Dover's play-off fate is no longer in their own hands after relegation-threatened Torquay pulled off a shock win at Crabble on Saturday.

Two goals from Brett Williams put the Gulls in charge and although Aswad Thomas pulled one back, Whites couldn't turn the game around.

Fifth-placed Aldershot's win at North Ferriby means they are now four points clear of Dover, who play their game in hand at home to Macclesfield on Tuesday night.

Whites boss Chris Kinnear made one change from the 1-0 defeat at Aldershot, handing striker Ross Lafayette a start at the expense of Thomas. Having been recalled from his loan spell at Southport, midfielder Jim Stevenson was named among the Dover substitutes.

A tense first half saw the home side on top for long spells without capitalising.

Joe Healy played into Lafayette's feet and he turned sharply but shot straight at goalkeeper Brendan Moore.

That was the first of several saves Moore made in the opening 45 minutes, his next denying Ricky Miller after Dover's top scorer had spun and seen his shot take a deflection.

Moore thwarted Miller again and then kept out a Ricky Modeste snapshot at his near post.

Healy then delivered a fine cross from the Whites left and his former Welling team-mate Lafayette, who was off balance, hooked a left-footed volley well wide.

The trend continued, Miller volleying wide and Moore getting right behind a whipped James Hurst effort from 20 yards after Healy had laid the ball into his path.

But the home side's profligacy was punished two minutes before the interval when Torquay scored against the run of play. Jordan Lee crossed from the right and there was Brett Williams, unmarked, to plant a header inside Mitch Walker's left-hand post.

Dover were almost level straight away but Miller's powerful low strike was brilliantly turned round the post by Moore to preserve Torquay's lead going into half-time.

Cheered by the goal, Torquay made a solid start to the second half while Dover looked edgy.

The men in white twice stood off Giancarlo Gallifuoco and the right-back first sent a low cross into Walker's hands before teeing up Williams for a crack at goal.

Not until the hour mark did Dover come to life, Miller thumping a shot narrowly wide from the edge of the penalty area.

But desperate Torquay were now throwing bodies in front of everything, urged on by their large and loud travelling support.

An increasingly frustrated Miller was dispossessed 20 yards from the Torquay goal and from the resulting counter-attack, the Gulls doubled their lead. Luke Young played Williams into space and he lashed the ball high beyond Walker to leave Whites staring down the barrel.

Just four minutes later, though, the deficit was halved. Thomas, who'd been on the pitch less than two minutes, looped a header over Moore to give the home fans hope.

Moses Emmanuel had two efforts blocked as Whites went in search of the equaliser but Torquay almost made it 3-1 when Lafayette had to clear a header off the line with Walker beaten.

Connor Essam and Miller both wasted golden chances late on, managing to lift the ball over the bar from inside the six-yard box when it seemed easier to score.

Dover: Walker, Magri, Essam, Orlu (Emmanuel 69mins), Modeste (Pinnock 74mins), Miller, Grimes, Sterling (Thomas 69mins), Lafayette, Healy, Hurst. Subs not used: Kinnear Jnr, Stevenson.

Torquay: Moore, Gallifuoco, Anderson, McGinty, Rowe-Turner, Young (Gerring 90mins), Verma, Reid, Williams (Lathrope 82mins), Keating (Harrad 44mins), Lee. Subs not used: Chaney, Sparkes.

Attendance: 1,432.