It’s a third meeting for the Fleet and Dover this season on Saturday but the first without Andy Hessenthaler as the managerless hosts go into the Crabble fixture looking for their first goal against Dennis Kutrieb’s side, having drawn a blank in the previous league and FA Cup encounters.
The Kent rivals met twice at the Kuflink Stadium within a three-week period, the home side winning the first game 3-0 and then knocking Dover out of the Cup to the tune of 2-0 as the Whites were unfortunate enough to come up against Fleet in their very best form this season.
And that very best form was on show for much of last Saturday’s second-half as the Fleet went to town on Weymouth after a stop-start first period. Three second-half goals, a hat-trick for Dominic Poleon and three more attempts that wobbled the Plough End woodwork helped put the adverse Christmas results behind the Fleet and restored plenty of confidence going into another Kent derby this coming weekend.
Poleon goes into the clash against his former club looking for the goals to fire him over the 20 mark this season – he is just one away from achieving that in all competitions and one hat-trick away from doing the same in league competition.
Luke O’Neill and Joe Martin both sat out the Weymouth win following injuries at Dartford, as did skipper Chris Solly, although Josh Wright was out and about warming-up pre-match as he edges closer to consideration for selection.
Postponement of the midweek Kent Senior Cup game against Dartford robbed Kutrieb of a chance to test a few bodies ahead of the Dover trip but he got in an extra viewing of his opponents as they were in league action on the same night.
And after the disappointment of defeat at bottom club Hungerford Town last Saturday, the 1-0 win over Taunton Town on Tuesday will have given Dover encouragement ahead of plotting their strategy against the Fleet. In temporary charge following Hessenthaler’s return to Gillingham are former Dagenham midfielder Mitch Brundle and youth-team boss Mike Sandmann.
The Whites have recently lost two players to Fleet’s next opponents Chelmsford – our former striker Reece Grant was one, and central midfielder Arjanit Krasniqi the other – but there’s still plenty of experience in the Dover squad. Aside from interim boss Brundle, former Fleet skipper Lee Martin and centre-back Jake Goodman form a spine with 41-year-old goalkeeper Stuart Nelson between the posts and one-time division top scorer Alfie Pavey leading the line.
Pavey is top scorer with eight, while wide man Luke Wanadio has weighed in with a few and ex-Dagenham striker Chike Kandi carries a threat too.
Dover are in that halfway-house position where a poor run could drop them into an unlikely relegation battle but equally, a solid run of results could reawaken play-off hopes. As it is, stuck firmly in mid-table, inconsistency has been the root of their problems and that run of good results has to start soon if the top seven is a realistic goal.
Crowds at Crabble have dwindled to below 600 on occasion this season and the travelling Fleet fans could help the crowd top the season’s best of 827 from New Year’s Day. Tuesday’s win over Taunton was Dover’s first on home soil since mid-October and indeed only their second victory of any kind in the last 11 games.
The Fleet’s last three visits to Crabble have all ended as 1-1 draws – Darren McQueen scoring in two of those games – and we last tasted victory in Dover during our promotion season of 2010/11 when a January visit resulted in a 3-1 win.
Tickets for the game can be purchased on the day at the turnstiles only and cost £16 (adults), £14 (over 60s), £8 (U18s) and U11s are free with a paying adult.
