I woke up on Saturday morning in Herne Bay, after initial plans to go to Dover after work on Friday evening were cancelled due to Southeastern's inability to get trains running on time. But everything worked out ok anyway. I enjoyed a rare Saturday morning breakfast when I microwaved the previous evening's chinese takeaway and it went down an absolute treat.
And then after a swift shower I took a stroll up to Herne Bay train station to hop onto the 8.33 train to Faversham, which rather incredibly was not delayed for once. And then Phil 'Packet' Smith hopped on the train at Whitstable, where he had stayed the previous evening at his missus's gaff. He spent half the 9 minute journey in the train toilet having a dump, due to the harsh effects of the curry had devoured the previous evening. A bit off-topic, but I don't know what could possess someone to go for a shit on a train toilet. I've spent a good chunk of my life travelling on trains and I've only ever succumbed to such desperate measures once; at a point where I was really teetering on the edge.
Anyway, we successfully arrived at Faversham on time with Phil having managed to dodge the train guard whilst in the bog. And no more trains would be necessary from here as Uncle John picked us up from outside the co-op. A welcome return for old Jonny, who has been missing in action since the defeat of Bromley last month.
It was a pretty quiet journey to Dover to be honest. None of us share any common interests, morals or beliefs as the only thing that connects us is that we love to watch the mighty Dover while drinking a pint or 11.
We dropped Phil off at his love-shack and then drove off to my famous house in Ladywell. We arrived here before half 9 so we had plenty of time to doss about. I looked on in envy as John gave my younger brother Liam his christmas present, which was a wide selection of WWE merchandise, mainly of my favourite CM Punk. Dad had also managed to get a few free months of ESPN so I engrossed myself by watching some FA Cup classic matches on that channel, including Tranmere Rovers and Man City's incredible comebacks to win 4-3 against Southampton and Tottenham respectively, as well as Michael Owen's 2-1 final win over Arsenal. Classic times.
After several cups of tea it was time to go out for a beer; so we headed off to the Albert around 11am to re-acquaint ourselves with Phil, who had been dropped off in town. Its not particularly a pub I'm keen on; its dingy, expensive and the beer tastes pretty dodgy. Although John bought the beer in here so I never had to open my wallet. The time dragged as shitty 1970's music blared from the televisions. Seeing as we were in a pub called the Prince Albert, naturally the conversation turned to Prince Albert's. Phil was unaware of the expression which amused me, so if you are too somehow then make sure you google it.
Anyway, John told me a story about how he'd seen someone be given a prince albert on a television programme. And if you know John, he likes to go into really graphic, gory details. It certainly sounds like something I'd never like to have done.
After that pint was consumed we did the boring and predictable thing of going up to the Old Endeavour. To be honest though, there are no pubs within the area that can match the place in terms of price and atmosphere, so the lack of competition really makes the drinking routine predictable sadly.
But for £2.20 a pint of Stella you can't go wrong and I would proceed to neck them over the course of the next few hours. It was initially very quiet when we arrived, with Champ and Eadezy being the only two other Dover fans in the vicinity. Champ had proclaimed the previous day that he was on a two week detox from drinking, so it was no suprise to see him with a pint of strongbow firmly in his clutches.
The thing with me and Champ though is that we're a lot smarter than people give us credit for and our combined knowledge almost, ALMOST saw us win the full £10 on the million pound drop quiz game on two occasions, but we faltered on the final hurdle. From then on though it was all downhill and I don't recall anyone winning any money despite the vast outputs put into the machine.
The pub eventually got busier with the likes of Kieran Dodd, Josh Watkins, Jared, Fish and Randy Lucey. Fish eventually buggered off to try and get some money and then we never saw him for the rest of the day (?). There was a lot of discussion about our forthcoming fixture at Dorchester in a fortnight and various plans about getting the train down there and perhaps the possibility of staying over somewhere in Dorset. Either way, whatever happens its one that I'm excited about. I've never got the train to Dorchester before and have got the coach both times, so its a chance to expierence some new pubs (real ale heaven dude!). There seems to be quite a few chaps up for it too, so the early 7.24 train and subsequent 5 hour journey is a prospect i'm looking forward to.
