[NoSkillz]

Wed. February 1, 2023

Barclays Premier League
Burnley (4-4-17, 16 points, 19th) vs. Dover (17-5-3, 56 points, 2nd)
Turf Moor, Burnley, UK

Betting Odds: Burnley: 11-5 Draw: 11-5 Dover: Evens (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 1W 0D 2L

We throttled Burnley 6-0 in our previous matchup this year and it's been a rude awakening for the club in their first year back in the Premier League since 2017/18. They simply can't score goals at this level, with only 15 in 25 games but they have played well enough to sit only 5 points from safety so I expect a much tighter defensive game from them today at home. Haris Seferovic has 9 of their goals across all competitions to lead the club. Left midfielder Cameron Murray, who we sold to Burnley in the offseason, has been a big disappointment and has no goals and only three assists in 24 starts for the club.

I was very tempted to go with Paul Moses up front today for slumping striker Shanon Andrea but I'm going to hold out Moses until our next game against Reading on the weekend. Andrea will start up front with Zoltan Bardi today. With so many injuries and Salim Loucif (and Arsene Bamba) still away on international duty, I'm forced to give Steve Reed his first ever start for our club at right fullback. That means Emmanuel Agbo is on the bench, another rarity. We are REALLY testing our depth these days. Emmerson Harvey will line up alongside Neil Cairney in midfield. Ingo Wilke is back in goal.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - R. Gaucho, M. Yilmaz, C. Contreras, S. Reed
M - G. Allan, N. Cairney, E. Harvey, G. Bolis
S - S. Andrea, Z. Bardi
Bench - E. Agbo, C. Guzman, S. Spall, L. Kunchev, H. Cruz, Chiquinho, P. Moses

Burnley are in a flat 4-4-2 with Seferovic and Harry Kane up front. Dwayne Miller is in goal and Cameron Murray is on the left side. I'm tempted to ask for a win but instead just say the game is winnable.

2' - Graham Allan with a hard shot through traffic but it's right at Miller for the easy save.

3' - Shanon Andrea sends a ball through the defence to Gianluca Bolis and his shot is also stopped by Miller.

7' - Harry Kane avoids a tackle from Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz and gets to the top of the box before rifling a rocket off the crossbar!

9' - Unreal. Now Steve Reed is hurt and has the dreaded cross above his head. He can stay in the game for now but we'll have to check on his condition after the game. DOVER INJURY - STEVE REED (STAYS IN THE GAME)

25' - I'm nervous, as Burnley have unquestionably been controlling most of the possession in the last fifteen minutes but we win a corner. Cairney's cross hits Claudio Contreras, then deflects off a defender and hits the post. The ball comes back to Contreras and he whips a shot into the top corner for the opening goal! DOVER GOAL 1-0

28' - Zoltan Bardi has a clear breakaway from the midfield stripe but his shot is WIDE. You gotta finish that Zoltan if you want to play more!

35' - We've started controlling play and we have a free kick from distance. Our players go forward and Cairney's cross hits a Burnley defender and the ref immediately calls a foul for a handball. PENALTY! Neil Cairney, eight for eight on penalty kicks this year, steps up calmly to take the kick and it's SAVED by Miller, who guesses right! Crap! Cairney is stopped for the first time all year - he went right with the kick, something that is normal for him and the goalie obviously scouted him well. Burnley immediately move back up field and their danger man Seforovic gets past Reed and is in on goal and Wilke makes a tough save! Wow.

37' - Things continue to go against us, as Emmerson Harvey takes the ball off a throw in and immediately sends it into the area to a breaking Bardi. He slots it home on the first touch but he's ruled OFFSIDES. The replay confirms he was just inside the last defenders shoulder. No goal.

40' - We continue to press forward and it's Andrea and Bardi playing keep away. Andrea gets the last touch and fires a curling shot at goal but Miller is there with a spectacular diving save!

HALFTIME - Burnley are actually holding a 52% edge in possession but we outshoot them 12-6 (7-1 on target). Dwayne Miller has been outstanding in goal for them but our best players, guys like Andrea and Bolis (6.3 rating) aren't making enough of an impact. I decide to encourage the players in the room at half.

48' - Emmerson Harvey says a prayer from about 10 yards outside the area and his blast is off the crossbar.

59' - Oh my. Shanon Andrea gets the ball at midfield and he springs Neil Cairney on a breakaway. Cairney, looking to make up for his missed penalty, is in on goal and Miller STONES HIM AGAIN!

65' - Gianluca Bolis and Zoltan Bardi come off. I move Graham Allan to right midfield and bring in Helder Cruz to play the left side. Chiquinho comes in at striker for Bardi.

70' - Cairney with a corner kick and it's to the far post and Yilmaz but his header is stopped by the in-form Dwayne Miller. He's been outstanding for Burnley today.

72' - Burnley with the goal kick and it's right at Cairney, who heads it back over the defence. Substitute Chiquinho has all of his speed since just coming on and he's in all alone. He uses his great skill to round Miller and he has an empty net to shoot at and makes no mistake! The 200th (!!!) league goal for Chiquinho and we have a two goal cushion!! DOVER GOAL 2-0

75' - Wilke is forced to make a sprawling save on a shot from distance.

86' - Neil Cairney comes out, as I look ahead to our weekend matchup against Reading. In comes Shaun Spall.

90'+2 - Spall with a free kick and his cross meets the head of Graham Allan but it goes off the crossbar!

We'll take the three points.

Burnley 0 - 2 Dover
Goals - Claudio Contreras (7.7), Chiquinho (7.3)
Assists - Neil Cairney 2 (8.1)
Man of the Match - Ingo Wilke (8.3)
Other Dover Notables - Steve Reed (7.2), Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz (7.4), Renato Gaucho (7.3)
Attendance - 16,002

A good second half sees us hold off a very game Burnley club. Possession was dead even in the contest and we outshot them 22-10 (11-2 on target). Their keeper Dwayne Miller (7.6) was excellent but our keeper gets man of the match honours.

-- INJURY: Steve Reed twisted his knee early on and will miss two weeks of action. We are getting killed by the injury bug. Hopefully Salim Loucif returns from international duty soon…

-- Chelsea knocked off last placed Stoke 2-0 to maintain their three point edge on us in the standings. Also winning were Man City, Man United, and Sunderland while Sheffield Wednesday were upset 1-0 by Birmingham.


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 26 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Chelsea - 62 points
2. Dover - 59 points
3. Manchester United - 57 points
4. Manchester City - 55 points
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5. Arsenal - 55 points
6. Sheffield Wednesday - 49 points
7. Sunderland - 44 points
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February Board Confidence Update

--The board are very pleased with my overall leadership of the team. Our stature increase is the positive but the signing of young Lyubomir Kunchev is a slight disappointment. That's grasping at straws if I've ever seen it - Kunchev is with our U18s and has been great for them (10 goals and 14 assists in 23 non-competitive games at right midfield). He's only 18 and has been a substitute in two games for the senior team. A bit early to press the panic button on the kid!

-- We made a profit of £5.31 million last month, most of which came on the sale of Said Henni to Manchester United.



Champions League Registration

-- We confirm our team for the upcoming knockout stages of the Champions League. Newcomer Helder Cruz is ineligible for the rest of this year's tournament, as he is cup tied to Sporting CP.



International Update

-- We're coming up on an international break and there are 13 players being called up, a number I'm sure would be higher if not for our incredible number of injuries right now.



Next Up

-- We have our fourth consecutive road match, as we face mid-table Reading in Premier League play.