FC Dordrecht vs Telstar Predictions

FC Dordrecht square off against Telstar at Riwal Hoogworkers Stadion this Friday, with the hosts seeking their first victory of the 2018/19 campaign.

Gerard De Nooijer’s side only managed a 13^th place finish overall last term, but qualified for the Play-offs by virtue of a splendid run at the turn of the year which secured their status as ‘Period 3’ winners.

Beaten narrowly 4-3 on aggregate in the 2^nd Round by Sparta Rotterdam who would go on to be relegated at the hands of Emmen, Dordrecht have not built on their achievements so far this season having gained just a solitary point from their first three Eerste Divisie matches.

That came via a 0-0 stalemate at home to Helmond Sport on the opening night, and Schappenkoppen have since been on the wrong end of 5-2 and 1-0 defeats away to defending champions Jong Ajax and promotion favourites NEC Nijmegen respectively.

The visit of Telstar this Friday poses an easier assignment for Dordrecht on paper, however they’re position as bookies favourites for the match day four encounter is questionable based on their shaky start and dismal recent record against the Ijmuiden outfit.

Telstar have triumphed in four of the last five Eerste Divisie meetings between the sides, including a 2-3 success in last season’s corresponding fixture and a comfortable 3-0 win at IJmond Stadion just under a year ago.

Those two victories helped Telstar on their way to a strong 6^th place finish in the regular season and Play-off qualification, but Mike Snoei’s charges were also eliminated in the 2^nd Round by promoted side De Graafschap.

And like Dordrecht, Telstar have failed to kick-on thus far from their exploits last term, as they suffered consecutive defeats to RKC Waalwijk (1-0) and MVV (0-1) in the opening weeks of the season.

Crucially though, Telstar got their first win of the campaign under their belts on match day three, as late goals from Lescano and van Huizen cemented a 2-0 success over Jong Utrecht.

It wasn’t exactly pretty considering the lack of strength in opposition, but it was a small step in the right direction for Telstar and we expect to see them improve over the coming weeks.

And in terms of this Friday’s clash against Dordrecht, there’s certainly a lot to like about their chances.

Aside from their aforementioned domination in the recent head to head, Telstar were 14 points better off in the standings last season which is a significant gap.

And with just six defeats from their 19 away games in 2017/18, Telstar boasted one of the more consistent records on the road with 25 points gained in total.

For those reasons, we think Friday’s visitors make strong appeal at the prices to snatch all three points and make it five wins from six against Dordrecht.

Neither team have got their shooting boots on yet this season with just four goals scored in total between them, so we also think it will be a low scoring affair and 1-0 to Telstar is our pick in the correct score market.