Dover face a long trip to West Yorkshire on Tuesday night after substitute Duane Ofori-Acheampong’s 88th minute equaliser earned a replay when it seemed that an exit from the FA Trophy was imminent.
This was not a game for the purists, but one that saw Guiseley lead at the break through Will Hatfield who converted their first attempt on target. Jack Parkinson crashed a volley into the roof of the net on the hour to level matters, but when Gavin Rothery stroked Guiseley ahead again on 71, after it looked as though Emile Sinclair had impeded Andy Rafferty, it looked like the visitors who would progress. However, the 88th minute saw Dover’s Trophy campaign rescued by Ofori-Acheampong’s sliding finish.
Dover’s first team coach, Mark Newson, standing in for Chris Kinnear after the match conceded “in terms of the result, we got out of jail. We didn’t deserve to lose the game as I thought we played well in patches. But we’ve come back again as we’ve done a number of times this season, and I’m really pleased with that.”
“We put Duane (Ofori-Acheampong) on, as the wind was swirling and their back four isn’t the biggest. We knew he’d cause problems and get into their box. Ricky Modeste has been a threat with his pace all season, so we knew once he put the ball in the box, one of our guys would be scoring.”
As a former defender, playing alongside manager Kinnear at Maidstone United in the 1980’s, Newson wasn’t too happy with the Guiseley goals. He admitted “It was an error with their second goal. I’d expect (Andy Rafferty) to do better with that. There was a slight touch on him, but it wasn’t as bad as some people have made out.”
“If you want to win trophies, you’ve got to be prepared to go to difficult places on a Tuesday night. So we’ll be ready for it, we’ve done really well away from home this year, and I don’t think we’ve seen anything that we should fear.”
Dover looked the more likely side in the opening exchanges as Nicky Devedics launched a ball over a high Guiseley defence, allowing Ricky Modeste to run in on the keeper. As Steve Drench ran out of his box, Modeste chested the ball past the keeper, but his touch took him wide and his eventual pass towards Tom Murphy was simple for the Guiseley defence to clear.
Richard Orlu’s clearing header was controlled by Ricky Miller, turning Danny Hall in one movement, and the forward released a pass into Murphy’s run. Murphy burst past Ryan Toulson, but was held up by Robert Atkinson allowing Toulson to clear.
Guiseley’s only real threat was coming from long throws by Toulson, but the excitement really came from the crowd, who were cheering the frequent games of head tennis taking place inside the Guiseley half.
Jack Parkinson met a Deverdics corner with a header that was directed on goal, but simple for Danny Lowe to clear, but that was as good as it got in the first half for Dover.
Guiseley took the lead with their first shot on target; one that the Dover defence will wonder how they got through. James Hurst hooked a hopeful ball into the box from the left corner quadrant over the heads of all the Dover defenders. Will Hatfield was arriving at the back post, sliding, and made contact to divert the ball back across goal with Andy Rafferty stationary.
It’s now sixteen games since Dover’s last clean sheet (at Tranmere on 31st October), and the visitors could have doubled their lead before the interval as a quick break saw Emile Sinclair roll a pass into the path of Gavin Rothery, who dragged a shot across the face of goal and wide.
Surprisingly, Dover chose not to make any changes at the interval, but once again looked the more progressive team. Miller directed a header over, and a misdirected Deverdics corner clipped the top of the crossbar, but there was little to worry Drench.
On 59, Guiseley skipper Danny Lowe picked up a caution for a poor tackle on Miller and Deverdics’ freekick was tipped over for a corner by Drench. Deverdics’ corner was headed goalwards by Sean Raggett, onto the chest of Jack Parkinson. The midfielder, inside the 6-yard box, swivelled on the dropping ball and lashed a shot into the roof of the net.
Dover had a good 5-10 minutes following the goal, but were caught out by one long clearance from Drench, who found James Hurst on the right wing. Hurst was given time to measure a cross into the centre, which looked comfortable for Andy Rafferty, until he was challenged by Emile Sinclair. The keeper dropped the ball and, as both men fell to the ground, Gavin Rothery was following up to stroke the ball into the empty net.
Chris Kinnear threw on Mitchell Pinnock (for his debut after EIGHT unused appearances on the bench) and Duane Ofori-Acheampong, but there seemed to be little urgency from the Dover team. That is, until they scored!
Rafferty’s clearance was touched on by Miller into the path of Modeste on the right wing. The winger drove into the box and put a skimming cross through the 6-yard area, where Ofori-Acheampong used his six-foot-four height to stretch and slide home the second equaliser.
Modeste had one more half chance in stoppage time that drifted wide, but a late winner would have been harsh on Guiseley, who came with a gameplan that nearly succeeded.
DOVER ATHLETIC: Andy Rafferty, Sam Magri, Richard Orlu, Tyrone Sterling, Sean Raggett, Liam Bellamy (Duane Ofori-Acheampong 82), Jack Parkinson, Nicky Deverdics, Ricky Modeste, Tom Murphy (Mitchell Pinnock 72), Ricky Miller.
Subs not used: Mitch Walker, Chris Kinnear jr, Jamie Grimes.
Goals: Jack Parkinson 60, Duane Ofori-Acheampong 88.
GUISELEY: Steve Drench, Ryan Toulson, Danny Lowe, Jake Lawlor, Gavin Rothery, Danny Hall, Will Hatfield, Liam Dickinson, Emile Sinclair (Adam Boyes 76), Robert Atkinson, James Hurst (Ben Parker 89).
Subs not used: Adam Lockwood, Nicky Boshell, Anthony Dudley.
Goals: Will Hatfield 36, Gavin Rothery 71.
Cautions: Danny Hall 31, Danny Lowe 59, Gavin Rothery 86.
Attendance: 667
Referee: Mr John Busby
Assistants: Mr Louis Marks and Mr Gary Parsons
Fourth Official: Mr Simon Finnegan