Brian Dutton’s Salisbury side will be looking to bounce back in this Saturday’s fixture against Dover Athletic, after falling to their first defeat of the season against Bath City on Tuesday evening.
A single goal from Will Jenkins-Davies in the 40th minute was enough to give the Romans all three points, and once again, Salisbury drew a blank, making it three games without a goal to start the season.
As there had been against both Hampton & Richmond and Dagenham & Redbridge, there were promising sides as a team, barring three, made up of new players, beginning the season needing to gel.
The best chances of the game fell to Noah Coppin, who couldn’t beat the keeper from a tough chance from just inside the box and then in added time to Will Buse. Salisbury’s keeper up from a corner skied the ball over the bar from just a few yards out.
Brian Dutton felt it was a frustrating game:
Newly promoted Dover Athletic have had a good start to the season. Set aside their opening day defeat at home to AFC Totton, they have beaten both Bath City and Eastbourne Borough.
That opening day game saw them lose to AFC Totton, with both sides promoted the season before, it was The Stags who came out on top in a five-goal game. Totton raced into a three-goal lead by half-time, but were pegged back in the second half by Dover, with the match finishing 3-2 to the visitors.
Dover then went on to beat Bath City at Twerton Park, two second-half goals were enough to see them past the Romans, despite Alex Fisher getting the hosts back into the game with 10 minutes left on the clock.
On Tuesday evening, Dover travelled again, this time to Eastbourne Borough. A single goal in the 46th minute from George Nikaj was enough to win the game against big-spending Eastbourne.
Dover’s management side told the club’s website, “Salisbury Saturday. Can we keep the momentum up? Well, it’s going to be difficult. They play very similar to Bath, which is difficult to navigate. But obviously, we had Bath last week, so hopefully we’ve learned some lessons from that. If we can be as solid as we’ve been, there’s no reason why we can’t keep picking up points.”
Travelling supporters’ information (from https://doverathletic.com/):
Match Ticket Prices:
PRICES ON THE TURNSTILES – CARD ONLY
- Adult – £18
- Over 60 Concessions – £17
- Under 18 Concessions – £10
- Under 11’s – Free
All children under 11 are free to enter with a paying adult.
Getting to Crabble
BY ROAD
From outside of Kent, find your way to the M25, then take the M2/A2 (following the signs to Canterbury, then from Canterbury follow signs to Dover) as far as the Whitfield roundabout (there is a McDonald’s Drive-Thru on the left).
Take the fourth exit at this roundabout, down Whitfield Hill. At the bottom of the hill turn left at the roundabout and follow this road until the first set of traffic lights. At the lights turn right (180 degrees down the hill) and follow the road under the railway bridge, the ground is a little further up the road on the left.
There is no parking for supporters within the ground, although parking is available in the rugby ground, which is just inside the main entrance – stewards will direct you.
If you have to take the M20/A20 leave the A20 in Folkestone (the exit immediately after the tunnel through the hill) and travel through the Alkham Valley (turn left at the roundabout at the end of the slip-road and then left again, following the signs for Alkham) which will eventually take you near Kearsney train station (turn right into Lower Road just before the railway bridge, before you get to the station).
BY RAIL
The main railway station in Dover is Dover Priory, which is approximately 2 miles from Crabble. The closest station to Crabble is Kearsne,y which is about a 10-15 minute walk from the ground.
Kearsney is the last stop before Dover Priory on the line from London Victoria (via Canterbury). Some trains on this line do not stop between Canterbury East and Dover Priory, so if you are planning on getting off at Kearsney, make sure that the train you are travelling on is a stopping service.
If you are travelling on the line from London Charring Cross (via Ashford) the train will not pass through Kearsney so you will have to stop at Dover Priory, near the town centre.
If you get off at Kearsney, turn right as you leave the station, go under the railway bridge and then take the first road on the left (Lower Road). Follow Lower Road all the way along, past a pond on your right and Crabble Corn Mill on your left. At the end, you will see the Cricketers pub on the other side of the road. Turn right and you should see the entrance to the ground. If you get off at Dover Priory, it is probably best to get a bus or taxi to the ground, as it is a long walk
