Dover Athletic 2 Worcester City 1

TWO goals in a 15-minute spell either side of half-time by Matt Carruthers and Tommy Tyne saw Dover come from behind to claim another three points despite the absence of three key players.

Already without the suspended Danny Chapman and Lee Spiller, they lost top scorer Craig Wilkins on the day of the game after he had woken up with a bad back.

The late reshuffle meant a first-team debut for 19-year-old reserve team player Dale Skelton, who afterwards could feel well pleased with his afternoon's work on the right side of midfield.

Skelton filled in for Carruthers as he moved forward to partner Tyne up front in Wilkins’ absence, while Whites’ line-up also featured the welcome returns of Nicky Humphrey and Mark Patterson after their long absences caused by injury and illness respectively.

Patterson's experience was especially invaluable against a physically strong and combative Worcester side who showed a lot more appetite for the contest than Eastbourne Borough had done a week earlier at the Hoverspeed Stadium.

City, with Mark Owen and former Whites striker Leon Kelly willing runners up front, were always a threat in the first half and big centre half Barry Woolley saw his 7th-minute header scrambled away off the Dover line before the visitors went in front six minutes later. Midfielder Pat Lyons slid a neat pass inside for Owen to deftly sidefoot the ball into the far corner of Paul Hyde’s goal from 10 yards.

It was the first goal that Hyde had conceded in 496 minutes of league action, and he needed to be at his best on the half hour to tip over a fierce 30-yard half volley from Liam McDonald, although the subsequent award of a goalkick by referee Mr Hayes was far from being the only puzzling decision made by the official and his two linesmen during the afternoon.

Dover’s frustration was increased by Tommy Tyne firing wide twice when well placed, while Jamie Day was denied by a superb block from City goalie Danny McDonnell.

Tyne and Carruthers were finding it hard going against Woolley and Co, but Whites dragged themselves level with a goal in first-half injury time. Day curled in a free-kick from the by-line which Andy Crofts met with a downward diving header. The ball cannoned back off a post but Carruthers was there to volley it home from close range.

In a sense it was a “get out of jail” goal for Whites, with Worcester probably feeling that they deserved to be in front at the break despite Dover's missed chances, and City’s frustration boiled over into anger when Whites scored what proved to be a controversial winner 14 minutes into the second half.

A Darren Davies free-kick was half-cleared to the edge of the box where Patterson volleyed it back with interest, and McDonnell was left with no chance as the ball flew past him via a deflection off Tyne’s back. The Worcester players, noticing that the linesman had half raised his flag, presumably for offside against Tyne, then remonstrated angrily both with the official concerned and with Mr Hayes, but to no avail.

Worcester then seemed to feel sorry for themselves for the next quarter of an hour as the game fell into something of a lull, but they raised their spirits again for the last 20 minutes, most of which saw Whites penned in their own half.

However, apart from a goal-line injury-time clearance from Adam Wilde by man of the match Tony Browne, who produced another accomplised performance in his new sweeping role, Hyde was hardly troubled. At the other end Dover were denied a penalty when Carruthers was tripped in the area as he was about to pounce on a follow-up chance after McDonnell had blocked his first effort.

But a 3-1 scoreline would have been harsh on a Worcester side who, on this performance, will make life difficult for plenty of other teams in the second half of the season.

Dover Athletic: Hyde; Arnott, Browne, Humphrey; Skelton, Day, Patterson, Crofts, Davies; Tyne, Carruthers.