Dover U16s continued their fine start to the season with an entertaining 6-2 victory at Sheppey.
The key to the match was a fast start, where Dover moved the ball at speed and attacked with real pace and purpose. They opened the scoring after Henry Mileham broke down the left flank before rolling the ball across to Charlie Dale who finished with a fine shot from the edge of the area into the top corner. Combining well with Finlay O’Shea down the left, two more crosses from Mileham were met by Dwayne Kattah and Joe Muddiman, and in between these a spectacular Kattah long range effort gave Dover a 4 goal lead in an exhilarating first 15 minutes. Credit must go to the Sheppey side for not capitulating, and they were given a lifeline when they pulled a goal back from a corner, and this was followed by another soon after as they enjoyed their best spell of the match. Dover will feel that both could have been avoided. However the last 10 minutes of the first half saw Dover re-establish their composure and supremacy as they came close on a few occasions to increasing their lead.
The second half saw Dover continue to control the game, and it was their substitutes who played key roles, as first they were indebted to goalkeeper Tyler King with a fine save, and then Ed Muddiman set up Hector Duppre to score a decisive goal to add to the lead. With gaps appearing in the Sheppey defence, the same two combined again with Duppre adding his second to complete the scoring.
This was an excellent team performance from Dover, and apart from a brief spell in the first half they were dominant throughout, and thoroughly deserved their victory. There were some notable attacking performances, with Dwayne Kattah the pick of the bunch with his man of the match award.
Dover: Ryan Tyler, Dylan Hammond, Baily Sinnock, Oliver Griffiths, Charlie Dale, Finlay Jarman-Hume, Dylan Tubb, Joe Muddiman, Finlay O’Shea, Henry Mileham, Dwayne Kattah. Subs Tyler King, Ed Muddiman, Hector Duppre
