[NoSkillz]

Sat. March 4, 2023

Barclays Premier League
Dover (18-6-5, 60 points, 5th) vs. Liverpool (11-7-11, 40 points, 10th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, England

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

We got a rare away win at Liverpool, 2-0, earlier this season and that set the tone for a VERY disappointing season for the Reds so far. That said, they are still hanging around in the Champions League, having reached the knockout stages, like us. Three of their strikers have 11 goals to lead the club, including newcomer Cheikh Bocande.

We have some VERY tired players today but I would have made changes anyway after the disastrous game against United midweek. We're going with a one striker formation today, with Paul Moses up front and Zoltan Bardi directly behind him. Graham Allan is in for the ineffective Gianluca Bolis while Andrea Rocca, despite being unfit, will start alongside Neil Cairney in midfield. Daniel Traore is in at DC. Despite being underdogs, we'll go with a control mentality today, as we look to play aggressive football at home.

Dover: 4-4-2 DM (4-2-3-1) Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - R. Gaucho, D. Traore, C. Contreras, S. Loucif
M - N. Cairney, A. Rocca
AM - A. Bamba, Z. Bardi, G. Allan
S - P. Moses
Bench - K. Zagos, M. Yilmaz, S. Spall, E. Harvey, H. Cruz, W. Rooney, Chiquinho

Liverpool come out in the same 4-2-3-1 look as us but have Greek forward James Efmorfidis up front, a man I haven't seen before. He's co-leader on the team with 11 goals. Jonvo Shelvey is right behind him at AMC and is always dangerous and the super tough Chris Dunn is in goal. I tell the team I expect a much better performance today in front of our home fans.

14' - Liverpool right midfielder Erik Koning with a shot from just outside the area and Wilke has to dive to make the save. Liverpool are controlling most of the possession in the early going on our pitch…not happy…

21' - Efmorfidis takes a long prayer from halfway in our end and it's off the crossbar. Sheesh.

22' - Now Wilke is forced to make a nice save off a headed corner. COME ON GUYS! No shots on goal for over 110 minutes now for us.

28' - Koning is dribbling in and Renato Gaucho tackles the ball away from him and the ball squirts into the area. There are no Dover players there and that allows Bo Quattara to latch onto it, round Wilke and easily deposit the ball into the back of our net. We are simply getting outplayed and I'm FURIOUS. LIVERPOOL GOAL 0-1

34' - This is HORRIFIC. We're gifting possession, with giveaways galore. Graham Allan loses the ball and Cairney takes down a man. Yellow card for Cairney. Still no shots on goal today and this is now almost 125 minutes without a shot on target.

45' - I think we're finally getting our chance, as Moses takes a Cairney pass at midfield and avoids a tackle. He sprints in on goal and shoots HIGH. My god. Liverpool boot the goal kick up field but we regain possession. Salim Loucif sends a long ball up to Moses and he's GONE! He's in all alone for the second time in a minute and this time his shot is on target and IN!!! Late half drama! DOVER GOAL 1-1

HALFTIME - Just as I was about to read the riot act, we score. We're outplayed severely by visiting Liverpool, as they hold 52% of possession and a 10-6 (4-1 on target) shot advantage over us. I reiterate to the team that we're in the entertainment business and I switch tactics, moving to a flat 4-4-2 with a control mentality.

49' - Erik Koning haas been very effective for Liverpool and he again forces Wilke into a fine stop.

53' - We start a counter off a LIverpool miscue at midfield and it's Rocca feeding it up the right to Allan. He cuts in and shoots but it's right at Dunn and he fists it out. However, it is right on the golden foot of Paul Moses and our young striker one touches it into the empty net and we ahead on his second of the game!! DOVER GOAL 2-1

Liverpool move to a weird looking 4-1-2-1-2, with no one out wide.

57' - Rocca has a free kick and it's into the wall. It deflects out to Neil Cairney and his shot from distance is off the woodwork!!!

62' - Andrea Rocca is exhausted so he's out and young Emmerson Harvey comes in.

67' - We are in complete control this half and some brilliant work by Bamba on the left side sets up Paul Moses right in front. He's got no room and his hard shot is stopped by Dunn!

76' - Allan gets away down the right again and crosses into the box. It's through the entire defence and Bamba is right there with a sitter but Chris Dunn DIVES HEADLONG TO MAKE THE SPECTACULAR SAVE! Holy crap - seriously one of the best saves I've seen in ages!

82' - Zoltan Bardi is out and Wayne Rooney is in.

84' - Man. Liverpool with a cross deep into the area to substitute Sokratis Papastathopoulos (what a mouthful!) and his header is saved in brilliant fashion by Wilke. There's a rebound and we clear it to safety just in time.

We switch to a counter attacking mentality.

89' - My god I'm going to have a heart attack. Liverpool send a long ball up and our defence look like they've never played an organized game before, as two of their men are behind them. Shelvey is in all alone and beats Wilke but it hits the post! The ball deflects back out and Shelvey has another chance from point blank range but shoots right at the recovering Wilke and it's behind the net for a corner! We clear that to safety, thankfully!

90'+1 - With three extra minutes on the clock, we take out Cairney and bring in Shaun Spall to milk some more time.

It works and we escape with a win thanks to Moses.

Dover 2 - 1 Liverpool
Goals - Paul Moses 2 (8.8)
Assists - Salim Loucif (7.7), Graham Allan (7.0)
Man of the Match - Paul Moses
Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (8.2), Claudio Contreras (7.0), Daniel Traore (7.0), Zoltan Bardi (7.0)
Attendance - 19,181

We had a good second half and ended up with 52% of overall possession and a 18-17 (6-7 on target) shot advantage. Good stuff. Moses continues to blossom and at this point, I'm really thinking of giving Moses more of our first team reps. Wilke was sensational as well.

-- Chelsea can only muster a scoreless draw against Spurs but they maintain their hold on first place. United and City both win but Arsenal and Stoke battle to a spirited 3-3 draw. We move ahead of the Gunners into fourth place but they continue to have a game in hand on us.


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 30 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Chelsea - 69 points
2. Manchester United - 66 points
3. Manchester City - 64 points
4. Dover - 63 points
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5. Arsenal - 62 points (29 games)
6. Sheffield Wednesday - 58 points
7. Sunderland - 50 points
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8. Reading - 44 points (29 games)
9. Aston Villa - 44 points
10. Liverpool - 40 points
11. Tottenham - 40 points
12. Everton - 34 points (29 games)
13. Newcastle - 33 points
14. Wolves - 32 points
15. Middlesbrough - 30 points
16. Huddersfield - 28 points
17. Birmingham - 24 points
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18. Derby - 21 points (29 games)
19. Burnley - 16 points
20. Stoke - 12 points



Premier League Team of the Week

-- GK Ingo Wilke is named to the Barclays Premier League team of the week for his excellent display against Liverpool.



Injury Update

-- The news I've been waiting for! Rayane Hamon returns to full training!!! We've missed him in the middle of our defence so much! MC Mancini is our only injury now and he's close to a return as well.



Champions League Update

-- Barcelona draw at home versus OM 1-1 but win 4-2 on aggregate to move on to the quarterfinals. Joining them are Manchester United, who win 2-1 at Old Trafford over Sevilla and take the two game set 4-1 on aggregate. Man City storm back after losing in Turkey, beating Galatasaray 3-0 at home to win 4-2 on aggregate. And finally, Dortmund and Liverpool battle to a 2-2 draw but Dortmund move on with a 4-3 edge on aggregate.



Next Up

-- We have an FA Cup sixth round matchup against Premier League leading Chelsea, with the match taking place here at Crabble Athletic Ground.