Toby Edser scored three minutes from time as National League leaders Woking beat Dover Athletic 2-1 at Crabble.

Whites had been reduced to 10-men early on following a red card for Kurtis Cumberbatch, before Ricky Modeste fired the hosts ahead with a simple finish at the back post.

Jake Hyde equaliser for the visitors just before the break, after which the game appeared to be heading towards a draw until Edser curled home a superb winner.

Nassim L'Ghoul was handed his first start of the season since arriving in the summer, marking one of four changes made to the team that beat Sutton on Saturday.

Jack Munns, Oscar Gobern and Alfie Pavey also came into the first eleven, with Inih Effiong, Jai Reason, Steven Rigg and Aaron Simpson the men to drop out.

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Woking were the first to show their hand in the final third when Hyde produced a clever flick to unleash David Tarpey, who raced through on goal before seeing his shot well-saved by Lee Worgan.

Then followed the major talking point of the first half as Cumberbatch was sent off after receiving two yellow cards for separate incidents in the same passage of play.

A poorly-timed sliding tackle on Tarpey had been met by an angry reaction from Shaun Donnellan, who Cumberbatch then appeared to lean his head in at in view of the officials to earn himself an early shower.

Donnellan himself walked away with a yellow at the start of what would become a test of Dover's composure and discipline.

It looked as though things could boil over again when Michael Woods was booked for cynical foul, but the home side managed to recover with a welcomed spell of possession.

Dover then took the lead on the half-hour mark thanks to Ricky Modeste's tap-in after a stretching L'Ghoul had found his teammate at the far post.

The goal had stemmed from excellent work from right-back Josh Passley to box Joshua Casey in on the left-hand side, forcing the Woking skipper to give away the ball in a mistake that would lead to L'Ghoul being fed on the left.

Woking hit back in the 41st minute through the dangerous Hyde, the forward beating Worgan to Tarpey's cross to head home the equaliser at the front post.

Hyde worked himself another good chance at goal moments later, chesting down the ball inside the penalty area but seeing Will de Havilland intervene just as he was preparing to shoot.

Woking's No.9 threatened again after the restart, rising to meet Tyreke Johnson's cross with a glancing header but only managing to find the safe hands of Worgan.

Andy Hessenthaler didn't wait long to turn to his bench for fresh legs as Effiong and Rigg were introduced in place of Pavey and Modeste after a superb shift from the pair.

With Dover seemingly happy to sit in and soak up the pressure, Woking enjoyed another sighting of goal when Johnson fired into the side-netting after cutting in on his left foot.

The game began to evolve into a familiar theme, with Whites prepared to defend deep in their own half with the confidence that they had the aerial presence to deal with any Woking crosses.

Reason soon entered the frame with 20 minutes remaining and almost had an immediate impact.

The midfielder led a rare Dover attack with a clever through ball to Woods, whose eventual cross was collected by goalkeeper Craig Ross with Munns having been waiting for a tap-in at the back post.

As Woking continue to waste possession in the final third, Dover were meanwhile invited to showcase their own attacking threat through the sheer power of Effiong and the creativity of Reason.

The pair combined well inside the final 10 minutes but Reason could only drag his shot wide after meeting Effiong's pull back on the edge of the box.

Then came the late sucker-punch for Dover as Edser cut in on his left foot before curling a beautiful strike beyond Worgan and into the far corner to put Woking 2-1 up in the 87th minute and seal three points for his side.

Dover: Worgan, Passley, Lokko, De Havilland, Woods, L'Ghoul (Reason 70mins), Munns, Modeste (Rigg 63mins), Pavey (Effiong 57mins), Cumberbatch, Gobern. Subs not used: Mersin, Hinchiri.

Woking: Ross; Cook, Parry, Gerring, Casey, Ferdinand, Donnellan (Hodges 68mins), Edser, Tarpey (Poku 89mins), Hyde (Meite 58mins), Johnson. Subs not used: Howes, Collier.

Attendance: 1,358

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