Our home form is going to change, says Dover Athletic boss Chris Kinnear

DOVER ATHLETIC manager Chris Kinnear says he wants his side to replicate their impressive cup form going into the play-off lottery.

The Whites grabbed fifth-place in the Skrill South on the final day of the season thanks to Barry Cogan’s 87^th minute penalty, which sealed a vital 2-1 win at Hayes & Yeading United to finish on 69 points.

It proved enough to finish in the play-offs after the team that started the game in fifth-place, Havant & Waterlooville could only play out a goal-less draw away to Tonbridge Angels, who were relegated following their 7-1 defeat to Chelmsford City on Easter Monday.

The result relegated Hayes & Yeading United, who will play Conference South football next season, while sharing at Maidenhead United.

Dover Athletic had the best away record in the league, winning thirteen league games on the road.

“Away from home, we’ve done exceptionally well,” said Kinnear.

“Someone told me that in senior football from Premiership down to Ryman League, we’ve got the fourth best away record.  

“At home we’re disappointed.  It’s something that we wanted to do to give our home supporters a bit of cheer, but at the end of the day we’ve acquired enough points to get into the play-offs.”

Reflecting on their last game of the season, Kinnear said: “What actually happened, their goalkeeper had a bad cut to his head in the first half and we kicked off the second half seven minutes late and Havant’s game finished at Tonbridge and we had seven minutes knowing that did help.

“We stuck (defender) Sean Raggett up there and just knocked the ball up there and one of their fellas gave away a penalty.  Barry Cogan did well to stick it away.

“We’ve had a few late goals against us, maybe at times they still owe us a few and maybe at times it evens itself out.”

Cogan serves a four-match suspension so will sit out the play-offs for the second year running, a blow for the team and to the former Millwall midfielder.

“We’ll miss him,” said Kinnear. “But that’s why we’re having a decent squad about and the whole squad have done well.”

Runners-up Sutton Untied arrive at Crabble tonight for the all-important play-off semi-final first leg.

The Surrey side finished with 81 points, 12 points clear of the Kent side.

But having home advantage is vital.  Just look at last night where a vocal crowd at Cheriton Road saw Neil Cugley’s Folkestone Invicta side seal a place in the Ryman Premier League play-off final after beating Hastings United 3-2 after extra time last night.

Runners-up Folkestone Invicta will host Leatherhead in Saturday’s Ryman League Division One South play-off final.

“I think the last seventeen games they’ve only lost one since Christmas,” said Kinnear.

“Since Christmas they’ve probably been the best side in the league to be fair. 

“We go into it knowing it’s a play-off so it doesn’t matter if you finish second or fifth.  You go into the play-offs, it evens itself out.

“In saying that, we’ve only lost two in seventeen, so I think we’ve got the best form record in the last few games so we’re confident.

“It won’t be easy but the old cliché, we’re pleased to be in it really.”

Dover Athletic saw off Eastleigh over two legs last year, but were defeated at Salisbury City in the play-off final.

But Kinnear said: “It’s a different bunch of players to be fair.  A lot of players did leave us in the summer for whatever reason and it took us a while to get us settled.  We’ve got ourselves settled now and we know what we’re like and what we’re good at and what we need to get better at.

“The league season is over three games now so we just have to give it our best shot.

“We’re used to playing cup games and really this is a cup game. 

“We got to the second round of The FA Cup and played MK Dons and we got further than anyone else in the Trophy and we got to the final of the Kent Senior Cup so we’ve done well in cup competitions and hopefully we’ll get what we want.

“It’s the end of the season but saying that I was talking to people on Saturday. It’s probably the best season they’ve had for eight years because when they did have the cup run before they finished mid-table.

“We’ve had a great FA Cup run and we finished in the play-offs. 

“Supporters and everyone has high expectations and it’s the most successful season we’ve had for a long time, yet again we’re only focused on not in the past but the next three games.

“Whatever happens in those three games it’s been a great season.  The club, supporters and players and everyone involved, would like to take a promotion.”

The prize is massive.  Win the away final (at the club who finished the highest in the league) on Saturday 10 May and Dover Athletic will return to the Conference (Premier) for the first time since finishing bottom of that league in 2002.

“The last time I was there I got them into the Conference,” recalled Kinnear, who is now in his second spell in charge of Dover Athletic. 

“We had two chances.  The first time we got them in they didn’t let us in so I’ve done it before and with Margate again.

“At the end of the day we’ve got a semi-final. That’s a hard one.  They’re second and probably the best side currently in the league.

“But as I say, it’s not always the best side (that gets promoted). It’s the side that holds their nerves and plays well in those two semi-final games and then we worry about who we play in the final.

“It’s irrelevant who it is until we get through the semi-finals.”

Dover Athletic’s supporters will fancy their chances of meeting Bromley or Ebbsfleet United in the winner-takes-all final, because the second leg is at Gander Green Lane on Saturday.

“It’s not the end of the world. I’d rather be at home in front of all our supporters,” said Kinnear.

“Our form at home is going to change because we’re going to work even harder at it so it would have been nice to change it for a big game like that but we’re not there yet.

“We’ve just got to try and start with a good result against Sutton at home and then think about the next game, but let’s just worry about the home game first.

“The fans were quite pleased on Saturday, I can assure you.  Supporters have had their ups and downs, like every supporter really. The time you need your supporters behind you is when there’s hiccups.  Hopefully they will be behind us.

“It does make a big difference. The sides that are the most successful, they tend to have the most supportive supporters. It does help the players more than they think.”

Put on the back burner with all this talk of Skrill South play-offs is the Kent Senior Cup (Sponsored by Portablefloodlights.com) which is between Dover Athletic and Ebbsfleet United.

The showpiece final takes place at Gillingham’s Priestfield Stadium next Monday, 5 May (3:00pm).

Kinnear added: “It’s amazing isn’t it, but again that’s what I said to the lads.  That’s part being somewhere like Dover.  You’re in everything in the last knockings.

“We’ve probably had more games than everybody else with these cup runs and the league now.

“We’ve not changed the squad about too much and it’s the same bunch of lads that have been with all the way through and improving.”

Visit Dover Athletic’s website: www.doverathletic.com  

Dover Athletic  v  Sutton United
Skrill South Play-Off Semi-Final First Leg
Wednesday 30^th April 2014
Kick Off 7:45pm
at Crabble, Lewisham Road, River, Dover, Kent CT17 0JB