Steve Brown (behind the defender) nods in James Virgo's free-kick for the third goal.
| Nationwide Football Conference - Sunday 14 November 1999 - Crabble Athletic Ground | ||
| Dover Athletic | 4 - 0 | Forest Green Rovers |
|---|---|---|
| Vansittart (1, 17, 71), Brown (21) | Att: 967 | |
| Dover Team: Hyde, Browne, Virgo, Leberl, Shearer, Dunne, D.Clarke, Wormull (Carruthers 72), Vansittart, Brown, Norman |
| Substitutes Not Used: Beard, Hynes, Hudson, Daniels |
| Booked: Leberl |
| Sent Off: None |
| DAFC Website Man-Of-The-Match: Joff Vansittart |
Dover Athletic recorded their biggest victory of the campaign against bottom club Forest Green Rovers today.
Manager Bill Williams made two changes to the side that drew at Rushden last weekend. Lee Shearer returned from suspension to replace Simon Beard in defence. Steve Norman took the place of injured Neil Le Bihan on the left of midfield.
Athletic made the best possible start when after just 27 seconds when Dave Clarke's cross was met by the head of the diving Joff Vansittart to put the home side 1-0 up. It was a goal that was missed by many of the Dover fans who were walking behind the stand to take up their positions in the River End after the teams switched ends before kick-off.
After just eight minutes two substitutions were made. Forest Green had to replace injured Jason Drysdale and one of the referee's assistants had to be replaced by the fourth official.
Like many teams in recent weeks, Rovers found the aerial prowess of Vansittart and Brown difficult to deal with. On 17 minutes Vansittart doubled Dover's lead when he headed home Steve Brown's clever cross after good work from Steve Norman.
Brown got on the score sheet himself four minutes later. James Virgo floated in a well-weighted free-kick from the right and Brown ghosted in behind the Forest Green defence and placed his header in the bottom corner of the net.
Less than half way through the first half and Dover had already done enough to secure all three points, the game quietened down after Brown's goal. Forest Green continued to work hard and had more of the possession but they lacked penetration. Dover were happy to soak up the pressure and hit them on the break. On the rare occasions that Rovers did create anything their sloppy finishing let them down.
The second half continued in much the same way, with Rovers working hard but lacking any real class, and Athletic's main threat coming from the runs of Clarke and Wormull.
On 71 minutes Forest Green conceded a free-kick near the touchline, about 35 yards out. James Virgo sent in a cross from the Dover right that should have been comfortably dealt with by Steve Perrin in the Rovers goal. However, the keeper came too far and only just managed to get a touch to it as it sailed over his head. It looked to be a fortunate goal for Virgo but Vansittart touched the ball over the line with a diving header from not more than a yard out to complete the third hat-trick of his Whites career. Shortly after, Simon Wormull left the pitch to be replaced by Matt Carruthers for the third successive match after again picking up a knock.
The game finished 4-0 and Dover looked comfortable throughout although their all-round play did not reach the levels of their previous home victories against Hednesford and Stevenage. The stats will show that Forest Green had significantly more attempts on goal than Dover but they rarely troubled Paul Hyde whilst Dover made their chances count. A rare cleansheet for Athletic and an unbeaten run in the Conference that stretches back over two months and eight matches. The steady climb up the table continues with this result lifting us into eighth place. Southport away is the next challenge for the Whites. If recent form is anything to go by (Southport were beaten 5-0 by Kidderminster this weekend) then this should be an ideal opportunity to secure our first away win since the opening day of the season.
