Another ridiculous away day - Dover Athletic

As seems to be becoming a bit of a seasonal tradition, a away game a bloody long way away was chosen to be one that would be visited, and combined with an over night stay (two years ago Barrow, last year Gateshead) this season it fell to Dover away to be the overnight stop, given that it coincided with Paul Hill’s birthday meant it worked out particularly well.

There were to be 8 stripes alighting at Bath Spa, and another one would join us in Kent (at Ashford) meaning we had good numbers for a little jolly boys outing. The train from Bath Spa, was 7:17, which meant getting up at 6, wasn’t too bad really, although did have a little rest on the train (see below…) The superbly priced £33 pp group four savers were purchased and away we went.

A quick close of the eyes...

Going into Kent, as the games at Welling and Tonbridge Angels showed that a change from Paddington to Charing Cross is needed. As we all know from previously Charing Cross is right next door to The Harp, my favourite London pub and winner of CAMA pub of the year in 2011.

As it wasn’t even 10am, we piled into a café next door and tucked into varying sizes of breakfast, while Chris Welch ordered the “Country Breakfast” now we all expected a large breakfast to appear, but what actually arrived was a mountain of food that left the hungover Welch seriously considering the choices he had made, he manfully finished over ¾’s of the Solsbury Hill sized plate, but the final quarter had him beaten.

Under Nelson's column prebreakfast

We took the 4 steps into The Harp and were treated to the superb array of ales on offer, a pleasant two hours or so, were spent in the pub, before we headed back to Charing Cross and took the two hour train down to Dover.

From Dover it was two taxi’s to just outside The Crabble, with time for a swift pint in The Cricketers (sadly like the pubs of Dover it was nothing to write home about) ale consumed we started to enter the ground, and I witnessed something I never had before. The entrance to the ground is up a bit of a slope (I do mean a little slope, it’s not on the level of the hill up to The New Lawn, or even Shophouse Lane) but unbelievably the have a golf kart that is used to drive people up and down the hill, how you get use of this I have no idea, but I have never seen anything like it at a ground before!

Seriously the hill wasn't big enough to warrant this!

After a turnstile confusion, where insulting the lady behind the counter didn’t believe me and Tim were under 18, we entered the ground. The Crabble is actually a decent looking ground, with two covered terrace ends, and set within a wooded area. They to have pumped for the Salisbury City style video scoreboards, but these thankfully are not as epilepsy inducing as the ones at The Raymond McEnhill Stadium.

Dover almost scored in the first minute, but after that let off City roared into the game and were playing much the better football. Aaron Brown was playing well down the left, and crossed a ball over that Griffin hit narrowly over the bar. Adam Connolly then had a little burst and hit a longish shot from 20 yards towards goal that hit the angle and rebounded away, then came City’s best of the early chances, Brown galloped down the left and floated over and exquisite cross which Charlie Griffin rose to power home, however, the frontman only managed to  power his header straight at Mitchell Walker who turned the ball over the bar. Griffin should really have done better with his header, but the stripes were playing well, and the songs were flowing as readily as the ale had earlier.

From a corner Dan Ball almost scored, before Mark Preece missed with a header, that like Griffin he should have done better with. So with Dover Athletic rattled and City playing well, it was only a matter of time until City scored, or so we thought, rather typically against the run of play Dover scored.

A freekick was given away in an innocuous position, the ball was floated in and Jason Mellor seemed to come out to collect it, somehow a miscommunication between him and Preece meant that the big centre half got a touch on the ball which knocked it past Mellor, falling to Ben May who tucked the ball home gleefully from short range.

Against the run of play City had conceded, but City continued to play. Again Aaron Brown was involved, his ball was brought down by Griffin and the big centre forward span deftly and fired a curling effort towards goal, me and the stripes around me were convinced it was going in, so when it flashed just wide of the post the strangled celebrations were heartfelt.

The half time whistle blew with the score 1-0, and we wandered around to the other end and put as many flags up as we could fit on the stand. In the second half City were less adventurous as Ricky Modeste had a few chances, and Dover seemed to keep Bath City penned into their own half a bit more.

Then came the knock out blow, from a Dover corner the ball fell to Gethin Jones, the Romans captain hit an attempted clearance that rocketed into the back of his own net, in fact the strike was so crisp and so powerful that I didn’t realise it was an own goal until after the final whistle when an supporter told me it was, and Dave Phillips commentating on mixlr also described it as a cracking shot not realising the finish had been applied by Gethin.

City never wilted and kept pressing, but with the exception of a Griffin volley which hit the side netting, no more efforts of note occurred, however, the stripey faithful continued to sing, and much enjoyment was had out of renditions of Flying Pickets “Only you” and a new song extolling the virtues of a Twerton night out to the tune of John Denver’s “Annie’s Song” (although you might know it as you fill up my senses) was sang time and time again, as it is ace!

After the game, we continued to sing as we made our way back to The Cricketers. Afterwards, we headed to our accommodation The Castle, which had a hostel upstairs, and had kindly bought a barrel of ale in especially for the staying City boys. A nice barrel of One Hop, which was soon drank dry. The intention was always to go out into Dover, but getting settled in a warm boozer, that basically let us do what we wanted and had plentiful beer on meant that idea died on its arse, and we ended up getting on it in the Castle.

A clear sign things have got out of hand!

This night truly got out of hand, we met a 18 year old American girl on her first night in England, her mate and a Mexican girl, who were soon welcomed into the West Country fold, and saw a night of which the will probably never see the like again! There was too much male nudity (not by your correspondent I hasten to add), free shots being dished out like water, an impromptu band performance, students dropping like flies (we lost Nino completely, then Will and Kyle at differing points emptied their stomachs) but eventually at 3am, most people retired for the night to sleep off the 15 hours of drinking.

Scene of one of the weirdest nights ever

Dover castle and some hungover stripes

We awoke, still minus Nino, so the local constabulary were rung to see if he had spent his night in the cells, when suddenly he appeared from a room which had previously been locked! How he got in we do not know, but reunited the stripes could think about heading home. The journey was largely uneventful, and we arrived home midafternoon Sunday, the only problem with the journey being a bunch of bellends from Swindon who got on the train (about 16 of them split between men and women) who proceeded to talk in faux Cockney accents and shout about Spurs/Arsenal and Man United. Support your local team ffs! But it didn’t detract from what had been a ridiculously entertaining, out of hand weekend.

*****City have since lost again, away at H&W, which means we have slid a bit dangerously low again, while I don’t fully consider us to be in a relegation battle, the men in black and white need to pick up some quick wins to ensure nerves aren’t frayed.