To use one of my favourite terms though, nothin 'note-worthy' particularly happened here, although we did get a mini-bus full of Eastleigh fans join us for a bit. Phil had invited them there via a forum which I have no qualms about as it is more trade for the pub. They were harmless too, and the few of them I did speak to seemed like pleasant enough chaps, while one gave me more details of where their newly found money has come from.
Anyway, after necking about 5 pints of stella and a jaiger-bomb, it was time to head up to the home of football. As usual, being too immobile to walk I got a lift with Andy Lucey, along with Champ, John and Leigh Pidds, giving the car a lot of weight. And as usual again, we ignored the gurkha steward's directions to park the car closest to the ground.
Now i'm trying to remember what happened in the period between here and kick-off. The only thing I can recall was being pissed enough to fit in two pints in a short period of time, as I nearly vomited from drinking my beer too fast!
Anyway, I made my way round to the Dover port end for kick-off. I had a quick butchers at the team sheet and was pleased to see that we had an unchanged line-up from the side that deserved to beat Eastbourne on monday.
I had barely finished emptying my bladder and had not made my way to my spot on the terrace when George Purcell put us a goal ahead within a minute of the game starting.
All I saw was a smart pass threaded through to Barry Cogan on the right whom then sped into the box, before picking out Purcell for a one-yard tap in. That'll do.
Once I gathered round with the others it became evident that Cogan's "pass" was actually a mis-hit shot that luckily went straight into George's path and I think the highlights prove this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWQkbnMVvlY
And to be fair that was about as exciting as the first half got in a fairly even half. With our defence having a really strong game Ruiz was rarely tested throughout the game and they were mainly reduced to hopeful long shots. Whereas at the other end our chances were limited. James Walker curled a shot straight into their goalkeepers arms after a superb Cogan tackle allowed us to break free but other than that, most of the goalmouth action was at a premium.
It was fairly subdued on the terraces aswell to be honest. Despite our recent improvements we only attracted a modest crowd of 751, cementing our position as the most fickle fans in the country. Although to be fair, it is January and it was very cold, if thats a valid excuse. A lot of familar Jollyboys were missing in action too such as Fish (broke), Steve King (Baseball), Russell (University), Sappo and Martyn (Buggering off to France for the day even though we have a free weekend next week) to name a few.
The only other noteworthy incident of this half was a crunching tackle from Corcoron which unfortunately left key Eastleigh striker Jamie Slabber to be taken off on a stretcher. Many have deemed the tackle worth of a red card although I do not quite agree; highlights show that he did get the ball and then ensuing impact was rather unfortunate. Luckily the injury sustained was only a cut leg and not as bad as initially first feared. And from a cynical, selfish point of view, it did take their most potent goal thread out of the game.
Second half though we were far more dominant and put on a great performance in front of the River End. After a refreshing half time pint courtesy of my Dad and Uncle, I too was rejuvanated.
Early on Walker played a teasing ball accross the box, which unfortunately nobody could get on the end of. Then the superb Terry Dixon managed to miss an absolutely sitter. From a long hoofed ball from Harris he challenged the keeper and the ball fell loose. There was a hint of a foul but he managed to put the ball narrowly wide of an empty net. To be fair it was from a tight angle and it was his only real fault in an otherwise great game. His first touch and clever passes, flicks and runs are an absolute joy to watch at times.
And it was Dixon's superb threaded ball that set Purcell up for his second goal only moments later. On the break he threaded the ball through to Purcell on the left hand side and he ran through and finished emphatically outside the area. Who said he can't score one-on-ones?
The only real suprise thereafter was that we didn't score any further goals that our dominant display should have rewarded. We came close to scrambling in a goal from a corner, while Dixon twice played balls accross the area which were not met. Then we created one of our best chance from a superb counter-attacking which sent Glen Southam through on goal but unfortunately his shot was well saved and tipped round the post by their goalkeeper, leaving him still searching for his first DAFC goal.
