Dover return to winning ways as Hassan scores his first goal for the club against Farnham

Sunday 1 November 2026 · By Ralph Coggeshall

Dover Athletic beat Farnham Town 1–0 at home on Saturday, Sak Hassan scoring his first goal for the club in the 31st minute. The attendance was 675, according to the club.

Dover’s report said Jack Bates, “driving forward through the heart of midfield”, released Hassan, who “cut inside and curled a composed finish into the bottom corner”. KentOnline said Bates carried the ball 30 yards. Euan Williams hit the base of a post in the seventh minute, and Harry Beadle later headed against the crossbar, so Dover struck the woodwork twice, according to the club. Mitch Walker kept the clean sheet and made a one-handed save from Miles Obodo three minutes into the second half. Farnham, who had scored ten goals in their previous two league games, 6–0 against Braintree Town and 4–2 at Chesham United, had chances through Billy Clifford and Bobby-Joe Taylor as well, according to Dover’s report.

Manager Jake Leberl told KentOnline: “I thought it was a really strong team performance.” Of Hassan, he said: “it was really nice for Sak to get his first goal for us.” His one disappointment was that “we felt we needed a second to put the game to bed”. KentOnline’s caption said Fuad Sesay was recalled to the side.

The win follows a 1–0 home defeat by Chelmsford City on Tuesday 27 October. Dover are 11th on 22 points from 14 games, with six wins, four draws and four defeats, two points behind seventh-placed Dorking Wanderers and one behind Farnham, who are ninth. They have scored 20 goals and conceded 19, and have won three of eight at home for 11 points and three of six away for 11. Their last six league results, oldest first, are two wins, two draws, a defeat and the win over Farnham.

Only the champions are promoted automatically. Teams from second to seventh go into the play-offs, and the bottom four are relegated.

Attention now turns to the FA Cup. Dover host Wealdstone at Crabble in the first round on Saturday 7 November, and the club has said a special edition newspaper, the “Dover Athletic Express”, will be delivered to homes across Dover ahead of the tie, with supporters asked to help deliver copies. The league fixture at Torquay United that had been due on the same day is postponed, and no new date has been announced. Torquay’s notice said: “A new date for the fixture will be announced in due course.”

After that Dover are at Walton & Hersham on Tuesday 10 November and host Burgess Hill in the FA Trophy second round on Saturday 14 November. Horsham visit on Saturday 21 November, and Dover are at Hampton & Richmond Borough on Tuesday 24 November.

The club has also paid tribute on its website to Roger Osborn, a long-standing supporter and volunteer who “died on 17 September aged 81”. His family will attend the Ebbsfleet game on 28 December.