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Sat. April 2, 2022
Barclays Premier League
Dover (18-8-6, 62 points, 4th) vs. Middlesbrough (11-8-13, 41 points, 13th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK
Betting Odds: Dover: Evens (Favourites) Draw: 11-5 Middlesbrough: 11-5
Past Meetings: 5W 0D 4L
We have faced Middlesbrough twice this year, losing to them away 1-0 in Premier League play and throttling them 4-0 here at home in FA Cup action. They've lost two in a row off the heels of a seven game unbeaten streak so we're catching them at the right time. They haven't scored in three games either. Striker Luke de Jong has 12 goals to lead the club and attacking midfielder Abdullah Demir is second with only 5. Not an overly dangerous club but this is a game we can't take lightly despite having it sandwiched between two Barcelona ties in the Champions League.
Shanon Andrea is almost match fit and I'll get him in this game at some point but he won't start. Instead, I'm bringing Giorgos Gesios in for the shock start up front in our one striker formation, with Zoltan Bardi starting just behind him. This was the formation we used to beat them 4-0 earlier this year and my advance scouts say Middlesbrough has trouble defending against this formation. So we'll go with it. Neil Cairney will be back in the lineup today - I've got some tired players today, including Jozef Kuciak and Andrea Rocca. Both will start but I'd love to get them off at some point to rest up for our pivotal Tuesday home tie versus Barca. 20 year old Renato Gaucho wears the captain's armband today.
Dover: 4-4-2 DM (4-2-3-1) Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - R. Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, J. Kuciak
M - N. Cairney, A. Rocca
AM - A. Bamba, Z. Bardi, G. Bolis
S - G. Gesios
Bench - R. McLaughlin, P. Tjiuoro, Mancini, A. Zubizarreta, C. Murray, S. Andrea, P. Moses
Middlesbrough start striker Jack Kelly up front in their 4-2-3-1 formation that has given me fits in past games but obviously not the FA Cup tie earlier this year - Kelly has NO GOALS in 14 games. My assistant thinks we should motivate the lads by telling them to perform for the fans and I agree but pull aside the struggling Gesios to say I have faith in his goal scoring abilities.
1' - Middlesbrough get a great chance early and Wilke is called upon to make a point blank save on a through ball.
37' - We seem to be controlling play and have had a number of decent counter attacking chances but no real dangerous shots. Andrea Rocca gets a yellow card.
45'+1 - We blow our best chance, as Arsene Bamba sends in a glorious through ball to Neil Cairney but he misses WIDE from eight yards in front of goal. Come on Neil!
HALFTIME - Continental letdown once again, as we should be destroying these guys. Possession is split down the middle and we have an 11-4 (2-1 on target) shot advantage. Rocca is exhausted so I bring him out at half and bring in Mancini. I reiterate that we need to perform well for the supporters and pull aside Gesios, Cairney and Bolis to say they can be the players that make the difference today.
63' - This is embarrassing. We have complete control when Middlesbrough attacking midfielder Alfonso Martinez crosses into the box. Renato Gaucho has control but is stripped of the ball from Thorgan Hazard and he fires the ball immediately past a stunned Ingo Wilke and we're down at home. MIDDLESBROUGH GOAL 0-1
I bring in Shanon Andrea and change to a flat 4-4-2 Control.
78' - We're generating NOTHING today. Ross McLaughlin is in for Jozef Kuciak and we move to an Overload mentality to try to get the equalizer.
79' - We win a corner with Cairney and he sends it out to Mancini outside the area. The midfielder sends it back out wide to Cairney and he crosses into the box and there is Zoltan Bardi with the baseball slide, putting it past Sinan Bolat for the tying goal. Unreal. DOVER GOAL 1-1
We move back to a Control mentality but maintain the flat 4-4-2.
83' - All of a sudden we're pressing and it's Mancini firing a shot off the goalpost!
89' - Gianluca Bolis with a rocket that Sian Bolat dives to save. Great chance!
We move back to an overload for the four minutes of injury time. Lets see if we can get a late goal with this momentum, as it's clear that Middlesbrough are content with a draw and are sitting back now in a 4-4-1-1.
90'+2 - Shanon Andrea takes Bamba's feed and strolls in down the left side, getting off a low shot that Sinan Bolat turns behind the net. On the corner, Bamba's cross is headed by Hamon off the crossbar! There's a WILD SCENE in front of the goal as we get three chances to score but all three shots are blocked by Middlesbrough defenders and they clear in a panic. WOW.
We're fortunate to get a draw.
Dover 1 - 1 Middlesbrough
Goals - Zoltan Bardi (7.0)
Assists - Neil Cairney (6.8)
Man of the Match - Sinan Bolat (Middlesbrough GK - 7.3)
Other Dover Notables - Renato Gaucho (7.3), Arsene Bamba (7.0)
Attendance - 14,473
We dominated that second half from a statistical perspective but the only stat that matters is 1-1. We held 53% of possession and outshoot them 21-8 (6-4 on target).
-- With only a single point, we don't fully take advantage of the fact that Liverpool lose against Tottenham and Manchester City get smoked 3-0 by Sunderland. Everton also throttle Arsenal 4-0 and Chelsea can only garner a point in a scoreless draw against Huddersfield so with all that, we retain our hold on 4th spot.
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE 5 GAMES REMAINING UNLESS NOTED)
1. Manchester City - 73 points
2. Manchester United - 68 points
3. Liverpool - 64 points
4. Dover - 63 points
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5. Arsenal - 60 points
6. Chelsea - 57 points
7. Reading - 56 points
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Dover U18 Update
-- The U18s defeat Southampton 1-0 behind another goal from Gregoire Lambert.
Next Up
-- We welcome Barcelona to Crabble Athletic Ground as we look to shock the world in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
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