Jake Leberl couldn’t believe Dover missed their big chance to equalise against Maidstone.

A yard or so out and with the goal gaping, George Nikaj passed the ball into the arms of Stones keeper Lucas Covolan.

It came early in the second half and was Dover’s one real opening as Kent rivals United left Crabble with a 1-0 win.

“George isn’t talking to anyone at the minute,” said Whites boss Leberl. “He’s very, very down about it.

“I can’t quite believe how he’s missed, to be honest.

“Did it get stuck in the mud a little bit? Maybe.

“I think it’s come off his heel.

“It’s one of those where I think he’s celebrating before the ball has actually hit the back of the net.”

It was an unfortunate moment for the young striker but Leberl praised his transformation under his management.

“He’s been a breath of fresh air since I’ve come in,” he said.

“He’s had his struggles here previously for whatever reason.

“I think a lot of it, he’s got to look in the mirror and say when things aren’t going well for him, is he working hard enough?

“I don’t think he was so we’ve worked on that.

“He beats himself up far too much, and I think that chance affected him a little bit.

“But he’s a local lad, he’s a good lad, I enjoy working with him and I honestly think he’s only going to get better.

“We’ve set up a little programme with him.

“He certainly wasn’t fit enough when I walked in the door.

“He’ll say that’s because he wasn’t playing but I don’t think he was doing enough away from here to get himself fit.

“I don’t think he was in the right headspace or mindset. He likes a sulk-up every now and again, does our George, that’s his body language, that’s who he is.

Report: Dover 0-1 Maidstone

“But he’s been as good as gold since I’ve been here.

“He’s got himself fit. The first couple of games he could only last an hour and he was blowing but now he’s playing 90 minutes, he’s looking strong, he’s getting chances and there’s definitely more to come.”

Leberl had no complaints with the result after Jephte Tanga’s first-half goal consigned his team to a sixth successive defeat.

Whites are now 16 points from safety in National League South with 10 games left.

There was no questioning their commitment on a heavy pitch that survived a late inspection amid a downpour.

“We did all right,” said Leberl. “Again, we’ve turned up, we’ve competed against a big strong side, an experienced side, who are very difficult to play against.

“We’ve created a few chances.

“Did we deserve anything out of it? Probably not.

“Did we keep going and giving it our best? We definitely did, so that’s all we can ask.

“Other than Braintree (3-0 away defeat last month), which was unacceptable, we can’t fault the commitment.

“We do lack quality, we lack a bit of size, we lack a little bit of experience but we know the reasons for that.

“I’m proud to be Dover manager and I’m proud of the boys, as silly as that sounds, and as difficult as the season is.

“There’s a bit of doom and gloom and negativity outside of here but generally everything’s been quite positive.

“Generally I think every player turns up for training, trains as well as they can and come match day they give everything for themselves and the club.”