Dover Athletic suffered defeat at the Megger Community Stadium as Maidenhead United claimed all three points with a 3-0 victory, with the Whites forced to play much of the second half with ten men following Charles-Cook’s dismissal.

The visitors made the brighter start and forced the first corner of the afternoon after only three minutes, although the Dover defence dealt with the early danger. The Whites responded with a corner of their own five minutes later, Jones rising to make first contact before Maidenhead were able to clear.

Maidenhead went close to finding the breakthrough on 15 minutes. Coley’s flat delivery from a corner dropped invitingly for N’Guessan, who met it on the volley but sent his effort over Walker’s crossbar.

The contest began to settle as the first half progressed. Sheriff found some space out wide for Dover on 21 minutes, but neither side had been able to create a clear-cut opening from open play during the early stages.

Charles-Cook picked up the first booking of the afternoon five minutes later after charging towards Van Stappershoef and catching the Maidenhead goalkeeper as he attempted to put him under pressure.

Two minutes later, the visitors took the lead from a set-piece. A Maidenhead corner was delivered towards the far post, where Clerima rose highest to direct the ball beyond Walker and give the Magpies a 28th-minute advantage.

Dover enjoyed a better spell following the opener and began to see more of the ball, although they struggled to turn that possession into opportunities in the final third. Their best opening of the first half arrived four minutes before the interval when Williams sent a deep delivery into the Maidenhead penalty area. Beadle managed to poke the ball back across the face of goal, but Sheriff was denied the chance to finish as the visiting defence intervened and conceded a corner.

That corner almost proved costly at the opposite end. Maidenhead broke quickly on the counter-attack and threatened to double their advantage, but Wilson-Braithwaite was well positioned to block the resulting shot and keep Dover within one.

There was one additional minute at the end of the opening period, with the Whites heading into the interval trailing 1-0.

Dover emerged brightly after the restart and immediately looked to put their visitors under pressure. A Maidenhead player was booked following a foul on Ezenwanne in the 46th minute, before the Whites won a succession of corners as they attempted to build some early second-half momentum.

Their task became significantly harder in the 54th minute, however, when Charles-Cook was shown a second yellow card. Coley looked to launch a Maidenhead counter-attack and Charles-Cook brought him down, leaving the referee to produce another booking and reduce Dover to ten men.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, the Whites continued to search for an equaliser. Williams tried his luck from distance four minutes later, striking an effort which travelled narrowly over the crossbar.

Maidenhead then made their extra man count in the 64th minute. The visitors worked the ball across the Dover penalty area and Hall managed to get the faintest of touches to the delivery, with his flick enough to take the ball beyond Walker and into the corner for 2-0.

Dover responded with their first change three minutes later as Soares-Junior replaced Andrews, and they came agonisingly close to pulling one back on 70 minutes. Williams rose to meet a delivery into the area and powered his header against the crossbar, with Maidenhead surviving their biggest scare of the afternoon.

A double substitution followed as Oyenuga and Jallow replaced Williams and Beadle, before Sesay was introduced for Ezenwanne three minutes later. Salami then replaced Sheriff with just over ten minutes of normal time remaining as Dover continued to look for a route back into the contest.

The Whites were unable to find the goal their second-half efforts deserved, while Maidenhead remained a threat at the other end and sent another effort over the bar as the game moved into its closing stages.

Six additional minutes were indicated and Maidenhead added a third three minutes into stoppage time. Coley was released through the Dover defence and calmly picked out the far corner to put the result beyond doubt.

The final whistle confirmed a 3-0 defeat for the Whites in front of an attendance of 703 at the Megger Community Stadium.

Dover return to action on Tuesday evening when they travel to Dagenham.

Dover Athletic: Walker (c), Charles-Cook, Jones, Bakrin, Beadle, Ezenwanne, Wilson-Braithwaite, Williams, Baptiste, Sheriff, Andrews.

Subs: Wilkinson, Jallow, Sesay, Oyenuga, Salami, Onu, Soares-Junior.

Maidenhead United: Van Stappershoef, Ragguette, N’Guessan, Abbott, Coley, Johnson, Mitchell-Lawson, Umerah, Clerima, Hall, Onariase.

Subs: Vaughan, Cochrane, Nkrumah, Pendlebury, Welch, Odeniran, Dundas.

Attendance: 703.