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MATCH PREVIEW: Aldershot Town v Dover Athletic

After Saturday’s goalless draw at Chorley, Aldershot Town will hope to get back to winning ways when they host Dover Athletic at the EBB Stadium on Tuesday night.

Connor Laing previews the game:

Shots Squad:

Skipper Dean Rance returned to the bench on Saturday along with Alex Finney following their recent injuries so it looks like they will be part of the squad again. James Rowe and Ollie O’Dwyer are still gradually progressing towards returns from their own injuries.

Opposition:

Name: Dover Athletic

Founded: 1983 (Following dissolution of Dover F.C)

Nickname: The Whites

Manager: Andy Hessenthaler

Stadium: Crabble Stadium

2018/19 National League position: 14th

Brief History:

Dover Athletic are a reasonable newly-formed club seeing as they were established in 1983 shortly after the fall of Dover F.C. The new club replaced the old club at the time in their place in the Southern League. Their nickname is “The Whites” simply named after the colour of their kit. The club worked their way up to the Conference during the 90s before dropped back down a couple of levels in the 21st century. They eventually returned to the Conference Premier in 2014 and they’ve been in the 5th tier of English football ever since.

The Gaffer:

Andy Hessenthaler is currently in his second stint managing Dover Athletic. In his first period of time at the club between 2007 and 2010 he led the club to back-to-back promotions from the Isthmian League Division One South and then the Isthmian League Premier Division. He used to play non-league himself and also became a professional when he joined Watford when he was 26. The 54-year-old moved into management swiftly after his playing career, taking up a player-manager role while at Gillingham. He had spells at Barnet, Leyton Orient and Eastleigh before returning to Dover in 2018.

Playing Squad:

Ex-Woking striker Inih Effiong is the dangerman upfront for Dover, already notching 7 goal and 4 assists so far this season having scored 9 last campaign. Ex-Chelsea and Leeds player Michael Woods is one of the Whites new additions this season. The midfielder, who was once Chelsea’s fourth youngest player to play for Chelsea at the age of 16, has started every game so far this campaign.

Referee:

The man in the middle for this game will be Scott Jackson, who has taken on four National League games so far with the latest of these being the 2-2 draw between Woking FC and Ebbsfleet United. Jackson will be assisted by Ashley List and Mark Stevens, along with Tristan Greaves as the fourth official.

Commentary:

BBC Surrey Sports Rob Worrall and Ex-Shots player and manager Ian McDonald will be covering the game live on Tuesday evening. Tune in to the BBC Sport website (or the BBC Sport App) from 7:35pm for full match commentary. To interact with them, tweet @RobShot66.