Dover Athletic 0 Tonbridge Angels 0
Ryman League Division One
Tuesday 25th October 2005

By Kevin Harris

The league's top two cancelled each other out to provide the 1,248 who attended Crabble on this Tuesday night with a goalless draw. Whites had the majority of possession, but they failed to get through a strong Tonbridge defence, and the visitors had a couple of good chances to snatch the winner, so a draw was a fair result.

There were two changes made to the side that had defeated the Met Police at the weekend. Craig Wilkins was fit again and Danny Chapman had a painkilling injection in order to start, pushing Carl Rook and Dale Skelton onto the bench.

It was a fairly slow start to proceedings however, with neither side committing too much early on. Whites looked marginally the better side, especially with Matata and Tyne playing wide of Wilkins, the central striker. But it took until midway through the half for the first chance to arrive, with Wilkins heading wide from a cross from the impressive Clifford.

Whites were increasingly causing the Tonbridge defence problems, and again went close when Tyne headed wide and Readings headed over, both from Hogg corners. The visitors had their moments however, and almost broke through the resolute Whites defence, but Steve Aris' goalbound shot was blocked.

The half ended with Hogg's free kick being deflected wide, and then Whites forced four corners in a row, but they were unable to create anything to unduly trouble Tonbridge keeper Jerome John.

The second half began with Luke Piscina shooting over from 25-yards, and then Leroy Huggins got on the end of a long ball forward to go one-on-one with Paul Hyde. As the defence stood appealing he was offside, the striker saw his shot saved by Hyde.

This was a good chance, but it was the first decent opportunity of the match, with neither side able to break through one another's defence. Danny Lye's free kick from the halfway line went just past the post, and Matata headed Spiller's cross on target, but the keepers were not being tested.

Skelton replaced the injured Chapman with fifteen minutes to go, and Wilkins shot over from 20-yards, but the best chance of the game came with only six minutes remaining. A lucky bounce left Huggins through on goal for the visitors, but again Hyde saved his shot, and Browne then cleared his rebound header off the line, and the Whites fans on the River End breathed a sigh of relief.

Rook replaced the injured Spiller for the final few minutes, and Whites could have snatched a victory when Tyne cut inside and fired goalwards, but he shot tamely wide, and it wasn't long before the final whistle arrived.

This wasn't the best of games to watch, but that is because two good sides cancelled each other out, and struggled to get through the resolute defences. Both sides should be fairly happy with a draw, but we now need to keep up the pressure on our visitors and go for the win on Saturday against Lymington and New Milton.

Dover Athletic: Paul Hyde 8, Tony Browne 8, Dave Clifford 9, Dean Readings 9, Walid Matata 8, Nick Humphrey 8, Anthony Hogg 8, Lee Spiller (C) 8 (Carl Rook, 88mins), Craig Wilkins 8, Tommy Tyne 8, Danny Chapman 8 (Dale Skelton 8, 74mins).

Subs (Not Used): James Rogers, Michael Smissen, Darren Smith.

Tonbridge Angels: Jerome John, John Beales, Jon Heath, Tony Dolby, Steve Aris (C), Lew Watts, Luke Piscina, Danny Lye, Leroy Huggins, Nick Barnes, Ray Powell.

Subs (Not Used): Adam O’Neill, Darren Smith, Mike Cramp, Craig Roser, Richard Ponsford.

Booked: Ray Powell (29mins), Danny Lye (54mins)

Referee: Irvine Woodward

Assistants: Stuart Butler and Graeme Ions