Dover Athletic beat Farnborough 2-1 in National League South and make the return trip for an FA Cup meeting this Saturday – Manager Jake Leberl looks ahead to a return visit and Joe Tennent’s switch to Dartford
Dover returned from Farnborough with maximum points at the weekend and are back there again this Saturday when the teams meet in the FA Cup.
Goals from Ruben Soares-Junior and George Nikaj, and a season’s best performance, earned Jake Leberl’s men a 2-1 win in the National South fixture, but the manager’s expecting a tougher encounter when they play the Hampshire side again this weekend.
“It will be very difficult,” predicted the Dover boss. “We'd love it to go the same way. We'd love to perform like we did. We'd love them to perform how they did and go the same way but I think they had a bad day at the office and they're a lot better on what they showed.
“There’s definitely going to be a reaction from them. It wouldn't surprise me if they go into it differently. I think they'll go to attack us. Obviously, being at home in the FA Cup. I really do believe it's going to be a totally different game to last Saturday.
“I can see it being a proper FA Cup game where I think there's going to be lots and lots of things going on. It wouldn't surprise me if it's a last-kick-of-the-game moment or a really high scoreline. I do think it's going to be a real, real tight affair.
“They've got some unbelievable players, with the two boys from Ebbsfleet, Rakish Bingham and Dominic Poleon, and Mason Bloomfield, who's a tremendous player. They've got a couple of midfield boys who have been out injured.
“They're a strong outfit. I think they're a little bit disjointed with injuries and suspensions, which obviously never helps. I think a few of their injuries might be back.
“It's going to be a totally different vibe, totally different game. They won't want to be turned over twice on their patch, so they're going to have that extra aggression,