Dover Athletic 1 Kingstonian 2

SATURDAY'S defeat, Dover's sixth in their last seven Ryman League Premier Division games, brought an end to Steve Browne's short managerial tenure at the Hoverspeed Stadium.

While it is difficult to be too critical of a man who worked hard in an attempt to reverse the club's ailing fortunes, one win from 13 matches tells its own story.

In the first 20 minutes, the Dover faithful saw more chances created at either end than they had in the last six home games.

As Whites opted to defend too deep, Kingstonian's pacy front line carved Athletic apart, duly giving Paul Hyde the chance to distinguish himself with three good saves, whilst Ks had what looked a perfectly good goal disallowed.

At the other end Paul Armstrong, after getting on the end of Hyde's huge clearance upfield, went clear through the middle and looked certain to score before hitting the ball straight at Ks' keeper Nick Hart. And after Victor Renner had a shot pushed behind, Athletic had a half-decent claim for a penalty when the resulting corner appeared to brush the arm of defender Robert Paris.

A goal was coming and, for the third game in succession, it went the way of Whites' oppenents midway through the opening session. As Dave Timothy's corner from the right was flicked on at the near post, Kenny Ojukwa's close range header came back off the crossbar. As the ball looped up, Ojoukwa was first to react, nodding the ball into the top left corner.

How Whites did not score at least once in the 10 minutes either side of the break is a mystery. Initially, they should have restored parity before the interval when Nick Grime somehow headed an Armstrong cross over the top from barely three yards out.

Moments later, when Renner achieved a similar feat after Dean Palmer had provided the assist, a first half that could easily have ended 5-4 to Ks was concluded.

Into the second session, Whites' run of ill fortune continued when Stuart Maynard, after Renner and Gavin Rose had combined to send him clear, thumped a shot against the crossbar from 15 yards out. And when what was surely intended as a cross from Daniel Braithwaite again beat Hart but smacked against the bar, Dover's promising spell of pressure became less and less sustained.

The visitors, who were surprisingly looking to hold what they had, wrapped up the points from their first attack of the half.

As Ojukwa drifted into an acre of space behind Whites' left flank, his cross to the near post should not have troubled a defence that was on its game. But as the ball was only partially cleared to Giles Coke, Kingstonian's skipper thumped the ball just inside Hyde's left hand post from the edge of the penalty area.

With the wind knocked out of Whites' sails, the game was effectively up from this point. But Athletic did at least pull a goal back when Rose battled to win possession and threaded a ball through that Palmer confidently rolled past Hart.

This should have set up a grandstand finish, with nine minutes left for Dover to try to salvage something. But the visitors hung on with relative comfort to record a win that at least gives them some hope of avoiding the drop.

For Whites, who realistically need 10 more wins to be in with a shout of staying up, that hope looks to be long gone.

Dover: Hyde, Readings, Cloke, Palmer, Sterling, Braithwaite, Maynard (Hamshare 80), Rose, Armstrong, Renner, Grime (J Rogers 72). Subs Not Used: Spiller, Hickman, P Rogers.