5 hours Ago By [email protected] (Thomas Reeves)
Manager Jake Leberl thinks Dover’s current crop compare to the squad he first watched at the club as a youngster. Whites hit the Isthmian Premier summit with a 4-2 home win over Hashtag United on a successful community day last weekend. That attracted a crowd of 2,732 - the largest at Crabble since November 2017 - including several young fans.
There was live music before the match and face-painting on offer during a memorable day. But Whites’ next home game is an FA Trophy tie against Sittingbourne this Saturday. Dover progressed to the first round of the competition with a 3-0 victory against Cheshunt this month in front of just 436 fans, as FA rules mean even season-ticket holders have to pay on the day to watch cup ties amid the Trophy attracting less interest than it once did.
Asked if it was a slight concern the match with the Brickies would bring in a similar crowd, Leberl, whose side host Cray Valley PM in the Kent Senior Cup on Tuesday, said: “Possibly. Understandably, as well. Whites player makes team-of-the-week Report: Dover 4-2 Hashtag United Leberl on his table-topping Whites “But, hopefully, the word will spread.
Everyone had a good sight of us on Saturday and I hope they have enjoyed their day. “It’s fantastic for young supporters to be here. Obviously, I was one of them so many years ago with my dad.
I was fortunate enough to watch a fantastic side back in that era. “I’d like to think the side that we have got now is up there with them. I really do believe that.
There’s so much togetherness. “The boys are absolutely buzzing, they love playing here and they love playing for the club. "Long may it continue.
” It will be a third meeting of the season between Dover and Sittingbourne. Ryan Maxwell’s troops, who were 2-0 up in an FA Cup tie before being pegged back late on in a 2-2 draw, won 1-0 at Crabble in a first qualifying round replay. Leberl said: “They have got a way of playing.
"I wouldn’t say that we were awful in those games but it’s about mindset. It’s about your attitude. "Once you start a game and you’re not quite at it, you cannot get it back.
” Leberl has stuck with the same starting line-up for seven successive matches but was unsure if he would rotate his pack against Sittingbourne. He said: “We’ll see. "It’s not a tap so you can’t turn it on and off, and I don’t want to try and be too clever.
” Dover’s weekend crowd was more than 100 than they attracted for their 3-2 defeat to Folkestone in August. “We’re really pleased,” said Leberl, who praised the work of community, engagement and inclusion officer Vikki Pawley in organising the club’s first community day of the season. “Obviously, Vikki has been doing so much in the community.
We thank [club sponsors] Megger for allowing that to happen. “If we want this club to go back on the up, crowds of 2,700 is probably a little bit unrealistic every week - but we’re going to have to get bigger crowds.” Alfie Matthews got the scoring started against Hashtag with Harrison Pont, Luke Baptiste and George Nikaj also netting.
While Whites have had to be patient with forward Matthews, they’re now starting to see just what the three-goal forward can bring. Leberl admitted: “He’s taken a bit of time to get up to speed. “I still think there’s more to come.
He’s, obviously, got unbelievable natural ability and, hopefully, we can help him push on with his career. “Don’t get me wrong, he does work hard away from here, but I think we can get him fitter. "I think we can get him understanding what we want to do a little bit more.
” Teenage attacker Archie Hatcher has left Dover to seek regular first-team football at Deal while teenage defender Matty Holness has extended his loan for another month with the Charles Sports Ground club..
