[NoSkillz]

Wed. November 13, 2024

Barclays Premier League
Dover (7-2-2, 23 points, 6th) vs. Sunderland (4-3-4, 15 points, 11th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

Betting Odds: Dover: 4-7 (Favourites) Draw: 5-2 Sunderland: 4-1
Past Meetings: 6W 2D 5L

Sunderland were one of the few teams to beat us last year, albeit in the 5th round of the FA Cup. This is their 13th consecutive season in the top flight of English football and they’ve finished anywhere from 6th to 16th during that span, settling comfortably into the mid table in recent years. Last year they finished 11th, a position they occupy at this moment as well. Craig Flett has led the club in scoring 6 of the last 7 years and the 31 year old striker is tied for the team lead once again with four goals through nine matches. I’ve always been fond of Matt Barber, a fine midfielder who I always seem to look at buying. The club spent £23.5 million in July with £10 million of it spent on US international striker Jeremy Russell, a man I went after hard but lost out on, something that was inexplicable to me at the time. Russell has played decently for Sunderland thus far and is tied for the club lead in goals with Flett.

I obviously didn’t take Sheffield Wednesday seriously enough on the weekend and I won’t make the same mistake today, as we start a full strength lineup. I continue to look for more from cultured striker Chiquinho, who only has six goals in 16 matches thus far - he has to be more prolific in the absence of Paul Moses. Thankfully, young Andy Broomes has picked up the slack and is up to 10 goals from 15 matches.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - M. Perez
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Bolis
S - A. Broomes, Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, M. Mutesa, E. Harvey, A. Rocca, G. Allan, M. Pedersen, Z. Bardi

Sunderland are in a 3-5-2 formation and are likely to eventually drop into a 5-3-2. Flett and Russell are up front and Sam Cowler is in goal. I tell the team I expect a win today and pull aside Chiquinho to say I expect a performance from him.

7’ - We have a throw in down the left and Bamba sends it into Renato Gaucho. Our fullback passes into the box to Jose and from the left corner of the area, he strikes a low blast that surprises Cowler and goes past him into the left side of the net. What a strike from Jose!!! DOVER GOAL 1-0

17’ - Sunderland have a free kick from just outside our area and a big wall is formed. Usually, the kick is just sent into the wall and headed away but in a definite first for me, I watch as the kick is taken softly and headed by one of Sunderland’s attackers, Tarek Farouk, lined up on the wall toward goal and it’s past Perez and IN. Wow…seriously, I’ve never seen that before and Sunderland pull level. SUNDERLAND GOAL 1-1

I notice that Sunderland drop back into a 5-3-2 after the goal, as expected.

41’ - We’ve been going after Craig Flett with some hard tackling today and there is a sequence that sees him go down twice in a fifteen second period and we end up regaining possession. Chiquinho is down the right flank near midfield and sends a GREAT ball over the defence and Andy Broomes latches onto it. He rounds the keeper and left foots the ball into the open net. We needed that one! DOVER GOAL 2-1

HALFTIME - I’m uneasy with the scoreline despite us controlling play. We held 54% of possession and a 10-4 (2-2 on target) shot advantage. Neil Cairney has look awful again today - I’m starting to tire of his pedestrian displays, as he’s been careless with the ball and taking ill-advised shot attempts. I tell Cairney to go out and prove a point while encouraging the rest of the squad.

48’ - Ugh. Arsene Bamba is tackled hard and has the dreaded cross of doom above his head. He needs to come off and I’m forced into a substitution, with Mads Pedersen coming in. DOVER INJURY: Arsene Bamba

53’ - We earn a corner and Jose’s cross is to the near post and Rayane Hamon. His header is off the crossbar and then Mads Pedersen attempts a header before Sunderland defender Jamie Holt comes sliding in but his attempt to clear ends up going past Cowler and into his own goal. We’ll take it! DOVER GOAL 3-1

69’ - With a two goal lead, I take out the excellent Jose and bring in Andrea Rocca.

88’ - We have possession deep in their end and Chiquinho takes a pass and sends the ball to the middle to Cairney. Our maligned midfielder sends a rocket that goes past a diving Cowler but hits the woodwork. The ball deflects off the back of Cowler and goes back into the net!!! A second Sunderland own goal! DOVER GOAL 4-1

A good result today.

Dover 4 - 1 Sunderland
Goals - Jose (7.5), Andy Broomes (7.7), Jamie Holt OG, Sam Cowler OG
Assists - Rayane Hamon (8.1), Renato Gaucho (7.9), Neil Cairney (7.2), Chiquinho (7.4)
Man of the Match - Rayane Hamon
Other Dover Notables - Manuel Perez (7.0), Claudio Contreras (7.3), Gianluca Bolis (7.1)
Attendance - 22,971

Just short of a sell-out today as possession ends dead even but we outshoot them 19-11 (6-4 on target). Cairney was much better in the second half as we pull away with a solid win.

-- Key players continue to be felled by injury, as Arsene Bamba sprains an ankle and will miss approximately four weeks. Mads Pedersen will get the majority of starts and I may have to call on Felix Hernandez from the U18s for help. DOVER INJURY: Arsene Bamba (Sprained Ankle - Four Weeks)

-- In other action, Spurs do everyone a big favour by shocking Arsenal at Emirates 3-0. Newcastle also continue their fine play with a home win over Blackpool. We vault all the way from six place into second with the win.


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 12 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Manchester United - 29 points
2. Dover - 26 points
3. Middlesbrough - 25 points
4. Manchester City - 24 points
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5. Newcastle - 24 points (after 11 games)
6. Arsenal - 24 points
7. Chelsea - 23 points (after 11 games)
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Dover U18 Update

-- We continue to romp in U18 action, with a 5-0 win over Bristol Rovers in the U18 Cup fourth round. Alberto Velazquez notches a superb hat trick and we get singles from Felix Hernandez and Joshua Stokes. Hernandez and Neil Evans both had two assists in the contest.



International Update

-- We have 22 players get call ups by their respective countries for the upcoming international break. The one big piece of news there is that young Andy Broomes gets his first ever call from England for their senior squad. Hopefully he gains his first senior cap! Great news for the youngster who has filled in very well for countryman Paul Moses.



Premier League Update

-- We have a HUGE Sunday matinee versus league leaders Manchester United so we can settle in and watch some football on Saturday. Man City beats cellar-dwellers Blackpool 2-0 to leap frog us into second place while Chelsea knock off Derby 2-1. Arsenal continue their free-fall with a 3-1 loss to Sheffield Wednesday. Newcastle draw at Liverpool and Middlesbrough also battle to a draw against Aston Villa.



Dover U18 Update

-- The young lads win 3-1 over Portsmouth, with Felix Hernandez, Matthew Neil and Alberto Velazquez scoring our goals.



Next Up

-- It’s an early season monster matchup, as we face league leaders Manchester United at Old Trafford.