[NoSkillz]

Sat. April 29, 2023

Barclays Premier League
Wolves (12-5-18, 41 points, 13th) vs. Dover (22-7-6, 73 points, 3rd)
Molineux, Wolverhampton, UK

Betting Odds: Wolves: 7-4 Draw: 2-1 Dover: 5-4 (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 8W 2D 1L

This is our FIFTH game against Wolves already this season: two Premier League games, an FA Cup match and two legs in the League Cup semi-finals. We are 4-0-0 against them and outscored them by a whopping 16-3 in those matches! That said, Wolverhampton have fared well this year in league play, sitting comfortably in 13th position and they will see their third consecutive year in the top flight next season. Their danger men are Guy Luckett and Emanuele Testardi.

A couple changes today: Shanon Andrea will return to the starting eleven today in place of out-of-form Chiquinho and play the unfamiliar position of target man. Paul Moses has been too effective to take out of the lineup. Graham Allan will play at right midfield and relegate Gianluca Bolis to the bench. Control mentality as favourites on the road.

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. Allan
S - P. Moses, S. Andrea
Bench - D. Traore, K. Zagos, Mancini, H. Cruz, G. Bolis, Z. Bardi, Chiquinho

As expected, Luckett and Testardi are up front in their 4-4-2 formation. Wayne Hennessey is in goal. If we have ANY chance to make a move on first place, we'll need to win all of our remaining games and even that likely won't be enough. I tell the team they can win this.

11' - Wilke is forced into action early, as Luckett gets a shot off from in close but it's deflected and our keeper makes the stop.

17' - Moses is sent up field by Andrea Rocca but he has defenders all over him. His shot is stopped by Hennessey and Wolves clear the ball to safety.

24' - Gueida Fofana makes a nice move to cut into our area and his shot curls right to Wilke and he's in good position for the save.

31' - We get our best chance, as Graham Allan crosses to the far post to Moses. He sends a pass back into the middle and there is Shanon Andrea but his shot is right at the keeper and he makes the reflex save. Great chance to get a goal there.

42' - Another great passing play sees Graham Allan feed Moses in the middle but again, we shoot right at the Wolves keeper.

HALFTIME - Sigh. We dominate proceedings but can't break them down or more to the point, we can't beat Hennessey. We held a whopping 63% of the ball that half and outshot them 11-3 (5-2 on target). We just need a break. I tell the team i'm pleased with the way they're playing.

61' - Nothing happening. Testardi is sent through and he is alone with Wilke but shoots WIDE. We are VERY lucky there.

I take out a very ineffective Shanon Andrea and bring in Chiquinho.

63' - We steal the ball at midfield and Neil Cairney sends a delightful ball up field to Chiquinho. He's got fresh legs and no one can catch him as he moves in on goal. His shot is low and past Hennessey and IN!!! That's Chiquinho's 30th of the season!!! Hasn't scored in his last 11 starts but has three in his last two appearances as a substitute and we take the lead! DOVER GOAL 1-0

75' - Moses has no luck in front of goal today, as he's sent in by Bamba and his shot beats Hennessey but cruelly hits the goalpost and bounces out.

76' - I take out a tired Andrea Rocca and bring in Mancini.

79' - Wolves have a free kick and send it into our area. Claudio Contreras goes up and a Wolves forward goes down and the ref points to the spot! PENALTY! Salim Loucif is given a yellow for complaining as we surround the referee. Renato Gaucho is warned and up steps Evgeny Maltsev to take the kick. He goes straight to the middle and Wilke is there but it's off his hands and IN. Devastating goal. WOLVES GOAL 1-1

We immediately take out Graham Allan and bring in Gianluca Bolis and also switch to an overload mentality. We need a win…a draw won't help us.

89' - Rayane Hamon with a yellow card for holding a player back.

90'+2 - We are melting down, as a cross comes into their area and we feel a foul should be called. The ref keeps the whistle in his pocket and we complain enough to get TWO YELLOW CARDS, with Renato Gaucho and Claudio Contreras both getting booked.

