[NoSkillz]

Sat. February 5, 2022

Barclays Premier League
Dover (14-7-5, 49 points, 3rd) vs. Tottenham (12-5-9, 41 points, 7th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

Betting Odds: Dover: 13-8 Draw: 2-1 Tottenham: 6-4 (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 3W 3D 2L

We usually have high scoring games against the Spurs but they've changed managers and we could only muster a scoreless draw earlier this season at White Hart Lane. Striker Bas Dost, picked up in the offseason, leads the team with 11 goals in 23 appearances. Gareth Bale is still producing but he may not be fully fit for tonight's game. Spurs have been up and down this year but are holding onto a Continental position right now with Chelsea breathing down their necks. I'm a bit surprised they are favoured in our stadium to be honest...

A few changes today, as we battle fixture congestion and look forward to back-to-back games against Man United next week. Claudio Contreras is back in today and I'll rest Wayne Rooney and go with Zoltan Bardi up front today. Paul Moses, coming off a two-goal and one assist performance against Fulham, will get his second consecutive start. He still isn't talking to me, by the way and still wants to leave the club. Giorgos Gesios is serving the last of his three game suspension today and will be ready to play against United next week if I decide to go in his direction.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - R. Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, A. Rocca, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Z. Bardi
Bench - J. Varga, J. Kuciak, Mancini, E. Harvey, C. Murray, A. Zubizarreta, W. Rooney

Tottenham match our formation and have Bas Dost up front with Daniel Pacheco, another dangerous player. Incredibly, Gareth Bale is playing but I don't think he has the fitness to finish the match. Once again, my assistant thinks I should tell them to play hard for the fans and I go with it, pulling aside Cairney and Rocca to tell them I have faith in their abilities and also pulling aside Moses to tell him to pick up where he left off against Fulham.

12' - Our defence continues to struggle with closing people down and not properly filling in for their partners. Hamon comes up on James McCarthy, the Spurs midfielder and for some reason, Contreras moves to the middle of the field, which allows McCarthy to spring Pacheco. He walks in all alone and makes no mistake putting it by a suddenly struggling Ingo Wilke and we're down early. TOTTENHAM GOAL 0-1

15' - Rocca sends a ball through to Moses but his shot just goes into the side netting. Great chance!

29' - We're pouring on pressure but can't get any great shots. We have a corner and Rocca's cross is headed to goal by Contreras but Zoltan Bardi can't put away the rebound and Spurs clear.

32' - Moses gets the ball down the left flank, moves back to the inside and sends a great cross into the box to Bardi. He battles the Spurs keeper Mathieu Dreyer for it and Dreyer is just able to send it over the goal. We don't capitalize on the corner.

We continue to pour it on but most of our shots are from distance and not on target.

HALFTIME - We've done everything but score but we're definitely starting to press a bit. 54% of possession is in our favour and we outshoot them by a WIDE margin, 17-2 (3-1 on target). Lots of wasteful efforts. I tell the team we can win this still.

47' - We have a free kick and it's Rocca sending in a ball that meets the head of Paul Moses and the youngster propels it past Dreyer and into the net! We get one right away! DOVER GOAL 1-1

64' - We take out Bardi and bring in Wayne Rooney.

65' - You HAVE to be kidding me!! Bolis gets the ball down the right flank and crosses into the middle and it's WAYNE FUCKING ROONEY sliding into the ball and sending it into the net! The guy came on thirty seconds ago and scores right away, his third in three games since his return from injury. The captain puts us in the lead! DOVER GOAL 2-1

Bale comes off for Tottenham. He's made no impact at all today and I haven't noticed him in highlights at all.

74' - Tottenham get a rare chance, as Wilke's goal kick is headed back over our defence but Dost's kick is right at our keeper and he hold on safely.

77' - Spurs with a free kick and it's headed off the crossbar. They're starting to take it to us in the last ten minutes.

79' - Andrea Rocca is out and Mancini is in. We move to a counter attacking mentality.

87' - We try to milk time, bringing on Cameron Murray for Arsene Bamba.

90'+3 - There's some wild back and forth action and Spurs get a glorious chance when Dost gets through our defensive line and forces Wilke into a great save.

Good comeback!

Dover 2 - 1 Tottenham
Goals - Paul Moses (7.3), Wayne Rooney (7.3)
Assists - Andrea Rocca (7.1), Gianluca Bolis (6.9)
Man of the Match - Wayne Rooney
Other Dover Notables - Rayane Hamon (7.0)
Attendance - 17,104

We end up with 52% of possession and a 24-13 (7-5 on target) shot advantage. Rooney plays less than 30 minutes and nabs man of match honours. He's been incredibly influential for us this year at 36 years young and is up to 8 goals in 18 games (15 starts). Moses now has three goals in his last two games but he'll be in the stands for our next two games, as he's ineligible to play against his parent club Manchester United.

-- Not many upsets this week, as United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool all win while City draws with Reading. We hold onto third place but Liverpool and Arsenal continue to bite at our heels.



Dover U18 Update

-- Gregoire Lambert bags another brace and Matt Hewitt adds a single in a 3-1 win over Havant & Waterlooville in under 18 action.



Barclays Premier League Team of the Week

-- Two of our players get named to the team of the week: Salim Loucif and young Paul Moses are honoured for their fine play.



-- Tottenham are in the process of a board takeover and there are rumours that a "rich tycoon" will be coming in and investing large sums of money on the club. I don't like the sound of that!



Next Up

-- We head to Old Trafford to face Manchester United in the first of back to back games, with the first one a FA Cup 4th Round replay.