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Tue. August 8, 2023
Preseason Friendly
Ferencvaros (Hungary) vs. Dover
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK
Ferencvarosi Torna Club are actually a decent sized Hungarian club and former winners of the Europa League (1965). They made it into Champions League qualifying the last two years, last year losing in the Champions playoff stage and just missing out on the Group stage. They did get relegated to the Europa League group stage last year but they’d lose out there as well. We plucked young defensive prospect Mwemere Mutesa from them last year and playing them in a friendly was part of the deal so here we are.
We’re playing a full squad of backups today but I still expect us to dominate. Zoltan Bardi will proudly start in his home country alongside Paul Moses. I’d like to get newcomers Andy Broomes and maybe Norberto Vazquez into the lineup at some point as well. Jose is starting in midfield today and other newcomers in the starting eleven include Rafinha and Saber Nasri.
Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - M. Perez
D - C. Guzman, M. Yilmaz, S. Nasri, Rafinha
M - H. Cruz, E. Harvey, Jose, L. Kunchev
S - P. Moses, Z. Bardi
Ferencvaros 0 - 7 Dover
Goals - Paul Moses 2 (9.3), Lyubomir Kunchev 2 (9.4), Norberto Vazquez 2 (8.6), Zoltan Bardi (8.1)
Assists - Helder Cruz 2 (9.0), Carlos Guzman (9.0), Emmerson Harvey (8.7), Paul Moses, Felix Hernandez (6.9), Andy Broomes (6.9)
Man of the Match - Lyubomir Kunchev
Other Dover Notables - Manuel Perez (7.2), Rafinha (7.6), Saber Nasri (9.0), Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz (8.6), Jose (7.9)
Attendance - 5,349
Yeah, this was no contest from the start as we humbled the Hungarian side in all aspects of the game. We held 61% of possession and a ridiculous 43-1 (14-0 on target) shot advantage. Newcomer Norberto Vazquez scored two goals in garbage time and Lyubomir Kunchev could have scored four goals - he was excellent. All of our starters get ratings of 7.2 or more. Good confidence booster for our backups!
International Update
-- We have 15 players that are called up by their country for international duties. Of the call ups, the biggest surprise is seeing our third string goalkeeper, new addition Mathis Imbert, getting called up by France. He doesn’t have a senior team cap for his country but has played 21 times for their youth squad. We’ll see if he gets a start next week. Speaking of which, countryman Rayane Hamon also gets the call from France. I did a double take when I noticed he also doesn’t have a senior team cap! He’s a superlative player for us and I *really* hope he gets that elusive first game with their senior team. He has played 33 times for their youth squad over the years.
Transfer IN
-- We sign midfielder Terry Williams to a youth contract and send him to the youth team after being dropped by Championship side Leeds in the offseason. My one scout said he had 2.5 star potential so I brought him in on a free but my coaches feel he’s not worthy of wearing our crest. There’s nothing much here and there is no reason to show a screenshot of the guy. He’s just an U18 player for us.
Next Up
-- We welcome Scottish powerhouse Celtic to Crabble Athletic Ground for our final preseason friendly.
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