Dover U16s comfortable swept past their Margate in the first round of the Kent Cup, scoring some spectacular goals in the process.
Dover started the game in the ascendancy against their lower league opposition moving the ball quickly, but even in the early stages of the game it was evident that their opponents are well-organised and it was going to take something special to break them down. Henry Mileham provided this where he cut inside from the right-wing and curled a left foot shot into the top corner. This was soon followed by a Dwayne Kattah effort when he picked the ball up from a clearance, swept past a few defenders, and then sent a rasping shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the area. Margate well left shell-shocked when Finlay O’Shea sent an unstoppable 25-yard free kick into the top corner for arguably the best goal of the game to give Dover a 3-goal half-time lead.
At the start of the second half Dover lost some of their intensity, and Margate enjoyed their best spell of the match. With Dover losing possession in dangerous areas of pitch, it was left to Joe Muddiman and Dylan Hammond to put in tenacious blocks to keep the clean sheet intact. As the half wore on Dover started to take control again, and were thwarted by some fine goalkeeping, and Will Giles was unlucky not to add to the scoring when his powerful header hit the post. In the closing minutes an uncharacteristic Margate mix-up in defence presented man of the match Dylan Tubb with a tap-in, which was a reward for his tireless chasing throughout the game, and complete the scoring for a 4-0 win.
Dover: Ryan Tyler, Oliver Griffiths, Dylan Hammond, Joe Muddiman, Henry Mileham, Finlay Jarman-Hume, Dylan Tubb, Finlay O’Shea, Hector Duppre, Will Giles, Dwayne Kattah. Subs Charlie Dale, Ed Muddiman, Jack Hansen
