Wealdstone 0 Dover Athletic 1

WITH their relegation already confirmed, Dover put in a committed performance to beat Wealdstone in dreadful conditions at Edgware Town’s White Lion Ground on Saturday.

The pitch was extremely bumpy and the grass was long. There was no room for a run-up to take corners and the order of the day was to take short ones.

Wealdstone rarely played the ball on the ground, but Paul Hyde and his defence dealt confidently with the aerial assault.

The home side were frequently caught offside in the first half, with Richard Jolly the main culprit. He also blasted a good chance over the bar in the 15th minute.

Whites looked dangerous going forward and in the 24th minute defender Danny Tilbury was adjudged to have pushed Shane Hamshare, with Craig Cloke converting the resulting penalty.

The home side then forced a number of corners in their bid to get back on level terms before the break, but their finishing let them down.

Soon after half-time Matt Carruthers made a good run, but his shot was inadvertently blocked by team-mate Victor Renner.

The home side, boosted by the introduction of Darren Beckford, also looked dangerous on the break, but Dover defended admirably, although they were grateful to goalkeeper Hyde who saved well from a close-range volley from Martin Carter.

With all three substitutions made, Wealdstone were reduced to 10 men as the game went into stoppage time after Jolly had to leave the pitch following a clash of heads with Nicky Humphrey.

Whites avenged their 4-2 defeat at the Hoverspeed Stadium back in December and left Wealdstone still in danger of joining them in Ryman Division 1 next season.

Dover Athletic: Hyde, Vallance, Bernard, Cloke, Humphrey, Braithwaite, Hamshare, Renner, Wilkins, Hogg, Carruthers.