Boss Andy Hessenthaler gives his thoughts on the pre-season win at Hythe Town and of the trialists on show in his line-up.
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WHITES START WITH WIN
One goal was enough for Whites as they started pre-season with a win at Hythe Town.
Manager Andy Hessenthaler used this game to find out more about trialists, with nine starting the game and more coming on in the second half.
Dover had most of the early attacks and could’ve been 1-0 up inside the first 10 minutes after good link up play between two trialists allowed one of them to get around the keeper.
However, he ran out of room in the box and although he was able to get the ball into the danger area, it was easily cleared away by the Hythe defence.
Whites were almost made to pay for a defensive calamity shortly after when a defensive trialist only found the Hythe attacker with a misplaced pass before captain Yusuf Mersin made the save.
Dover took the lead on the half hour mark through one of the trialists after he ran through on goal and kept his composure to slot home.
Dover went in search of a second and had a chance five minutes later after Mersin’s long ball found the furthest forward trialist, but he was taken down as he ran through on goal with the resulting free-kick going well over the bar.
Hythe almost levelled before half time but Mersin did well to stay alert as a corner was headed straight at him.
The second half started slowly, with the first clear cut chance not coming until close to the hour mark as Hythe almost levelled once again.
After some smart play between the Hythe forward put his effort into the side netting.
Dover had a shot well saved by the Hythe goalkeeper, before new Dover signing Louis Collins turned well and shot just over the bar.
Another new arrival, TJ Bramble came on for his debut late in the game, playing a right-back.
SEASON TICKET UPDATE
We’ve announced four new signings this week and now we have some more great news for supporters.
First up, our Early Bird season ticket offers have been extended until September 5th.
Tickets are priced as follows:
Adults £315.00
Over 60s £255.00
We are also able to confirm that under-18 season tickets are also now on sale and that under-11s will also go free with a paying adult for all league games at Crabble.
Chairman Jim Parmenter said: “We recognise that putting U-18 and U-11 tickets sales on hold, while we awaited further clarity on capacity limit plans, was some concerning to some of our supporters.
“However, we are now confident that capacity limits will be sufficiently high enough to allow sales to continue as normal.
“We would like to thank supporters for their patience.”
You can buy them online from the club shop here
WOOD IS A WHITE
Dover Athletic is delighted to announce the signing of Sam Wood.
The 34-year-old left-back made 36 appearances in all competitions for Bromley last season, including both National League games against us, before his release this summer.
Wood started his career with Cray Wanderers before joining Bromley for the first time, making over 150 appearances in three years with the Ravens.
He then joined then League Two side Brentford, and went on to win the promotion with the Bees in his first season with them – he was also named Supporters’ Player of the Year.
Wood made more than 100 appearances in three years with Brentford and also spent time on loan with League Two Rotherham United, making 27 appearances.
After that loan spell, Wood joined Wycombe Wanderers in July 2012 and spent five seasons with the Chairboys, making 213 appearances and scoring 16 goals.
At the end of the 2016-17 season, Wood left Wycombe and signed for Eastleigh.
He spent a season with the Spitfires, where he played under now Dover manager Andy Hessenthaler, before returning to Bromley ahead of the 2018/19 season.
During his career, Wood has also done some body doubling for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in adverts.
Welcome to Crabble, Sam !
TJ ON BOARD
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Dover Athletic are delighted to announce former Gillingham midfielder TJ Bramble has joined the club.
The 19-year-old came through the youth ranks at Priestfield, signed his first professional deal with Gills in May 2019 before being released last June.
While he was with Gills, TJ spent time on loan at Deal Town and East Grinstead Town.
TJ has already made his international debut for Antigua and Barbuda in a 3–2 win over Bermuda in March 2018.
Welcome to Crabble TJ !
Photo credit of Kent Pro Images
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HESS SIGNS YOUNG STRIKER
Dover Athletic are delighted to announce the signing of young striker Louis Collins.
The 19-year-old spent last season playing for Sevenoaks Town in the Isthmian League South East Division, a club managed by his father Micky.
The two-time Kent Youth League Golden Boot winner joined The Oaks following his release from Scunthorpe United after they were relegated to Sky Bet League Two.
Welcome to Crabble, Louis!
NEW GOALKEEPER SIGNS ON
Former Southend United goalkeeper Josh Bexon has made the move to Crabble.
The 21-year-old first joined the Shrimpers in 2014 as a 15-year old, and then signed his first professional deal at the age of 18 in 2017.
During his time with the Essex Club, Bexon spent six months on loan with Austrian club FC Kitzbuhel and a season with Harlow Town.
After being released by Southend in the summer of 2019, he re-signed for Harlow for the 2019-20 season.
Welcome to Dover Athletic, Josh!
WRATTEN EXTENDS CONTRACT
Academy graduate Marshall Wratten has committed his future to the club by extending his contract until the end of the 2021 season.
The 20-year-old left-winger, who can also play at left-back, signed an initial one-year deal ahead of the 2019/20 season after impressing for Dover’s Academy side.
He made his senior debut as a second half substitute in our Emirates FA Cup first round defeat at Bury in November 2018.
Marshall spent most of last season on loan at Isthmian South East club Whitstable Town.
FROM THE CHAIRMAN
Chairman, Jim Parmenter speaks to DAFCtv to update fans on the current situation at the club, plans for the restart and a sustainable future.
KAPPA DEAL SEALED
Dover Athletic is delighted to reveal that Kappa are our new official kit supplier for the 2020-21 season.
The Italian sportswear giants will supply training, playing and travel wear for Andy Hessenthaler’s first team and staff as well as the Academy.
Founded in Turin in 1967, Kappa’s iconic logo of a silhouette of a boy and girl sitting back to back is known around the world and is worn by professional clubs including Premier League Aston Villa.
The partnership will be powered by elite stockist, Speed One Sports, who will carry out fulfilment on behalf of Kappa, providing a dedicated service to the club to ensure a smooth and seamless process for all stakeholders.
Dover Athletic Director Steve Parmenter said: “We are excited to be working with Kappa and Speed One Sports to produce a range of playing and replica kit that we believe our supporters will be very happy with.
“Kappa and Speed One Sports have put together a great deal for the club which covers the first team, Academy and Youth teams.
“A full range of products will be available online from our club shop in the coming weeks.”
You can visit the shop here
Tony DiPonio, Director of Speed One Sports said: “We are delighted to welcome Dover Athletic to the Speed One Sports family, and we look forward to working with them for the 2020-21 season and beyond.
“We have worked hard with Kappa to fulfil the requirements from Dover Athletic, and we are excited for the kit launch.”
Our three kits for the 2020-21 season will be launched soon in addition to a new range of club merchandise.