Kentish Football 
We've got to start performing, says Hessenthaler
Wednesday 18th November 2009
DOVER ATHLETIC boss Andy Hessenthaler says his side must perform if they are to avoid losing the “BATTLE OF THE GIANTS” FA Carlsberg Trophy showdown against Dartford on Saturday, writes Stephen McCartney.
The 44-year-old goes into the mouth-watering final qualifying round tie at Crabble knowing that his side have lost five of their last six games - the worst run of form throughout his two-and-a-half-years at the club.
And Hessenthaler, speaking to www.kentishfootball.co.uk today, admits that run of form is “unacceptable” going into the massive Kent derby, which should attract a crowd of over 2,000 to Crabble.
Dover Athletic are presently stumbling in second place in the Blue Square South table - eight points behind Newport County, who have a game in hand.
Whilst unbeaten Dartford are running away at the top off the Ryman Premier League, both teams have enough quality about them to make Saturday’s FA Carlsberg Trophy tie a must-see game.
“Dartford are obviously going well in their league, at the moment they’re running away with it,” said Hessenthaler.
“We’re having a bit of a tricky spell at the moment but we’re still in a good position.
“It’s the FA Trophy, two sides that like to play football, so it should be a big crowd, two teams that are well supported, so it should be a decent game.”
The Whites boss insists his side will rise to the occasion - both sets of supporters want to win this match!
“We have to put (our poor form) behind us,” he said. “At the end of the day this is the next game. We know what we’ve got to do - we’ve got to start performing.
“To be fair, up until Saturday, the two performances before Saturday were very good but Saturday’s performance at Weston-super-Mare was unacceptable!
“We had a chat last night and we know what we’ve got to do and we’ve got to start showing a little bit more fight and if we do that then we’ll hopefully have a decent result at the weekend.”
Dover Athletic have been starved off Kent derbies since their promotion into Blue Square South - but Hessenthaler has told his troops what Saturday’s game means to the Dover faithful.
“Last year we done really well with the Kent derbies, the year before we didn’t do particularly great,” recalled Hessenthaler.
“It’s good for the fans, because you get a big crowd there and the atmosphere, so yes we miss them (derbies), that’s why we’re looking forward to the weekend.
“It’s a tough game for us, we’re favourites as we’re in the league above and we’re at home, we’re second from top, their top in their division so we know what we have to do. Let’s hope we can progress.
“I got to the FA Trophy semi-final twice with Dartford so obviously they’re a club close to my heart but come Saturday we’ll be looking to beat them.”
Olly Schulz, Jon Wallis, Craig Cloke and Jerhal Hughes, meanwhile, are all injured and will therefore watch the match from the sidelines.
“It doesn’t help, it’s always good to have players available, but at the moment it’s been pretty much the norm for us this season where we’ve had to stop and start with our team selection and again it’s nothing different for the weekend,” added Hessenthaler.
www.kentishfootball.co.uk will be covering this game
Visit Dartford’s websites: www.dartfordfc.co.uk & www.dartfordfootballclub.co.uk
Dover Athletic v Dartford
FA Carlsberg Trophy Third Qualifying Round
Saturday 21st November 2009
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Crabble Athletic Ground, Lewisham Road, River, Dover, Kent CT11 0JB
Red Dragon I.T. Ltd