Wolves 1 - 1 Dover
Goals - Chiquinho (7.3)
Assists - Neil Cairney (8.2)
Man of the Match - Neil Cairney
Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.1), Renato Gaucho (7.3), Andrea Rocca (7.0)
Attendance - 21,271

We hold 57% of overall possession and a 21-9 (7-3 on target) shot advantage. Some brutal refereeing and we are now out of the running for the league title. In fact...

-- Manchester United and Manchester City both win, with City winning 7-1 over Derby and both clubs climb past us and we drop from 3rd into 5th place. Just a devastating draw as we fall out of the Champions League qualification positions with only two matches to go. We did get the benefit of a 2-1 Sunderland win over Arsenal.


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 36 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Chelsea - 82 points
2. Arsenal - 76 points
3. Manchester City - 75 points
4. Manchester United - 75 points
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5. Dover - 74 points
6. Sheffield Wednesday - 69 points
7. Sunderland - 54 points
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8. Liverpool - 52 points
9. Reading - 51 points
10. Aston Villa - 51 points
11. Tottenham - 50 points
12. Wolves - 42 points
13. Everton - 42 points
14. Newcastle - 41 points
15. Middlesbrough - 39 points
16. Huddersfield - 37 points
17. Birmingham - 30 points
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18. Derby - 25 points
19. Burnley - 20 points
20. Stoke - 14 points



Dover U18 Update

-- The U18s win 4-0 over Eastbourne Boro behind braces from both Felix Hernandez and Lyubomir Kunchev.



New Dover Record

-- Striker Chiquinho sets a new Dover record after scoring his 23rd league goal of the season, topping the 22 goals scored by Robert Kerkhof back in 2016 in our League 1 days.



May Update

-- We're getting to the end of the line here. We have a one week international break before finishing off the season with games against Birmingham (HOME) and Manchester City (AWAY).

-- I get positive training reports for Paul Moses and young GK Louis Read but negative reports from Shanon Andrea, Mancini and Neil Cairney. Hmm. Don't like to see that from Cairney but he's been sensational for us this year. On the youth side, I get positive reports for Geoff Williams and Mwemere Mutesa and a negative report for Damian Thorne.



Premier League Monthly Awards

-- We get a huge honour, as young loanee Paul Moses is named Premier League Player of the Month!!! Moses scored SEVEN goals in five games to win the award. Neil Cairney finishes in third for April.

-- Claudio Contreras comes in third in Young Player of the Month voting, with Sheffield Wednesday fullback Gerard de Jong winning the award.

-- Carlo Ancelotti from Man City wins Manager of the Month honours and I finish in second for the month.



May Board Confidence Update

-- The board are very pleased with my overall leadership of the team. Stature increase is the positive and our ugly 3-0 FA Cup semi-finals loss to Huddersfield is a big disappointment.

-- We lost £1.46 million last month.



Champions League Update

-- Dortmund lose 3-2 at home versus Real Madrid but it doesn't matter, as they move on based on a 5-4 aggregate score to the Champions League finals. In the other semi-final, Manchester United beat up on Olympique Lyonnais 3-0 at Old Trafford. After a scoreless draw in leg one, that means the final will be Dortmund versus United!



Dover Reserves Team Update

-- Our reserves win 5-0 over West Brom, as we get a hat trick from Zoltan Bardi in the win. Also scoring were Shanon Andrea and young Emmerson Harvey.



International Duty

-- Emmerson Harvey (England U19) and Felix Hernandez (France U19) are called up for U19 Euro qualifications.



Dover U18 Update

-- In their final game of the season, our U18s win 3-0 over Woking, with goals scored by David Smith, Ben Patterson and a Woking own goal. Our U18s won their league once again, going 21-3-2 on the year and scoring 94 goals in 26 matches.



Next Up

-- We get set for our last home match of the season, welcoming Birmingham to Crabble Athletic Ground.