The club want to win The FA Trophy and I think we can, says Dover Athletic midfielder Liam Bellamy

With ten wins, one draw and just one defeat from their previous twelve games -  and fresh off the back of an emphatic 4-0 victory away at Chelmsford City – Dover Athletic will really start to feel that they have turned the corner and are now able to turn this season into a successful one.

The club still bring involved in four competitions approaching December – the Conference South, FA Cup, FA Trophy and Kent Senior Cup – has previously been a rare achievement.

Despite tomorrow’s opponents being in a lower division to Dover, and with a trip to MK Dons to enjoy next weekend, the signs are that manager Chris Kinnear will take this competition as seriously as ever, and be determined to progress to the next round.

Kinnear told www.doverathletic.com: “There would have been a time early in my career when I would have prioritised the league, but nowadays I just want to win every game. There’s no reason why a club like Dover, with a squad as strong as ours, can’t be competing in several competitions. We want to win them all.”

The furthest the club have reached in The FA Trophy is the semi-final. In the 1997/98 season, Whites reached the last four stage but missed out on an appearance at Wembley, losing to Cheltenham Town.

Midfielder Liam Bellamy states: “The club want to win the Trophy, and I think we can win it too – the cup runs have so far been great for everyone involved with the club.”

The prize money from cup competitions have so far seen almost £50,000 added to the club’s coffers, with an additional £5,000 on offer for the winners tomorrow.

East Thurrock United currently sit in 18th place in the Ryman Premier League, having won two, drawn one and lost four of their seven matches at their Rookery Hill ground so far.

They are at this stage of the competition, just one round away from their best ever performance, on the back of wins against Eastbourne Town (0-0, 6-2 in the replay), Canvey Island (2-0) and Merthyr Tydfil (4-2).

The sides met in a pre-season friendly in 2011, when goals from George Purcell and Donovan Simmonds sealed a 2-1 victory for Dover.

Their overall form in the last seven games is impressive, with five wins, one draw and one defeat – meaning that they are likely to hold their own confidence coming into the match.

Top scorer for The Rocks is Leon McKenzie, with eight goals from 18 appearances. Also in John Coventry’s side is ex-Whites midfielder Simon Glover, who joined the club in September after a spell at AFC Hornchurch.

Despite an unfruitful start to the season in front of goal, Whites have now found the net 14 times in their last six games, with four of those six seeing the side win to nil.

Barry Cogan will miss the game with this being the third and final match of his suspension.

This match – along with the scheduled Kent Senior Cup quarter-final clash away at Dartford on Tuesday night – gives players a chance to impress Kinnear ahead of their FA Cup Second Round tie at Milton Keynes Dons on 7 December.

Meanwhile, A Football Association arbitration panel has ruled in favour of Dover Athletic following a claim for compensation from Margate in relation to the signing of striker Tom Murphy.

A club statement said: “We had originally made a gesture offer of £500 to the Thanet club after Murphy signed for Dover back in August. The offer was turned down by Margate, who asked for FA Arbitration.

“Following Tuesday’s meeting at Wembley, The FA found that the original offer was satisfactory.”

Article courtesy of Dover Athletic’s website: www.doverathletic.com  

East Thurrock United  v  Dover Athletic

The FA Carlsberg Trophy First Round

Saturday 30^th November 2013

Kick Off 3:00pm

At Rookery Hill, Corringham, Essex SS17 9LB