Manager Jake Leberl admits table-topping Dover’s start to their Isthmian Premier season has even slightly surprised him. The free-scoring Whites hit the summit in front of a massive crowd on the club’s community day with a 4-2 home win against Hashtag United on Saturday and sit ahead of unbeaten Billericay on goal difference.
It seems the feel-good factor is starting to return at Crabble after a second relegation in three years last season. Asked if even he had been surprised with Dover’s early-season form, Leberl, who again named an unchanged starting line-up, replied: “A little.
It’s a brand-new side. “Obviously, you have targets in the summer that you try and get but - other than Mitch Walker, who was my No.1 keeper - I didn’t get any of my No.1 targets.
So, we were going to (target) twos and threes, down the list, trying to get hold of boys. “But I’ve been very picky and fussy about who I want to bring here.