Whites leave it late to snatch a point. – Report written by Fred Deveson

A crowd of 542 experienced a rollercoaster of emotions under the lights last night, from going 0-2 down early on to a last gasp equaliser from Charlie Naylor to grab a vital point in the hunt for survival.

Both sides made a feisty start to the game, with Welling’s game plan being similar to Hampton and Richmond’s, with the in behind threat being ever-present throughout due to Dover’s high line. Billy Terrell was forced into an early one-on-one save, causing a hefty collision just outside the box and forcing the visitors into an early change.

It only took 16 minutes for Dover’s relegation rivals to open the scoring, however, and it was a scrappy goal after some confusion in the penalty area left a Welling player free for a tap-in. The same trend of balls played in over the top continued to prove successful for the away side, with their main creative outlets being Odusanya and Kain Adom, with the latter delivering a fantastic cross for TJ Bramble to haunt The Whites again by making it 0-2 not long after departing the club.

Sinn’Kaye Christie made his Whites debut at the back alongside the eventual hero Charlie Naylor. He had a nervy start to the game but gradually grew into the match as it progressed, using his physical presence to his advantage and keeping Welling at bay for the second half. The pacey threat of the opposition wingers proved to be a real danger for the home side all night and the away team got in behind numerous times during the course of the game.

Mitch Brundle felt that there needed to be a change after going 2 down, and, despite it being the first half, he brought off the youngster Archie Hatcher and replaced him with Zidan Sutherland who was lively and injected some energy and pace into the game. He went on to be a key player in the rest of the game, hitting the bar with a looped effort early in the second half, setting the tone for the rest of the evening.

Whatever the manager said at half time paid off for The Whites, who hit back at Welling early in the second half after a brilliant ball from Anifowose set Paris Lock free, who cooly slotted it past Winterbottom in the Welling net. More substitutions were made by Brundle as Dover sought to control the pace of the game. Johl Powell came on in a bid to add more creativity to the side, and Dontai Stewart replaced Nick Dembele up front to add some fresh legs to exploit a tired Welling.

With the help of the The White Army in the stands, the pressure persisted. Corners came swinging in and shots persisted from all angles, but to no avail. The game looked to be petering out until Sutherland hit the bar from very close in and the home faithful could not bare to look. From then, the visitors looked set to take all 3 points until Dover earned a late corner, and after some confusion it came out to Charlie Naylor, who put all his heart into firing it past the cluster of defenders on the line to send the Dover fans into delirium.

The game was brought to a close by the referee very shortly after and Dover took draw number 8 of the season in their bid to stay in the Vanarama National League South, with a difficult trip to Yeovil Town up next.

Dover Athletic: Terrell, Oyenuga, Christie, Naylor, Sesay, Dunne, Young, Anifowose, Lock, Dembele, Hatcher

Subs: Ojemen, Baptiste, Sutherland, Stewart, Powell

Welling United: Winterbottom, Lema, Green, Curran, Abrahams, Odusanya, Adom, Bramble, Kassarate, Tanga, Byrd

Subs: Sekaja, White, Burchell, Muwonge, Papadopoulos