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Old 06-20-2014, 11:58 PM   #441
NoSkillz
College Benchwarmer
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
Tue. January 16, 2024

League Cup - Semi Final First Leg
Dover (1st in Barclays Premier League) vs. Southampton (5th in npower Championship)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

Betting Odds: Dover: 1-2 (Favourites) Draw: 13-5 Southampton: 9-2
Past Meetings: 2W 2D 1L

Southampton most recently were in the Premier League two years ago but finished 18th and dropped back to the Championship the next year. They finished fourth last year but lost in the playoffs and they are in a similar position this year, currently sitting in fifth. Their top scorer is striker Shyamdew Doesburg with 15 goals in 27 games. They have a few decent players like Thomas Ince and Nathan Redmond that I recognize from their year in the Premiership.

A pretty full strength side today, as I look to build a big lead at home in hopes of coasting in the return leg at Southampton later this month. We should win this game comfortably but again, playing a second consecutive Championship side could lead to some complacency today, thankfully something that we’ve avoided lately.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, S. Nasri, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, M. Yilmaz, A. Rocca, E. Harvey, H. Cruz, G. Allan, Z. Bardi

Southampton are also in a flat 4-4-2 today and have Doesburg up front with Mihalis Fjodorovs. John Ruddy is their keeper. Helder Cruz is showing signs of overconfidence according to my assistant, something that’s pretty common for him. Hopefully it doesn’t rub off on the rest of my players. I contemplate telling them I expect a win but instead go with a less intense team talk, telling a few players to pick up where they left off last time (Hamon, Cairney and Moses) and telling the team to play attractive football for the home fans.

5’ - We do some great tic-tac-toe passing in midfield, with Cairney, Jose and finally Chiquinho getting touches and it’s Chiquinho feeding a GORGEOUS ball up to Moses. Ruddy comes out to challenge but Moses gets there first and hits a THUNDEROUS drive past Ruddy and into the top of the net! Fantastic start boys! DOVER GOAL 1-0

10’ - We give Southampton a bit too much space and they pass into the area to Doesburg and his shot is saved by a diving Ingo Wilke.

17’ - Once again, it’s Chiquinho with the ball around midfield and he passes to Moses. Our talented young striker dribbles through two defenders and runs in on goal. He makes space with a little move on Ruddy and he has a completely wide open net and makes no mistake. Absolutely BRILLIANT! That’s Moses’ 50th goal for our club! Holy crap - he’s only 20 years old!!! DOVER GOAL 2-0

22’ - Jose is running through the middle of the pitch and a Southampton defender attempts to tackle him. The ball squirts to Moses and he just SPEEDS past the defence and in on goal. His angle is poor, coming in from the left side but his shot is PERFECT and into the lower left corner of the net. HAT TRICK FOR PAUL MOSES and he has THIRTY GOALS on the season now! My God…this guy is already a legend. DOVER GOAL 3-0

29’ - Gianluca Bolis takes the ball from our side of half and runs down the sidelines. He has a step on his defender and crosses into the box and of course, who is there but PAUL MOSES, winning the battle and quickly shooting past the beleaguered Southampton keeper and it’s IN. That’s FOUR GOALS for Moses. I’m at a loss for words. DOVER GOAL 4-0

39’ - Off a failed corner, we regain possession and work the ball to the outer edge of the area to Chiquinho. He has no room but notices Salim Loucif uncharacteristically bolting in down the right sidelines and feeds him out wide. Loucif takes the ball and sends in a high cross and it’s right back to Chiquinho, who heads the ball past Ruddy and it’s IN! A very rare header from Chiquinho and we strike for our fifth. DOVER GOAL 5-0

45’+3 - There’s two minutes of scheduled extra time but we have possession in their end. Bolis is dribbling through the middle and he’s tackled off the ball by Jalid, a Southampton defender. Unfortunately, he wins the ball into open space and Chiquinho races onto the ball. He sends a desperation shot towards goal and it’s over Ruddy, off the underside of the bar and bounces down JUST over the goal line! That’s a wicked strike and I am giggling like a school girl right now! DOVER GOAL 6-0

HALFTIME - The opposition is obviously weak and their goalkeeper is just completely brutal today but this is an absolute CLINIC. 54% possession and a 18-4 (9-2 on target) shot advantage. Ridiculous. I don’t want to tempt fate but I want to keep Moses in for a little while longer to see if he can strike for his fifth of the game, which would set a new Dover record.

50’ - Of course, it’s Moses running into the area and all of a sudden, he’s down in the penalty area and is hurt. No cross of doom, thankfully, but this is a sign. He’ll be coming off shortly.

55’ - Chiquinho wins the ball off a Southampton goal kick and he sends a ball up to Moses. He speeds in on goal and shoots JUST wide. That may have been his chance for the record.

60’ - We continue to dominate and win a corner. Jose crosses to the near post and there is Saber Nasri with the header. It deflects off someone and it’s IN! I wait for the announcer, hoping it went in off Moses but the goal is given to Nasri. Looking at the replay, it went off two different Southampton defenders on it’s way past Ruddy. DOVER GOAL 7-0

Standing ovation for Moses, as I pull him out and bring in Zoltan Bardi. I also take out Neil Cairney and in comes Emmerson Harvey.

65’ - Bardi gets a quick chance and Ruddy actually makes a save. Golf clap for Ruddy there!

72’ - We use our last substitution, bringing in Rafinha for Renato Gaucho.

“Seventh Heaven!”

Dover 7 - 0 Southampton
Goals - Paul Moses 4 (9.8), Chiquinho 2 (9.6), Saber Nasri (9.1)
Assists - Chiquinho 2, Salim Loucif (9.0), Gianluca Bolis (8.7), Jose (9.0)
Man of the Match - Paul Moses
Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (7.4), Rayane Hamon (8.8), Renato Gaucho (8.4), Neil Cairney (8.1), Arsene Bamba (8.4)
Attendance - 23,000

A second consecutive sell-out and the fans saw one hell of a performance today. 55% possession and a 30-6 (12-2 on target) shot advantage. Everyone was sensational today. Moses is ridiculous!

-- In the other League Cup matchup, Manchester United squeak by Burnley 2-1 at Old Trafford and have the slim advantage heading away for the second leg.



Premier League Update

-- Manchester City win a midweek makeup game and have now played one more game than us but we still lead the fourth placed club by six points.



Loan OUT

-- After accepting a deal last week with another club that couldn’t come up with funds to pay the negotiated up front fee, Rafael Ramirez now accepts a half year loan assignment to one of our Champions League Group opponents Dynamo Kyiv. Ramirez should get a lot of starts for them to aid in his development and we pick up a cool £250,000 from the Ukrainian club. They will also pay his weekly wages for the duration of the loan. Good move for us to get him some playing time.



Premier League Update

-- We have a Sunday match this week so we get to watch some games in peace on Saturday. Man United beat Everton, Spurs smoke Fulham 5-1, Middlesbrough edge Huddersfield and Liverpool continue to struggle, dropping a 2-1 decision to Sunderland.



Dover U18 Update

-- The kids continue to roll, pasting Oxford 6-0. Steven Miller bags a brace while Josh Gimpel, Phil Whitbread, Norberto Vazquez and Matthew Neil notch singles.



Next Up

-- The easy stretch of games continue, as we face Premier League relegation candidates Norwich in another game at Crabble Athletic Ground.
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