MATCH PREVIEW: Dover Athletic vs Chippenham Town | National League South, Sat 12th Nov 2022
Matt Chappell previews our upcoming National League South clash with Dover Athletic
The Bluebirds face a long trip to Kent on Saturday, when Gary Horgan’s side travel to face Dover Athletic in Match Day 19 of the 2022/23 of the National League South in the first meeting between the pair at The Crabble Stadium
Chippenham come into this game looking to pick up crucial points after suffering four defeats on the bounce in National League South action, most recently losing 3-2 to Cheshunt at Theobalds Lane, this past Tuesday. The Bluebirds originally picked up two goals via Harry Parsons and a fantastic strike from Alefe Santos, outside the box midway in the 1st half, before a quick-turnaround by the hosts with Ken Charles scoring a second half hat-trick in the (47th, 49th and 73rd minute respectively) to give the Ambers their much needed three points and push Chippenham into 21st in the league table and into the first relegation spot at the time of writing. Matt Coupe took charge of the side with Gary Horgan not in attendance for the game, and Coupe in his post-match interview stated: “Chippenham had a very good grip on the game and coming into HT had a very positive first 45 minutes, we had five minutes of madness in the 2nd half and that cost us with their three goals in the 2nd half”. Despite the result, Matt praised the attacking sense stating “lots of positives” but ultimately stated at FT, there was “mixed feelings” of the rest of the game.
Our hosts, Dover Athletic currently find themselves 12th in the league table and a record of two wins, two draws and one defeat in the last five league games, most recently drawing 0-0 with Chelmsford City last Saturday, but before all of that, picking up a 1-0 victory against Bath City away from home with Luke Wanadio netting a 40th minute strike to give them all the points at Twerton Park, it’s the “Whites” first season in the league, after being relegated from the Premier last season in 23rd with only one point to their name, following a points deduction of -12 after failing to complete fixtures during this past season. Their manager, Andy Hessenthaler has taken charge of the side since 2018 and has stuck with the side during their turbulent past few seasons, and will be looking to pick themselves back up and challenge for top 10 in the NLS. They have plenty of players to watch out for, with ex-Maidstone and Dartford forward Alfie Pavey currently with five goals to his name and Luke Wanadio with four to his name respectively. They have notable players in Chike Kandi, Jordan Higgs, Arjanit Krasniqi and Lee Martin who have all come up against Chippenham over the past few seasons.
It promises to be another big test for Gary Horgan’s side, as they try to claw their way back up the league table, if you are planning to join us on the road, then Dover’s ground is located at: Lewisham Rd, River, Dover CT17 0QJ. We are hopeful to confirm more about tickets in due course but be sure to check our website/social media for further details when they become available, just a reminder there will be NO radio match commentary due to restrictions in place by our visitors, but we will be providing all the latest via our Twitter updates, so be sure to check that to keep up-to-date!
COME ON YOU BLUEBIRDS!
