Dover Athletic continued their pre-season preparations in emphatic fashion with a 7-0 victory over Littlehampton Town at the Megger Community Stadium.

Euan Williams and Decarrey Sheriff gave the Whites a two-goal advantage during a dominant opening half before Luke Baptiste, Rolando Onu and a trialist added five more after the interval.

Dover started brightly and created their first opportunity inside two minutes. Harry Beadle met an early corner with a free header and directed the ball back across goal, where Sheriff was waiting, but the forward was unable to steer his effort into the net. Littlehampton were then forced into an early change when their number nine was withdrawn after ten minutes, and their difficult start continued moments later when Williams was brought down inside the penalty area. The midfielder took responsibility from the spot and calmly converted in the 12th minute to give Jake Leberl’s side a deserved lead.

Dover continued to push forward, with one of the trialists making progress down the flank before delivering for Sheriff, whose attempt narrowly missed the target. Sheriff would not be denied for much longer, however, as Enyinnaya Ezenwanne produced an excellent delivery into the penalty area in the 19th minute and the forward guided a composed header home to double the Whites’ advantage. He nearly struck again immediately afterwards when another aerial ball caused problems for the Littlehampton defence.

The hosts were firmly in control and continued to create chances. Baptiste attempted an inventive chip from the edge of the area, forcing the visiting goalkeeper to tip the ball over his crossbar, before Nazir Bakrin hooked an effort against the upright from the resulting corner. Littlehampton collected the game’s first yellow card for dissent following a challenge involving Baptiste, while Williams went close to scoring his second when his free kick was pushed around the post by the goalkeeper.

Beadle then tried his luck from distance without troubling the target before Mitch Walker was called into action for the first time in the 33rd minute. Dover’s captain stood firm and punched away a powerful effort to preserve his side’s two-goal advantage. Another flowing Dover move created an opening shortly before the interval, although the Whites were unable to apply the finishing touch.

Dover made wholesale changes at half-time, introducing Lewis Bartlett, George Wilkinson, Momodou Jallow, Fuad Sesay, Rolando Onu, Kola Salami, Jalen Jones and a trialist. Charles-Cook and Bakrin remained on the pitch alongside Baptiste, who took over the captain’s armband.

Baptiste almost added Dover’s third seven minutes after the restart when his free kick travelled through a crowded penalty area, evaded everyone and narrowly missed the bottom corner. John Oyenuga replaced Charles-Cook in the 57th minute before Dover created another good opening, with Onu driving forward and sending a low cross through the area that narrowly evaded the arriving attackers. Salami was next to deliver into the box, finding the trialist winger unmarked, although the resulting header was sent off target.

At the opposite end, Bartlett dealt confidently with a Littlehampton corner by punching the delivery clear. Dover’s third arrived in the 64th minute following another incisive attack, as Onu made a driving run before sending a low ball into Baptiste, who took a touch and calmly rolled his finish into the bottom corner. Salami almost added another three minutes later when he unleashed a powerful strike, but the Littlehampton goalkeeper produced an impressive save.

The visitors began to tire during the closing stages and Dover took full advantage, scoring four times in a devastating seven-minute spell. A swift counter-attack opened up the Littlehampton defence in the 78th minute, allowing a trialist to finish and make it 4-0, before Onu added his name to the scoresheet two minutes later.

Onu struck again in the 83rd minute to complete a quick-fire brace before Baptiste rounded off the scoring two minutes later, registering his second of the afternoon and Dover’s seventh. It was another valuable pre-season workout for Leberl’s squad, who now turn their attention to Tuesday evening when Deal Town visit the Megger Community Stadium.

Dover Athletic: Walker, Charles-Cook, Ezenwanne, Rendall, Beadle, Bakrin, Trialist A, Williams, Baptiste, Sheriff, Trialist B.

Substitutes: Bartlett, Onu, Salami, Wilson-Braithwaite, Wilkinson, Jallow, Jones, Sesay, Oyenuga, Trialist C.