A goal at the death denies Dover a point.

Wet and windy conditions at Parkside provided a classic game of two halves with Dover dominating the first and Aveley making the better of the second.

There were late changes to the Dover line up as captain James Dunne pulled up in the warm up and was replaced by Henry Young, with Johnny Oyenuga taking the armband.

Dover created chances in the early stages with a flurry of corners, the first saw Bailey Akehurst’s inswinging corner hit the inside of the far post and one in which defender Jacob Mensah found himself with a ripped shirt inside the penalty area, no foul given.

The next corner was cleared but quickly came back with Zidan Sutherland knocking a through ball on to Nick Dembele who calmly slotted past the keeper and against his former club.

Moments later a great ball by George Nikaj finds Sutherland but his shot is well saved by Jonathan North for a corner.

It was a strong first half from Dover and we deserved the lead and probably should have scored more during our dominant spell. The players had worked hard and had won nearly every battle.

Two minutes into the second half Odelusi was caught in the box by George Nikaj following a corner and soon fired low past David Aziaya from the spot.

It was one way traffic for the rest of the second half as Dover struggled to get out of their own half and soaked up the Aveley onslaught, defending well at times.

The referee signalled for 5 additional minutes at the end of the 90 and after 7 minutes of play Iffy Allen gave a foul away on the right hand side of the pitch. Aveley got their rewards when Ogunrinde finished with a strong header.

A bitter pill to swallow for the Whites who lost a vital point right at the end. We welcome Truro City to Crabble in our next league fixture on Saturday 6 January.

Aveley: North, Ring, Vaz, Odelusi, Jones, Gibbs, Kyei (Ogurinde 86mins), Kelly, Hughes, Krasniqi, Pegrum (Hernandez 68mins). Subs not used: Cochrane, Eze, Brown.

Dover: Aziaya, Oyenuga, Akehurst, Mensah, Holding, Naylor, Young, Wilkinson (Charles-Cook 65mins), Nikaj, Sutherland (Allen 76mins), Dembele (Baptiste 82mins). Subs not used: Hatcher, Powell.

Referee: Adrian George.

Attendance: 568.

Match report by Fred Deveson.

The Christmas spirit was most definitely present at Crabble, as a large crowd watched Dover secure their first win at home in the league this season against a strong Aveley.

The away team started the game on top, having lots of the ball and pressing Dover hard early on in proceedings. The visitors were helped by their incredible away support, who were loud right from the start. They dominated possession, but the hosts were working equally as hard and kept the team from Lakeside at bay with relative ease.

George Nikaj started another game for Dover and made it clear to the crowd why he should be in the starting eleven. He was positive from the start, providing a great outlet for a counter-attack. He had all the flicks and tricks to beat his fullback on numerous occasions, creating chances for himself and teammates.

From minute one, the Dovorian defence was rock solid, and this came from the goalkeeper Aziaya. He was solid in the first half, making a couple of good saves and punching clear from a corner. This was all he really had to do due to the solid back five he had in front of him, who were giving Aveley no space to create anything.

This was until the visitors utilised a lofted ball into the box, which caused chaos amongst the home side’s defence. Aziaya came and failed to claim the ball, and this left Aveley with a seemingly open goal after the ball broke for them around the penalty spot. It would have been 0-1 had it not been for some goal line heroics.

The second half began much like the first, but this time the hosts were on top. Nikaj was involved once again, and he created an opening for himself with some more skills, but it came to nothing. Another chance came for Dover shortly after, which was saved by the Aveley goalkeeper, but there were plenty of signs that The Whites could take all three points.

However, it was the visitors that took the lead. A good sequence of passes opened up the Dover defence and a low cross was converted by Garrett Kelly. The visitors were in front and it was arguably against the run of play.

The hosts made a couple of key substitutions, and it did not take Dover long to reply. A free-kick was won on the left-hand side just outside the box, which George Wilkinson took. It was a low ball right across the face of goal, which was put away by Zidan Sutherland. 1-1, game on.

From then, there only looked to be one winner. The hosts piled on the pressure after the equaliser and Aveley began to look nervous at the back. Dover were putting together some good passes and creating good spaces. Their pressure paid off in the 80th minute, as the ball came to substitute Iffy Allen on the left. He worked himself time and space just outside the box on the left and he bent in a beautiful curling effort which floated past the visiting goalkeeper, who could only watch as the ball sank into the right corner of his goal.

This sent the home fans into delirium. All Dover had to do now was hold on to this crucial lead for another 15 minutes, and the points were theirs. Groans echoed around Crabble at the sight of 5 added minutes, and the players felt the nerves too. Aziayacame out to claim a corner but missed, leaving an open goal, but the away side didn’t convert.

Another corner came in, and the tall number 5 of Aveley headed the ball off the crossbar, and Dover cleared. The referee blew the full-time whistle and the whole ground could breathe once again. Dover had done it. They had beaten play-off chasing Aveley and secured 3 vital points at the bottom, making it 3 unbeaten now for The Whites as they chase survival.

Aveley are Dover’s hosts on Saturday, can they do the double?

Attendance: 726

Dover Athletic: AZIAYA, OYENUGA, AKEHURST, MENSAH, HOLDING, NAYLOR, DUNNE (C), WILKINSON, NIKAJ, SUTHERLAND, DEMBELE

SUBS – YOUNG, CHARLES-COOK, BAPTISTE, HATCHER, ALLEN

Aveley: NORTH, RING, VAZ, ODELUSI, JONES, GIBBS, KYEI, KELLY, HUGHES, KRASNIQI, PEGRUM

SUBS – OGUNRINDE, HERNANDEZ, DAVIS, EZE, BROWN