GO AD-FREE. Get 2 Months Digital Subscription for ONLY £1! Use code 2FOR1
GET STARTEDMore on KentOnline
GO AD-FREE. Get 2 Months Digital Subscription for ONLY £1! Use code 2FOR1
GET STARTEDMore on KentOnline
Dover’s quest for FA Trophy glory starts at Crabble tomorrow when they take on Eastbourne Borough in the first round.
The Whites have had mixed fortunes in recent years in the competition with twice being knocked out in the quarter-finals and twice being knocked out in their first round of ties.
Chris Kinnear wants success this season and is aiming for his side to get all the way to Wembley.
The club have never made it to the final let alone win the competition. The best they have managed is the semi-finals in the 1997/98 season when they were knocked out by Cheltenham Town.
Below is how Dover have got on in the last five years of the competition. Comment below on what your favourite memories of the FA Trophy have been.
Third qualifying round - Chelmsford City
Dover’s poorest performance in the FA Trophy in recent seasons came in the 2012/13 campaign when they failed to even make it to the first round.
Shortly before Chris Kinnear took over the then Blue Square South side, for the second time, it was Chelmsford City who knocked them out of the cup.
A 1-1 draw in the first match forced a replay, which Dover then went on to lose 4-2 at home.
Third round - Eastleigh
In the 2013/14 season Dover made it to the third round of the competition before a last-gasp Eastleigh goal sent them out of the cup.
The Whites made it to the first round with a 1-0 win over Bath City in their third qualifying round tie at home.
They needed a replay to beat East Thurrock United in the first round, which they won 3-1, and then beat Leamington 2-0 at home.
In their third round match with Eastleigh, Chris Kinnear’s side had to play nearly an hour with just 10 men after Nathan Elder was sent off.
The Whites were leading with 10 minutes to go, after goals from Michael Kamara and Barry Cogan, but the Hampshire side score twice to knock Dover out.
Quarter-final - Bath City
Chris Kinnear’s side were beaten by Bath City to send them out of the cup in a quarter-final replay match.
Dover had wins away at Lowestoft and Havant & Waterlooville in the first and second rounds of the FA Trophy respectively.
A last minute goal from Woking in the third round forced Dover into a home replay but Nicky Deverdics scored the only goal of that game to send them through to the quarter-finals.
It was Dover’s turn to score late goals in their first quarter-final tie, Richard Orlu and Jake Reid each scored in the last five minutes to earn their team a 3-3 draw at home.
The replay at Bath City saw their opponents score twice in five minutes to earn them a win and book their place in the semi-finals.
Quarter-final - Nantwich Town
Dover had a decent run in the FA Trophy two seasons ago and a last gasp winner from Nantwich Town sent them crashing out of the cup in the quarter-finals for the second year in a row.
In the first round, Dover scored twice in the last two minutes of the match to earn themselves a place in the next round at Whitehawk. Nicky Deverdics had given The Whites a second half lead before their opponents hit back three minutes before time. As the match was seemingly heading to a replay Stefan Payne scored twice to grab a 3-1 win.
The second round saw them face Southport at home and goals from Ricky Miller and Sean Raggett turned around a 1-0 deficit to see Dover progress.
Chris Kinnear’s side were on the verge of going out of the cup in the third round at home to Guiseley before a last-minute goal from Duane Ofori-Acheampong gave earned them a 2-2 draw and an away replay.
The replay was a far more convincing result as Dover put three past Guiseley to set up a fourth-round tie with Nantwich.
A last-minute winner from Nantwich sent Dover out of to a team who, at the time, were 45 places below them in the league. Richard Orlu’s goal was not enough to stop them crashing out of the cup to a 2-1 defeat.
First round - Dartford
The Whites came unstuck in the very first round to another Kent side, Dartford. The match had to go to a reply after Chris Kinnear’s men were held in the opening fixture at Dartford on December 10.
In the replay at Crabble, played the following Tuesday, it looked as though it would be Dover who would be progressing to the second round. Jim Stevenson put the National League side ahead early on with a headed effort that Dartford goalkeeper, Deren Ibrahim, should have saved.
However, Ronnie Vint fired the visitors level moments later and just before half-time a 20-yard strike from former Dover trialist Luke Wanadio was enough for Dartford to win.
