted into the Southern League where they played until 1977, when the club was one of the founder members of Division Two of the Isthmian League.