Substitute Billy Bricknell fired a volley wide after some superb build up-play and then another low ball accross the box from Southam was crying out to be hit. Purcell could of grabbed his hat trick when Dixon played him through with another really clever ball, but his shot was well blocked by their defender.
A beautiful back-heel from Dixon played into Bricknell ended up with the latter hitting the post, while Dixon himself was guilty of another miss when he heavily touched the ball while closing in on the goalkeeper. And thus the scoreline remained 2-0 to Dover.
So overall another superb win for Athletic, in a game we never looked in danger of not winning against a side that had previously only lost once in 8 games. We're really looking like we're growing as team and some of our play at times was absolutely outstanding. The only concern I had, which a few others mirrored, was our inability to score more than once in the second half with the plethora of chances we had. Then again, at least we're creating lots of chances and I have a sneak feeling that somebody is going to be on the end of a hiding soon. Its annoying we have not got a game next weekend to help keep building our momentum. I'm sure Nicky will have them in for extra training over the weekend though and perhaps even a closed behind doors friendly against someone.
I hope this isn't a false dawn, but I'm starting to finally enjoy this season and believe we can finish the season strongly. Maybe not necessarily make the play-offs, but finishing the season strongly to build for next season is key. Bring it on!
With the buzz created from the Dover players, it was time to hit the hit centre spot and get pissed. And for once, various people stayed out after the game and it was as busy in there as I have seen it this season. Even the younger lads like Jared, Josh, Doddy and even bloody Jason Mcfarlane were out in force.
My memory from here on is very hazy though if I'm honest. There were a few comedy moments though that stick out. The first one was me losing grasp of a near full pint and completely smashing it on the floor, much to the amusement of everybody else but the sheer humiliation and embarrassment for me. Although being a good sport he is, by the time I had finished clearing up the glass John had already replaced my drink.
The second thing was me kneeling behind Josh so that Jason could push him over my obese body. Such a schoolboy, childish thing to do but it seemed like a great thing to do at the time and it was.
It was refreshing to see everybody in such a bouyant mood after a home game though. All the players received great receptions when they walked into the bar and the spirit amongst the players seemed great. There seems to be a real sense of togetherness on that part, especially since the squad has been trimmed down.
I then received some praise from some random person over my award-winning blog, which was nice. It turned out to be famous Dover Athletic journalist Matt Gerrard, whom Jason Mcfarlane took a picture of the pair of us.
I'm not else sure what happened from here onwards (I do recall various moment where people were saying "you've got to put this in your blog"), but we all took a wander down to the slope to the old endeavour via Dervitos chip shop, where I picked up a steak and kidney pie for a 'quick snack'.
There were quite a lot of Dover fans in here including many who chose to dodge the bland surroundings of the centre spot. But again, I can't recall much in here. I was pretty wasted at this point. I do remember Chris Collings showing off old newspaper articles including our really famous 7-0 demolition of Gloucester City in 1967.
From here onwards we went into the Red Lion and Louis Armstrong pubs. My standout memory was being physically unable to drink anymore beer in these two, in fact I actually ordered a half pint in the Louis. So it was here where I decided it would be best to grab a few pizzas with John and go home, with perhaps the option of joining everyone in the park inn afterwards. I never did, but I did munch on a lot of pizza. John was absolutely hammered at this point and ordered in a 16 inch pizza, along with a 10 inch and the free garlic bread that went with it. While we were outside the pizzeria smoking, John was falling over the place shouting random inane things out that are probably best not repeated in public.
Anyway, by the time I picked up the pizzas inside John had dissapeared off somewhere. Where had he gone? While I was loudly punching pizza inside my house John turned up, with two bags of chips and two massive pieces of cod! He was completely oblivious to the fact he had ordered tonnes of pizza only about 20 minutes previously!
But that concluded a really great day, a rarely enjoyable home match day expierence. Its a shame I can't remember the majority of it so my blog is so boring and unreadable, but you'll have to forgive me.
