Faversham Strike Force 1 – 2 Dover Athletic

Dover went into this game after securing a point against Chatham two weeks previously knowing that only a win would propel them back to the top of the table. With the last four remaining games against top of the table teams it was vital Dover made the most of this fixture to give them any chance of securing a shot at the title.

First half –
Dover begun with a 3-5-2 formation looking to capitalise on their attacking options. The opening 25 minutes was scrappy and mainly uneventful, with Dover holding most of the possession and Faversham on occasion trying to break from wide areas. The pitch being muddy and bumpy did little to assist a Dover team who are known for their passing ability. The deadlock was broken on 30 minutes through athletic’s Left winger Nebi Adhaom,who broke free in an advanced wide area under heavy pressure chipping the ball into the top right hand corner from 30 yards, there was nothing the Faversham keeper could have done to stop it. the momentum remained with Dover until the interval.

Second Half
Dover begun the first half extremely strongly, with a great passage of play involving five players retaining possession with short sharp attacking passing movements, resulting in a goal scoring opportunity, this was without doubt the best move of the match, more like the Dover team we are all used to seeing. Faversham, looked like they were going to accept defeat, however, on 50 minutes a silly foul made by an Athletic player 35 yards from goal, gave Faversham the opportunity to attack with aggression, and so they did, a well worked free kick hit to the far post enabled faversham to grab a unlikely equaliser against the run of play.

This was the start of a Faversham revival, over the next 20 minutes Faversham proved they wanted a positive result and continued pressuring Dover’s final third. On 80 minutes Dover Manager changed formation knowing they needed the 3 points to a 3-4-3, and within 2 minutes Dover had re-taken the lead once again with a well taken low drive inside the box from Cody Allcock to make it 1-2 Dover. The last few minutes saw Dover rush forward to try to completely kill the game off when in fact they needed to act professionally and slow the play down, in any case Dover got the much needed 3 points to go back joint top of the table.

Managers Comments
We rode our luck today, the conditions didn’t help us, in terms of the way we play, however, thats no excuse, Faversham showed fight and character, especially towards the end of the game. On another day we could have easily dropped 2 points there. We now prepare for the toughest game of the season next week away to Faversham Town the two previous fixtures we have lost against them, if we are going to be champions then we need to beat them.

Man of the Match today goes to James Stanbrook who came on half time and changed the game with his dynamic runs from deep.

Winning when your not particular playing well is the sign of champions – well done.