[NoSkillz]

Sat. September 18, 2021

Barclays Premier League
Dover (3-1-0, 10 points, 1st) vs. Southampton (0-2-2, 2 points, 19th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

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

We face a second newly promoted team in Southampton and one that has two draws out of their first four games back in the Premier League. They had a wonderful year last season, finishing in 2nd in the Championship to gain the automatic promotion to the Premier League AND they were runners up in the League Cup. Not too bad. They spent four years in the Championship after being relegated in 2017 and we have an even 1-1-1 record lifetime against them. They were relatively quiet in the buildup to the season, paying £4.5 million for Aston Villa midfielder Nathan Redmond and £1.5 million on 22 year old striker Thomas Eriksen from Fulham. Another striker, Mike Hall, looks to be their danger man and has two goals in four games thus far. He scored 20 goals for Southampton in the Championship last year. Their highest valued player is another striker, Latvian international Mihails Fjodorovs but he's recovering from a broken ankle and will be out for close to two months.

We will field as strong a team as possible today and will likely go to our backups in a midweek League Cup tie against Norwich. Renato Gaucho and Claudio Contreras are both away on international duty with their respective country's U20 teams so Jozef Varga will see his first league action of the year and Paulus Tjiuoro will stay in the lineup. Giorgos Gesios, despite being unfit, will start up front in a deep lying role (unusual for him) and Shanon Andrea will maintain the advanced forward role. Wayne Rooney will take a spot on the bench for the first time this season so Salim Loucif will wear the captain's armband for the first time in his career. Hopefully the team responds favourably. We'll go with a control mentality today.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - J. Varga, P. Tjiuoro, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, A. Rocca, N. Cairney, G. Bolis
S - S. Andrea, G. Gesios
Bench - J. Kuciak, Mancini, S. Spall, C. Murray, K. Kalfas, W. Rooney, P. Moses

Southampton match our formation and I like our chances here. I tell the team I expect a win today and pull aside Gesios and Loucif (first time as captain) to say I have faith in their abilities.

4' - We're holding possession early and off a botched corner, Cairney sends the ball back to the right to Rocca and he sends a hard shot toward goal that is turned behind the net by John Ruddy, their keeper. We threaten off the ensuing corner but can't get a shot on target.

10' - Southampton are playing a very tight formation and it's proving hard to break down early. We get a great chance when Bolis sends a ball into the middle to Gesios and he shoots just wide from just inside the area.

18' - It's Gesios again, taking advantage of lovely ball movement from Cairney and his hard rocket from the outside of the area is saved by a sprawling Ruddy and turned behind the net. We get a corner and Rocca's cross is headed towards goal by Tjiuoro and there's a fight for the ball, one that is won by Shanon Andrea and he pounds it home from in close! Our first goal in over two games! DOVER GOAL 1-0

31' - Bolis and Gesios work a give and go and Bolis gets a hard blast away that is saved by Ruddy. Gesios almost gets to the rebound but it's cleared to safety by Southampton's D.

33' - Bamba hesitates on the ball in midfield and is tackled, allowing Southampton to counter. They get the ball up to Mike Hall but Wilke makes a great save on a point blank effort and we clear the rebound to the sidelines just before his strike partner Spilar is able to pound it home.

43' - Off a Southampton goal kick. we head up to Andrea and he sends a through ball up to Gesios. He's got a defender all over him and shoots just wide again. He's come close a number of times in his first start of the year but is obviously still rusty after the month-long layoff.

45' - Andrea makes a world-class run from the halfway line, roaming through five defenders and getting into the area before blasting a low shot just wide. That would have been a sensational goal.

HALFTIME - We're dominating this contest but only have a one goal lead to show for it. We held 62% of possession and have an outrageous 20-4 (4-1 on target) shot advantage. I elect to encourage the team at half time and once again pull aside Gesios and now Varga to say I have faith in them.

50' - Off a corner, Cairney gets the ball outside the area and sends it into a retreating Rayane Hamon. He left foots the ball just across the goalmouth and it just misses. That would have been Hamon's first goal of the season.

54' - Jozef Varga takes down their man and it's a free kick from near the right sideline. Nathan Redmond takes it and sends a cross into the box and striker Mike Hall gets above everyone and heads it forcefully into the net past Wilke. Oh boy…their first chance goes in and we're level. SOUTHAMPTON GOAL 1-1

They immediately pull back into a 4-1-4-1 with a DMC. They will try to shut up shop this early?

66' - I take out the ineffective Gesios and bring in Wayne Rooney. We switch to an attacking mentality.

76' - OH MY GOD. We get a three man breakaway…I still don't know how it happened but Gianluca Bolis is streaking in and shoots WIDE. COME ON GUYS!

They are really slowing down play here.

89' - Nothing happening. We never can get anything going with an attacking mentality it seems. Arsene Bamba gets a yellow after taking down his opposite number.

TERRIBLE.

Dover 1 - 1 Southampton
Goals - Shanon Andrea (7.4)
Assists -
Man of the Match - Shanon Andrea
Other Dover Notables - Rayane Hamon (7.2), Paulus Tjiuoro (7.0)
Attendance - 14,773

We held 57% of overall possession and outshoot them 27-7 (5-2 on target). This has to be "continental hangover", right? I tell the team they weren't good enough today and storm out of the room. This is one of those games we NEED to win and hopefully we don't regret giving up these points later in the season.

-- Sheffield Wednesday help us out and draw City 1-1 in Manchester, a shock result. United beat up on Sunderland 3-0 away and are now right behind us on the table. We somehow maintain our hold on first place.



-- So, I made a big mistake in accidentally dropping young Paul Moses to the reserves last week - you can simply just place him on the reserves team or you can keep him on the first team and just send him down for a game and I did the former, as opposed to the latter. He's upset and I try to address his concerns, saying he's being promoted back to the first team immediately. He gives me crap about it, I say he's being unprofessional and he storms out. Sigh…now he wants to leave the club and feels "alienated". My god it's amazing how one little screwup can blow up in your face and this doesn't look good for me. I really want to sign this kid from United but I have a tough road ahead trying to get him back on my side. I'll be starting him in our next game, his first official start for the senior team, as we face Norwich in the League Cup.



Next Up

-- We enter the League Cup in the third round, hosting Championship side Norwich City