Our Academy played their way into the history books after they beat Langley FC 3-2 in the FA Youth Cup First Round proper tie at Crabble on Tuesday evening.

Archie Hatcher, Leo Dodds, and Joel-Michael Oderian scored the goals which saw the team become the first one to reach the Second Round for the first time in the 12-year history of the Academy.

Manager Mike Sandmann’s team will now head to Suffolk to play Lowestoft Town in the Second Round.

Lowestoft beat Concord Rangers 4-3 on penalties last week after it finished 1-1 after extra time.

Not surprisingly, Sandmann was full of praise for his talented youngsters.

He said: “What a great achievement and what a fantastic performance – I couldn’t be prouder of the players.

“Langley played their part and were a good side with some very good individuals and we knew that coming into the game.

“We watched them in the build-up to the game and thought we performed well on the night limiting their creative players

“We showed great character after missing the penalty and the players didn’t allow it to affect them, which is important.

“I felt we could have been in front by more at half-time but you have to give Langley credit for making it difficult.

“Heading into the final 10 minutes with only a one-goal lead was always going to be nervy, but I thought we limited them to very few chances and defended well as a team.

“As the manager, I’m always going to be looking to improve, but I don’t want to take anything away from the players – they were excellent and have made history getting to this stage, and let’s see where it takes us.

” I would also like to thank the fans who came to watch, so thank you so very much for your ongoing support of the Academy lads – they do really appreciate it.”

Dover Athletic Chairman Jim Parmenter provides us with an exciting update on what’s been happening behind-the-scenes at the club.

For some weeks now I have been developing a new community strategy for the Club and can now update our Supporters and the wider community of our plans which have been formulated in conjunction with our main sponsor Megger, who have been fantastically supportive of our plans, and you will hear more about their involvement and support in due course.

3G PITCH PROJECT

I have been in positive discussions with the Kent County FA and Dover District Council about a project to convert our old training pitch behind the River End Stand to a 3G pitch exclusively for community use.

We have already started to discuss the matter with the youth football community and the feedback has been very positive indeed.

The time has now come to consult the wider community and our neighbours on the project.

So any person or organisation who has an interest in using the facility and would like to add their support to the project please contact me at jim.parmenter@doverathletic.com

Equally, if any of our neighbours have any questions or concerns I would be happy to meet with them at the stadium and explain the project.

To be clear, the facility will be designed for small-sided games up to 9 a side with an option for two 5-a-side pitches on the same area.

Our emphasis will be on Community engagement particularly mini-Soccer, Youth football, Futsal and walking football.

We will be continuing with our excellent Saturday morning “Happy Feet” project.

Our emphasis will be to reach out also to members of the Community with disabilities and diverse ethnic backgrounds as well as developing women’s and girls’ football.

So please, if you have an interest in the project or any concerns do not hesitate to contact me.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND INCLUSION OFFICER

Thanks to the support of our friends at Megger we are able to bring a colleague into the team to drive our community activities.

We will be embarking on a diverse programme within the Community (sporting and non-sporting) and whilst football will form an important part of our community activities, they will by no means be exclusively football related.

More details will be published soon.

So in the meantime, I would like to send my best wishes to everyone and I will continue to keep you all updated.

Our Academy will now play their postponed FA Youth Cup First Round proper tie against Langley FC at Crabble tonight at 7.45pm.

The original game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch last Thursday.

With a win tonight, Manager Mike Sandmann’s young team will become the first team to reach the Second Round for the first time in the 12-year history of the Academy.

In the four games they have played in the competition so far, the Academy have beaten Hollands & Blair (9-1), Margate (5-0), Ebbsfleet United (5-1), and Walton & Hersham (6-2).

Admission for the game is £10 and £5 for concessions with cash only being accepted.