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Old 02-15-2014, 03:41 PM   #210
NoSkillz
College Benchwarmer
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
Tue. November 23, 2021

UEFA Champions League - Group F
Dover (1-2-1, 5 points, 2nd) vs. Barcelona (3-1-0, 10 points, 1st)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

Betting Odds: Dover: 3-1 Draw: 2-1 Barcelona: 4-5 (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 0W 1D 0L

Barcelona are sizeable favourites in our return matchup at home after we battled to a scoreless draw back in September in Spain. Barca are in 3rd place right now in the top Spanish league and only need a draw today to lock up qualification for the next round. This game isn't do or die for us but a win here would certainly put us in the driver's seat to earn qualification for the knockout stages. Barca look pretty healthy and we'll need to stop Pascal Reinhardt to have any chance of getting a result today - he has 11 goals in 17 matches thus far. Spanish Canadian midfielder Juan Ramon Vazaquez and fellow midfielder Tim Stark are two of the largest transfers in football history (in this game anyway) and also need to be watched.

Giorgos Gesios is suspended today so Zoltan Bardi will get his first start of the year today and is thankfully match fit for the first time in 2021. Gianluca Bolis will return but I plan on bringing him in for the second half today - Kostas Kalfas was dynamite in our last game so he'll start again today. I contemplate putting 25 year old Paulus Tjiuoro in for young Claudio Contreras just to bring more of a veteran presence to our lineup but I'll stick with the in-form Contreras at home today. We're going with a flat 4-4-2 counter attacking mentality today.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - R. Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, A. Rocca, K. Kalfas
S - S. Andrea, Z. Bardi
Bench - J. Kuciak, P. Tjiuoro, Mancini, S. Spall, S. Nasri, G. Bolis, P. Moses

Barcelona are in a 4-4-2 DM (4-2-3-1) with Reinhardt up front, Vazquez and Zidane at attacking midfield positions and Tim Stark is at MC. I'm throwing the book at Reinhardt today - tight marking, closing down always, hard tackling and show onto weaker foot. He's the man we need to stop today. I simply tell the team to go out there and perform well for the fans.

4' - Reinhardt takes a pass about 25 yards out, jukes past Contreras and hits a hard shot from the edge of the area that Wilke dives and pushes over the crossbar.

10' - Reinhardt is something else. We have a throw in deep in their end and they head it away. A long ball is played up field and Reinhardt just EXPLODES past our defence and has a clear breakaway. He looks likely to score, as it gets past Wilke but not the goal post and Contreras is back and able to clear just in time. We work back up field and Bamba gets a cross into the box, where Bardi is able to head it on goal but Barcelona keeper Marc Cremades makes the point blank save. What action!

17' - Zoltan Bardi has the ball around half way into Barcelona territory and feeds it into the middle to Shanon Andrea. The two strikers criss-cross and that opens up a bit of space for Andrea, as he dribbles into the area and unleashes a THUNDEROUS DRIVE into the top corner of the goal! WHOOOO! DOVER GOAL 1-0

22' - REINHARDT! Barcelona's danger man has the ball and dribbles into our area. Claudio Contreras seems to have him marked well but Reinhardt uses his skill to weave around him and shoot - the ball deflects off Rayane Hamon and into our net. Damn. Quick reply. BARCELONA GOAL 1-1

26' - Kostas Kalfas is taken down just outside the penalty area and is hurt. I was bringing Gianluca Bolis on at some point but preferred to do it at halftime. I'm forced to do it now, as Kalfas can't continue.

27' - On the ensuing free kick, Rocca's cross is headed out of the penalty area to Neil Cairney. He sends a quick pass to a retreating Rayane Hamon and then the central defender showcases rare skill in back heeling a pass through the defence. Zoltan Bardi, making his first start of the year, looks offside but runs into the ball and strikes it into the goal! Barcelona protest with the assistant but to no avail. We're back ahead on Bardi's first of the year! DOVER GOAL 2-1

38' - Just have to say this game is ALL SORTS OF AWESOME, with back and forth rushes and my arms are turning red from gripping the table so hard while watching.

41' - Reinhardt gets another fine chance from just inside the area but Wilke scoops up the low shot and holds on.

43' - FUCK. Arsene Bamba gives the ball away in horrible fashion and Barcelona strike quick on the counter attack. Of course, it's Reinhardt again getting past our defence and Wilke can't get enough of the shot, as it goes into the net for the equalizer. BARCELONA GOAL 2-2

45' - This game is NUTS. We work up field off the kick off and Shanon Andrea just bursts right through the centre of the park and in on goal. He seems to slow up a bit before shooting and that gives Cremades enough time to dive and make the save.

HALFTIME - What a battle this is! We held 53% of possession (!!!) but are outshot narrowly 8-7 (6-4 on target). I tell the team I'm pleased and make no tactical changes.

48' - Rayane Hamon tackles Reinhardt hard and the Barcelona striker is hurt - play stops after Barca foul us right afterward. Reinhardt needs to come off for brief treatment and we get a free kick against ten men. We move up field and Gianluca Bolis sends in a pass to Andrea in the penalty area. Barcelona central defender Chris-Michal Bigirimana is there but Andrea tackles the ball away from him and immediately shoots - Cremades wasn't ready for the shot and it's past him and into the net! Holy crap! Andrea is ON FIRE! DOVER GOAL 3-2

50' - We work a counter up field and Andrea Rocca springs Neil Cairney, who splits through the defence and is in on goal. The ball is tackled away from him but goes right to Bardi. Cremades is WAY out of position after the tackle and Bardi is free to shoot. Loic Nestor, another Barcelona central defender, tackles it away from Bardi but the ball goes right into the net! MY GOD!?!!! DOVER GOAL 4-2

I edit my opposition instructions against Reinhardt, keeping the "tackle hard" and "show to weaker foot" instructions but eliminate "close down" and "mark tightly" - I'm going to just sit back now and I don't need our defenders roaming out of position anymore with a two goal cushion.

