Dover Athletic 2 Weymouth 3

UNCHARACTERISTIC defensive errors cost Dover dearly in an excellent game where they performed well in front of their biggest crowd of the season.

The 1,210 fans saw a superbly entertaining match where Whites were punished by a team of experienced players adept at identifying and exploiting weaknesses.

It all looked so good for Whites early on as they adapted far quicker to the soaked surface, spraying the ball around confidently despite the conditions and notching a 13th minute goal - just reward for early pressure.

Dale Skelton outwitted his marker with an impressive step-over and body swerve on the right flank and delivered a superb cross to the heart of the penalty area.

Matt Carruthers, who enjoyed an outstanding game, emphatically sent a downward header past Weymouth ‘keeper Jason Matthews to open the scoring.

Whites continued to dominate after this strike, while the tentative visitors struggled to escape their own half and endured taunts from the Dover fans of “Top of the league, you’re having a laugh”.

A niggly exchange ensued between Carruthers and Robert Pethick, who seemed intent on clattering the Dover forward at every opportunity. Carruthers eventually reacted with a swipe at Pethick, and was booked, before being scythed down with obvious malicious intent by the same player a minute later.

Referee Mr Gee, who had a poor game, showed Pethick only a yellow card. It was a decision which was to have a big bearing on the outcome of the game.

Whites continued to press and Jamie Day saw a shot from ten yards saved as he went for placement over power.

Steadily Weymouth were starting to assert themselves, though, winning a series of free kicks and corners around the Dover penalty area.

Experienced striker Lee Phillips, looking marginally offside, broke clear of Whites’ defence but Paul Hyde did enough to delay him and allow Tony Browne time to track back and clear his shot from a tight angle.

But the visitors were not long delayed in levelling the score. Defender John Waldock rose highest to flick on a 43rd minute corner and Pethick, standing right in front of Hyde with his back to goal, deftly steered the ball into the net with an outstretched leg.

Craig Wilkins almost put Dover back in front from a corner at the other end, but the ball was hacked clear from the base of the far post amid claims it had crossed the line.

And Wilkins played a key role in Whites’ second goal, which arrived within two minutes of the restart.

Day found Whites’ top scorer with a clever short pass and Wilkins was felled by ‘keeper Matthews as he surged into the penalty area. Day calmly slotted the resultant spot kick into the bottom corner of the net, with Matthews going the wrong way.

Whites enjoyed another good spell after this and Day headed narrowly over, but culpable defensive slackness led to Weymouth’s second equaliser.

Stephen Tully was left in acres of space on the right and had all the time he needed to deliver an accurate cross to the far post. A couple of pretty feeble defensive challenges allowed Stuart Yetton to nod past an exposed Hyde.

Weymouth looked the stronger side now and grabbed the third and ultimately decisive goal on 70 minutes. A quality crossfield ball by Martin Barlow picked out substitute Luke Nightingale in the penalty area, who teed up Yetton for a shy from 12 yards.

Hyde spilled the shot and Phillips beat the static Dover defenders to the ball to sidefoot home from a few yards out.

Yetton might have wrapped it up soon afterwards but fired his shot on the turn just wide. Whites rallied, as Andy Arnott saw a goalbound header cannon behind off a Weymouth head, with the referee mistakenly awarding a goal kick.

Whites’ last chance fell to Danny Chapman after a Day free kick was half cleared but the midfielder skewed the golden chance wide.

With Whites’ hopes of the title now surely over, they need to address their defensive lapses quickly if qualification for Conference 2 (South) is to be achieved without alarm.

DOVER: Hyde, Browne, Millar, Humphrey, Arnott, Chapman, Day, Spiller (Tyne 74), Wilkins, Skelton, Carruthers. Subs. not used: Cloke, Davies, Hickman, Wietecha.