[NoSkillz]

Sat. April 8, 2023

Barclays Premier League
Dover (20-6-6, 66 points, 4th) vs. Newcastle (10-9-13, 39 points, 12th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, England

Betting Odds: Dover: 5-4 (Favourites) Draw: 11-5 Newcastle: 7-4
Past Meetings: 4W 1D 2L

Newcastle are in their third consecutive year in the top flight and sitting in 12th right now, they are safe from the drop zone and will be back next year too. These guys are a two man show, with Stanislas Vigneau up front with 17 goals and fine left midfielder David Maclennan sitting with 6. Their goalkeeper Jak Alnwick always plays like a superstar against us and I expect no different today. We did beat them 3-2 away earlier this year.

We have a tired bunch today and with a return matchup in midweek against Real Madrid, we'll be resting some key players today. Starting today are GK Manuel Perez, Kostas Zagos, Daniel Traore, Gian Marco Fanfoni, Graham Allan and Zoltan Bardi. Guys getting a rest include Renato Gaucho, Claudio Contreras, Neil Cairney, Gianluca Bolis and Chiquinho. We'll go with a one striker formation today.

Dover: 4-4-2 DM (4-2-3-1) Control
GK - M. Perez
D - K. Zagos, D. Traore, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - G. Fanfoni, A. Rocca
AM - A. Bamba, Z. Bardi, G. Allan
S - P. Moses
Bench - M. Yilmaz, C. Guzman, Mancini, N. Cairney, G. Bolis, H. Cruz, Chiquinho

Newcastle are in the same formation we are and Vigneau is alone up front. Surprisingly, young Pierpaolo Bartoli is in goal for Newcastle today and Alnwick is on the bench. I want to tell the team I expect a win today but with so many backups in, that might be a bit too strong so I just tell the team I want to see some attractive football for the home supporters today.

1' - DREAM START! We have the opening kick and move it up to Zoltan Bardi. He feeds a ball through the defence and Paul Moses wins the race and shoots for the far corner and it's IN past Bartoli! That only took 32 seconds!!! DOVER GOAL 1-0

5' - We're pouring on pressure early and Gian Marco Fanfoni feeds Bardi at the edge of the area and his left footed shot is deflected over by Bartoli.

6' - We steal possession again and Graham Allan feeds Andrea Rocca. Newcastle back off and allow him to dribble into the area and fire an absolute HOWITZER into the top corner. Sensational strike from Rocca! "Newcastle's fans wish they had stayed home!", says the announcer! DOVER GOAL 2-0

11' - We have a throw in and Loucif sends it to Allan. He avoids a tackle at the edge of the area and sends in a low pass toward Moses. Our striker slides and kicks the ball past Bartoli and it's in again! That's two for Moses and we're unstoppable at the moment! DOVER GOAL 3-0

13' - Vigneau gets off a curling rocket and Perez makes a brilliant diving stop!

32' - We have a throw in down the right and we play some give and go's. The ball comes to Bamba and he sends a little touch pass back to Fanfoni. From the top of the box, he sends in a savage right footed shot that Bartoli gets a piece of…but not enough and it's IN! What a performance in the first half! DOVER GOAL 4-0

33' - This is BEYOND ridiculous. We steal possession again and just move up field like we own the place (well, we do!). Now it's Moses sending in a little touch pass and there is FANFONI again! He's all alone, beats Bartoli but not the crossbar and it deflects out of play. A complete sitter for Fanfoni! My goodness this is so fun to watch.

43' - Daniel Traore with a yellow card.

44' - Moses with some magic, as he evades two defenders and cuts in on goal but Bartoli finally makes a save. Poor kid.

HALFTIME - BRILLIANT half of football! We hold 55% of possession and a 13-6 (8-1 on target) shot advantage. I tell the team I'm pleased so far. I also decide to take out Andrea Rocca and bring in Mancini for his first senior action since returning from his broken leg. We need Rocca for the Champions League game in a few days and I'll also take out a couple more of our starters around the 60 minute mark.

52' - Moses is SO fast, as he just weaves through the defence then turns on the afterburners. He's in on goal and Bartoli makes a great diving save to keep Moses from his hat trick.

54' - A TERRIBLE defensive lapse on our part sees Newcastle send a long ball up and there is David Maclennan in all alone. Perez comes out to challenge and he MAKES THE SAVE! Awesome!

56' - Moses WILL NOT BE DENIED! Rayane Hamon sends a long ball up field and there is Graham Allan. He speeds after it and sends a cross into the area and there is Moses, sliding again and sending the ball underneath Bartoli and it's in the net. HAT TRICK FOR PAUL MOSES!!! DOVER GOAL 5-0

61' - Helder Cruz is on for Arsene Bamba

63' - We make our last change, taking out Salim Loucif and bringing in Carlos Guzman. Guzman moves to the left fullback slot and Kostas Zagos moves over to the right side.

74' - Rayane Hamon almost gets into the action, with a fine header off an Allan corner kick but Bartoli is up to the task.

Newcastle must be sick of conceding because they've changed to a 4-2-1-2-1 with two DMC's.

FANTASTIC win today with many key players getting much needed rest!

Dover 5 - 0 Newcastle
Goals - Paul Moses 3 (9.6), Andrea Rocca (7.9), Gian Marco Fanfoni (8.2)
Assists - Graham Allan 3 (9.3), Zoltan Bardi (7.8), Arsene Bamba (8.0)
Man of the Match - Paul Moses
Other Dover Notables - Manuel Perez (7.5), Salim Loucif (7.6), Rayane Hamon (8.7), Daniel Traore (7.8), Kostas Zagos (8.4)
Attendance - 15,735

We hold 54% of possession and outshoot them 22-9 (12-2 on target). Graham Allan continues to produce every single time he's called upon - he started off a bit slow with us but his production has been incredible for a backup - he is up to 8 goals and 12 assists and he's only started in 16 games (he's played in 36 overall). Every starter gets a rating of 7.5 or more. And what can I say about Paul Moses? He's exceptional…and he's only 19! Moses is up to 17 goals and he's only started 15 games (plus 14 as a substitute).

-- OOH BOY! Things are getting VERY interesting in the Premier League! League leaders Chelsea LOSE 2-0 to Huddersfield of all teams! 16th placed Huddersfield!!! We also get draws from Manchester United (2-2 versus Everton) and Manchester City (2-2 versus Liverpool). Arsenal win 1-0 over Birmingham but this is yet another great week of results for us! We're still in fourth but now we're only 4 points out of first place and we have a relatively easy final stretch, with only our final game against Man City being a top half team. We are STILL IN THIS THING!!!


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 33 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Chelsea - 73 points
2. Arsenal - 72 points
3. Manchester United - 70 points
4. Dover - 69 points
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5. Manchester City - 66 points
6. Sheffield Wednesday - 63 points
7. Sunderland - 50 points
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Dover U18 Update

-- The U18s win 4-0 over AFC Wimbledon, with Tomas Liska scoring a pair and Eddie Robinson and Pete Smith score singles.



Premier League Team of the Week

-- An incredible FIVE of our players are named to the 11 man team of the week: Kostas Zagos, Rayane Hamon, Graham Allan, Arsene Bamba and Paul Moses.



Dover Injury Update

-- Shanon Andrea is still a couple weeks from returning to full training after his sprained ankle. Steve Reed, a reserve defender, is out for the year.



Next Up

-- We are behind 2-1 to Real Madrid as we welcome the Spanish giants to Crabble Athletic Ground for the second leg in the Champions League quarter finals.