Dover boss Chris Kinnear says his players should take plenty of heart from the 1-0 loss to promotion-chasing Grimsby Town at Crabble on Tuesday night.

The third-placed Mariners are just three points behind Vanarama Conference leaders Barnet after ending 10th-placed Whites’ three-game winning streak.

Kinnear said: “Of course it was disappointing to lose, any game we do is but we were far from disgraced.

“I thought we did really well and it was a real shame not to get anything out of it. We even got a text from Christian (Grimsby striker Christian Jolley) saying how well we had played.

“There is no doubt about the quality they (Grimsby) have got and that’s why they are where they are but we are not that far behind them.

“They just have that little bit more experience of playing at this level.

“My lads have been fantastic for the past few weeks but you can’t win them all.

“Now it’s all about us showing a bit of character and bouncing back against AFC Telford on
Saturday.”