Dover booked their place in the First Round of the FA Trophy for the first time in four years after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Bath City at Crabble.

Nathan Elder was the hero with his seventh goal of the season as Whites eased through the Third Qualifying Round and added £4,000 to their burgeoning prize fund this season.

Whites were missing Barry Cogan (suspension) and Ricky Modeste (hamstring) but Tom Murphy saw a shot saved early-on while Chris Kinnear Jr had an effort blocked, with Elder unable to turn in the rebound.

Mitch Walker denied dangerman Ross Stearn’s 25-yard drive on the half-hour and within three minutes Whites were ahead when Murphy swung in a fine cross which was headed powerfully home by Elder.

A carbon-copy of the move produced a save from Jason Mellor soon after while Lee Sawyer stabbed a shot wide after a fine Dover move.

After the break Murphy saw a shot blocked after a fine run while Sean Raggett saw a header ruled out by the offside flag on 52 minutes.

Raggett proved his worth at the other end with a fine goalline clearance on the hour, with Walker superbly stopping the follow-up header.

Liam Bellamy somehow fired over from an inviting Murphy cross and in the closing stages the one-goal margin gave Bath hope, with Walker denying Stearn, who also felled Kinnear Jr with a fierce free-kick in six tense minutes of stoppage-time before the final whistle sounded Whites’ progress.

Dover: Walker, Stone, Wynter, Kinnear Jnr, Raggett, Forbes, Bellamy (Woodall 72mins), Rogers, Elder (Charles 87mins), Sawyer (Carew 78mins), Murphy. Subs not used: Bakare, Orlu. Attendance: 483.