Dover Athletic 3-1 Wroxham - We were very poor. I hope it wasn't complacency, says Nicky Forster

DOVER ATHLETIC  3-1  WROXHAM
The FA Cup with Budweiser Third Qualifying Round
Saturday 15^th October 2011
Paul Parkinson reports from Crabble

DOVER ATHLETIC progressed into the Fourth Qualifying Round of this year’s FA Cup, with a 3-1 victory over Ridgeons Eastern Counties side Wroxham, but only after the visitors had given their hosts a few palpitations by dominating the first half and going in one up at the break.  


The match turned though on the dismissal of Wroxham centre-half Josh Carus for a second caution on the stroke of half time, and after the interval, Dover were determined to make the man advantage pay.

New Whites’ boss, Nicky Forster was forthright after the match saying, “I was surprised by the way we started the game.  We were very poor.  I don’t think it was complacency, at least I hope it wasn’t, because we knew they would be a tough test for us.  But the manner in which we played, too long on the ball, caught in possession too many times, their goal was a bit of a comedy, we were disappointed.”

He added: “We were below our best and had to respond.  The sending off in some ways didn’t help because it meant that they were going to sit back.  

“Second half we applied ourselves much better, the better team, more urgency, more tempo, and that’s what we wanted; pressure on the ball and when we had it, I thought we looked far more comfortable.””

Wroxham, who play at the equivalent of the Kent Hurlimann Football League, settled into the game far quicker and came close to opening the scoring within the first three minutes as Gavin Lemmon’s corner struck the legs of Ben Thompson and squirted past the right hand post.  

Two minutes later, Ollie Schulz tried to dribble out of his own half, but lost the ball under challenge from Andy Eastaugh.  The ball ran loose to Thompson who ran into the space to the edge of the box, but his shot was straight at Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz in the Dover goal.

The visitors deservedly took the lead in the 10th minute as Thompson flicked a long free kick over the Dover defence, and Ross Durrant ran in from the right and fired a low drive across Jaimez-Ruiz into the right hand corner.

Jaimez-Ruiz produced a brilliant save to tip over Thompson’s sliding effort, as he met Matt Daniels’ low cross, then produced an identical save on 31 minutes to again deny Thompson after the forward ran in from the left and saw his shot deflected off Ed Harris.

In the meantime, Dover had come close twice, with Tom Wynter’s enterprising run and shot being caught by Scott Howie, then the former Norwich City, Coventry and Shrewsbury keeper had to hold a stinging drive from Leon Redwood with George Purcell hovering waiting for a fumble.

A string of cautions broke up the game as the half came to a close, then Carus, who had already seen yellow for a crude challenge on Billy Bricknell, made contact with Jaimez-Ruiz as the keeper tried to clear, and knocked the ball loose.  

Mr Breakspear adjudged that the contact was deliberate and issued a second caution, reducing the visitors to ten men.

Dover came out in the second half with a renewed purpose and created their first chance within three minutes.  

Shane Huke curled a cross in from the right side, and Glen Southam, breaking into the area, chested the ball goalwards, but into the hands of Howie.  Three minutes later though, Dover were on level terms.


Schulz met Southam’s corner at the back post where he headed back across goal.  Danny Self managed to head clear as Bricknell closed in, but as the ball was returned back into the area, Harris’ shot was parried by Howie, and Harris reacted quickest to tap in with the keeper grounded.

Bricknell had a couple of  chances to put Dover ahead heading Wynter’s cross at Howie on 56 minutes, then a minute later, scooped Sam Cutler’s cross over the bar from 8 yards out, but would be the third of the three changes made by boss Forster as he searched for a winner.

The two forward replacements, Donovan Simmonds (on for George Purcell) and James Walker (for Bricknell), made an immediate impact as, in the 80th minute, Jaimez-Ruiz’s clearance was touched on by Simmonds.  Walker flicked the ball past Wroxham skipper Graham Challen, but his shot was denied by a wonderful tackle from Lemmon.

Within three minutes, Walker had scored his fourth goal in 4 days (following a hat-trick against Maidstone United in the Kent Senior Cup on Wednesday) pouncing on a Howie spill from Southam’s cross, then swivelling to fire the ball high into the net.

And strike partner Simmonds was to seal the match with a minute of normal time remaining with his third of the season.  

Walker collected the ball on the left wing and powered into the area, before crossing for the unmarked Simmonds to head home at the back post.

Wroxham replacement Ryan Oakley had a chance to restore some pride in stoppage time, but saw his shot blocked away, but the visitors were reduced to nine men in the dying seconds as Self received his secod caution for kicking the ball away.

Forster was quick to praise his replacements, saying, “We learned a few things today.  Certainly with the substitutions, we learned that the squad is vitally important and those three boys that came on were fantastic, adding that bit of energy, the bit of urgency that we were lacking.  

“Barry Cogan hasn’t played a lot under us (Forster and assistant, Steve Brown), so his response was very good.  The two boys (Simmonds and Walker) tested them, turned them, and the third goal, the link-up between the two, was just fantastic.

“But we applied ourselves very well second half.  We said there had to be a reaction, or we would make changes.  We were playing against a team three leagues below us and a man down, so some would say we should have done, but you can only beat what is in front of you and I thought we played better as we went on.”

Dover Athletic:  Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz, Shane Huke, Tom Wynter, Agustin Battipiedi, Ollie Schulz, Ed Harris, Sam Cutler (Barry Cogan 64), Glen Southam, Billy Bricknell (James Walker 77), George Purcell (Donovan Simmonds 64), Leon Redwood.
Subs: Phil Starkey, Michael Corcoran, Luke I’Anson, Ross Kitteridge

Goals: Ed Harris 52, James Walker 83, Donovan Simmonds 89

Booked: Agustin Battipiedi 41

Wroxham:  Scott Howie, Danny Self, Shaun Howes, Josh Carus, Graham Challen, Andy Eastaugh, Ross Durrant (Ryan Oakley 87), Gavin Lemmon, Matt Daniels, Ben Thompson, Gary Gilmore (Ben Jones 72).
Subs: Rio Starkings, David Hinton, Paul Cook.

Goal: Ross Durrant 10

Booked: Gary Gilmore 15, Josh Carus 28, Danny Self 44, Gavin Lemmon 90

Sent Off: Josh Carus 45, Danny Self 90

Attendance: 623
Referee: Mr Charles Breakspear (Walton-on-Thames, Surrey)
Assistants: Mr Corin Readett (Virginia Water, Surrey) and Mr Neil Wallace (Crawley, West Sussex)