A tough away trip to high flying Kennington was always going to be a difficult day in the last 16 of the league cup. Kennington started well and were having most of the play, Dover sitting deep and compact relying on Saunders and Spurr’s pace on the counter attack. The game plan was to stay compact and stay in the game early on. Early chances fell to Kennington but Dover stayed solid at the back and Dan Smith saved everything that did get past them. First half injuries to Lewis Saunders and George Cudworth didn’t help and with other players missing to, a few lads had to play in some different positions to normal to fill the gaps.

0-0 at half time and some time to regroup and work on the injured lads.Kennington again came out strong in the second half and took the lead after 48 minutes with a well worked move. Dover then had to come out and play a bit more and made a few attacking changes. One of which worked out in the 65th minute, good work from Lochlan Murrow down the left won the ball high, cut inside to perfectly pick out the run of player of the match Ethan Warman who finished calmly into the far corner off the post ! 1-1 .

Both sides had chances to win the match but it ended 1-1. Onto extra time. Both had chances to win it in extra time, Kennington rattled the cross bar and headed just wide from a corner. In the last minute of extra time Murrow whipped in a great inswinging corner from the right and Cudworth’s header was saved point blank by the keeper, Alfie Smith-Bainbridge follow up was heroically blocked by a Kennington defender and went onto the bar !! Penalties it was, our first ever experience in a competitive match. Carson Philpott calmly put away our first but unfortunately our next one went over the bar and third one was saved, Kennington dispatched all 4 and were through A brave performance in lots of ways, lots of experience gained, good luck to Kennington against Metrogas in the quarter finals on Sunday .

Dover U15s: Smith, Philpott, Newman, Hanson, Page, Goebe, Smith-Bainbridge(c), Manton, Cudworth, Spurr, Saunders.                  

Subs: Castle, Murrow, Henworth, Warman 

Goals: Warman

Penalty shoot out: Philpott