Raul Sotiriou may have only played 10 minutes against Southend United on Sunday afternoon, but that was all he needed to make an impression on the home fans.
The Cypriot scored the winner three minutes after coming off the bench as Whites stunned the League One strugglers at Crabble in the FA Cup.
After the first round tie, Sotiriou said: “The boys dug deep and we should have been ahead at the end of the first half. I thought we dominated the game and I was buzzing to get the winner.
“The manager just told me to get in behind and run them ragged and that’s what I did and scored.”
The 19-year-old darted onto Aaron Simpson’s upfield ball before firing an unstoppable effort past visiting keeper Nathan Bishop from a tight angle.
The Cyprus under-21 International said: “I just took a touch out of my feet and shot. I was going to square it to Inih (Effiong), but I wanted that for myself.”
Southend came into the tie second bottom of League One and with only one win in the league so far this season.
About the Shrimpers, Sotiriou said: “Obviously we knew they were struggling and they are not confident right now, so we knew we had them at their weakest point to go on and beat them.”
Sotiriou’s loan deal runs out at the end of the month, but he admitted that it almost happened earlier. “I was supposed to come to Dover about a month and a half ago, but I was in and around Leyton Orient’s first team so I thought I might get my chance there.
“But when the gaffer Carl Fletcher pulled me into his office and said he wanted me to go to Dover, I came.”
The striker didn’t have much time to celebrate the victory, departing on a flight to Larnaca the following morning to join his teammates as Cyprus’ youngsters prepare for a home match against Norway on Friday 15th November.
Sotiriou’s involvement in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier means the teenager will miss Dover’s National League trip to Yeovil Town on Saturday, with Andy Hessenthaler’s men in front of the BT Sport cameras for a second consecutive weekend.