Match Preview: Dover Athletic (H) – Saturday 18th September – 17:20
By Ted Slocombe
The Terras are back in action on Saturday evening at the Bob Lucas Stadium where they face Dover Athletic in the Vanarama National League.
THE TERRAS
A disappointing but unlucky evening last Tuesday saw The Terras three game unbeaten run halted by league leaders Dagenham and Redbridge by 4 goals to 2. Although The Terras fell to defeat, there were multiple positives to take from the game. Goals on the night were a Josh Leslie-Smith header followed by a penalty taken well by Bradley Ash. Brian Stock will be very pleased with the performance on show and there is great optimism that the late kick off on Saturday, in front of the cameras, will demonstrate the Terras’ attacking prowess against Dover Athletic.
The result on Saturday saw Weymouth drop to 11th place on 7 points.
Player To Watch: Josh Leslie-Smith
Josh Leslie-Smith has been a strong asset in attack this season with his runs on the ball, creative play, but more noticeably with his finishing. A header in the early stages in Dagenham on Tuesday gave The Terras the lead and he also scored the opener in our 4-3 win over Solihull Moors. There will be optimism that the attacking minded right back can create more chances as The Terras look to get back to winning ways on Saturday.
THE WHITES
It’s been a testing time for Dover Athletic’s players, staff and fans in the last eighteen months with the pandemic hitting this club hard. Nonetheless, Andy Hessenthaler’s side will be looking very much to the future. Despite their points deduction as a result of last season’s COVID issues, the club aren’t certainly looking to be quiet this season. In fact the draw with Chesterfield proves how Dover can be quite a tough nut to crack on their day and Brian Stock’s Terras cannot be complacent if they want to win the game.
Dover have one draw (against Chesterfield at home) in their opening five games sitting last in the table on -11 points.
Player To Watch: Aaron Cosgrave
Dover have scored just three goals in their opening five matches with Aaron Cosgrave scoring in the defeat to Altrincham and the defeat to Eastleigh on Tuesday. The 22 year old may cause The Terras defence some issues up front as The Whites will be looking to breach The Terras defence and push for points at the Bob Lucas on Saturday.
Final word
A chance for Brian Stock’s Terras to get back on track in a game which Weymouth will be looking to grab three points, given the impressive start to the season. Although Weymouth won’t want to be complacent as Dover will be looking to pick up as many points as they can over the course of this season for confidence, and Andy Hessenthaler’s side may see this game on Saturday, in front of the BT Sport cameras, a chance to make a statement…