I'm half-relishing not having to do a write-up next week, with the amount of time it has taken me today just to run this bog-standard boring home write-up. I was going to go to a neutral game on Saturday but my ideal choices of Crystal Palace or Watford are an insane £25+ for a ticket. Fuck paying that to watch two teams I couldnt give a toss about, in a run-of-the-mill league fixture against two teams that aren't even that good. Herne Bay is an option if I can be arsed to get back here by 3PM, but i'm really not fussed about wasting money on a non-league game between two sides that don't involve Dover Athletic. So a boring money-saving weekend is instore ahead of a trip to Dorchester which should be a very messy one.
So I'll see you in a fortnight...
| Saturday 07 Jan 2012 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bromley | 1 | - | 3 | Basingstoke | |
 Harwood (26 og ) Gilman (91) |
Warner (13) Daly (84) |
 423 |
|||
| Chelmsford | 2 | - | 3 | Sutton Utd | |
| Parker (29) Akurang (81) |
Watkins (48) Watkins (68) Dundas (83) |
1,168 |
|||
| Dorchester | 3 | - | 0 | Thurrock | |
| White (15) Wilson (49) Nichols (91) |
493 |
||||
| Dover | 2 | - | 0 | Eastleigh | |
| Purcell (01) Purcell (55) |
751 |
||||
| Hampton & Richmond | 1 | - | 1 | Tonbridge Angels | |
| Andrews (40) |
Koranteng (31) |
524 |
|||
| Havant and W | 1 | - | 4 | Dartford | |
| Jones (65) |
Bradbrook (22) Harris (30) Harris (75) Noble (90) |
349 |
|||
| Maidenhead Utd | 1 | - | 0 | Eastbourne Borough | |
| Wall (91) |
301 |
||||
| Welling | 5 | - | 1 | Truro City | |
 Clarke (41) Cracknell (51) Cumbers (69) Cumbers (71) Cracknell (75) |
Walker (79) |
649 |
|||
| Weston-S-Mare | 5 | - | 2 | Farnborough | |
| Kabba (25) Kabba (26) Pepperell (33) Kabba (34) Kirk (46) |
(16) Bennet (45) |
422 |
|||
| Woking | 0 | - | 1 | Staines Town | |
| Chaaban (51) |
2,104 | ||||
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Woking | 25 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 54 | 19 | 35 | 59 |
| 2 | |
Welling United | 24 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 53 | 33 | 20 | 47 |
| 3 |  |
Chelmsford | 24 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 45 | 22 | 23 | 45 |
| 4 |  |
Dartford | 23 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 47 | 27 | 20 | 45 |
| 5 | |
Sutton United | 22 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 44 | 28 | 16 | 42 |
| 6 | |
Dover | 24 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 39 | 25 | 14 | 39 |
| 7 | |
Dorchester | 27 | 11 | 5 | 11 | 34 | 37 | -3 | 38 |
| 8 | |
Weston-S-Mare | 23 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 42 | 36 | 6 | 37 |
| 9 | |
Basingstoke Town | 22 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 38 | 28 | 10 | 35 |
| 10 | |
Tonbridge Angels | 25 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 40 | 46 | -6 | 31 |
| 11 | |
Truro City | 24 | 9 | 4 | 11 | 40 | 46 | -6 | 31 |
| 12 | |
Eastleigh | 23 | 9 | 4 | 10 | 29 | 35 | -6 | 31 |
| 13 | |
Boreham Wood | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 25 | 32 | -7 | 29 |
| 14 | |
Maidenhead United | 25 | 8 | 4 | 13 | 31 | 48 | -17 | 28 |
| 15 | |
Eastbourne Borough | 23 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 27 |
| 16 | |
Havant and Waterlooville | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 35 | 37 | -2 | 25 |
| 17 | |
Salisbury City | 21 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 29 | 32 | -3 | 25 |
| 18 | |
Farnborough | 24 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 32 | 55 | -23 | 23 |
| 19 | |
Hampton & Richmond | 23 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 32 | 40 | -8 | 21 |
| 20 | |
Bromley | 24 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 33 | 51 | -18 | 21 |
| 21 | |
Staines Town | 23 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 25 | 38 | -13 | 20 |
| 22 | |
Thurrock | 23 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 52 | -32 | 13 |
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