54' - I simply can't believe how good Shanon Andrea is for us - what a signing! He dances through the Barca defence like we're playing a Conference side and Cremades has to make a sensational stop to keep Andrea from a second consecutive hat trick.

55' - The speed of Pascal Reinhardt is breathtaking to watch. He gets a ball in a harmless enough position and we have four men back but he just SPRINTS past Hamon and Contreras and in on goal. Wilke somehow gets his fingertips to it as it just rolls past the outside of the goalpost.

66' - A brief scare, as Vazquez takes a cross and heads it into the net but he's WAY offsides and the correct call is made. No goal!

79' - Gianluca Bolis is exhausted despite only coming in halfway through the first half so I bring in veteran Samir Nasri.

80' - Neil Cairney with a GREAT through ball to Andrea. He has Cremades at his mercy but his shot from in close is JUST wide. So close to the hat trick! "You'd have bet money he would have put that in!", says the announcer.

86' - I simply can't believe our game today. We have possession deep in their end and Cairney has it. He starts dribbling toward the area and just when I start yelling "SHOOT", he makes this ridiculous pass to his left to Shanon Andrea. Two defenders went at Cairney so that leaves Andrea all by himself and our MOLTEN HOT striker unleashes a blast into the back of the net. TWO CONSECUTIVE HAT TRICKS FOR SHANON ANDREA!!! Oh yeah, the score? DOVER GOAL 5-2

90' - I take out three goal man Shanon Andrea for Paul Moses. Andrea gets a standing ovation…his manager included!

90'+2 - Barcelona have four men up front now and we clear a corner and it's a two on one with Bardi dribbling and Moses alongside. Bardi sends it through to Moses and his low blast is saved in fine fashion by Cremades, as we almost struck for our sixth! Incredible.

OH MY!!!

Dover 5 - 2 Barcelona
Goals - Shanon Andrea 3 (9.6), Zoltan Bardi (8.6), Loic Nestor OG
Assists - Rayane Hamon (7.5), Neil Cairney (7.9), Zoltan Bardi
Man of the Match - Shanon Andrea
Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (7.7), Salim Loucif (7.1), Claudio Contreras (7.0), Andrea Rocca (7.1)
Attendance - 14,805 (Sell-Out)

Simply put, this is the biggest win in Dover Athletic FC history!!!

A Champions League shocker over Barcelona. We held 53% of overall possession and shots were 16-15 (9-8) in favour of Barca but who the hell cares? We had most of the great chances and save for Reinhardt, we matched them and EXCEEDED them throughout the pitch. Just a sensational performance and I applaud the players and their efforts in the room after the game.

-- Making it even more interesting is the fact that CSKA Moscow upset Schalke in the other Group F contest 1-0. Therefore, Barca sits with 10 points, we sit with 8 points and CSKA Moscow has 7 points. A Barcelona win at home over Moscow in their last group stage game would not only see them through, but it would guarantee US a spot in the knockout stages! So in essence, we control our own destiny, as a win away at Schalke would see us through but we're in GREAT shape to move on now!

UEFA Champions League - Group F

1. Barcelona - 10 points +5 GD
2. Dover - 8 points +4 GD
3. CSKA Moscow - 7 points -4 GD
4. Schalke - 3 points -5 GD

-- We're given £696,000 for the win over Barcelona!

-- Kostas Kalfas suffered a fractured arm in the game and will miss the next three to four weeks.

-- In other Champions League action, Rangers shocked Man City 1-0 but it's a meaningless game for City, as they already have guaranteed qualification to the next round. Group C is already settled despite two games being left for all clubs, as FC Bayern and Porto will be through to the next round. Group H is also set with one game remaining, as Anderlecht and Galatasaray are through over Sevilla and Litex. Chelsea and OM are also through to the next round.



Stadium Expansion COMPLETE!

-- Our planned expansion of Crabble Athletic Ground is completed, as seating capacity is increased by 7,250 seats, giving us a 23,000 all-seater at Dover! I wonder if we'll be able to sell the place out in the near future - this is a major expansion, easily our largest yet and we've been expanding every year since entry to the Premier League - this *may* be the last one for awhile! We'll see! The expansion is finished one day late - if we had 23,000 seats available for Barcelona, I'd bet all of them would have been sold! As it stands, we go on the road for our next FOUR games, so we won't be back at Crabble until December 18th against relegation candidates Derby County.



Dover Reserve Team Update

-- We continue to score at will lately, even at the reserves level, as we throttle Aston Villa's reserves 7-0 at Crabble. Cameron Murray was man of the match with two goals and an assist. Paul Moses also bagged a brace and singles came from Mancini, Paulus Tjiuoro and Emmanuel Agbo. Aitor Zubizarreta had three assists and continues to dominate at the reserve level - he'll get some additional opportunities to dress for the senior team with Kostas Kalfas currently injured.



Contract Update

-- We extend the contract of reserve DR Jozef Kuciak for an additional two years - he gets a modest raise of £500/week which brings his salary to £5,500 - he's a 2.5/2.5 player but he consistently outperforms those ratings - last year, his average rating was 7.22 in 13 league games, a pretty fantastic number for a backup player. This is his fourth year with our club and we're pleased to have him here until June of 2024.



Next Up

-- We head on the road to face mid-table Sheffield Wednesday in Barclays Premier League action.

Last edited by NoSkillz : 02-20-2014 at 09:14 AM.
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