Dover Athletic secured their third straight win in Blue Square Bet South on Saturday, beating strugglers Hampton & Richmond Borough 1-0 at Crabble on Saturday.

The league's top scorer Adam Birchall (pictured) got the only goal of the game – his 26th of the season – around 10 minutes before the interval, sneaking inside the Beavers defence and putting the ball between keeper Matt Lovett's legs.

Midfielder Jon Wallis could have fired Dover into the lead in only the third minute but saw his penalty saved by Lovett.

Hampton almost levelled the score with a remarkable effort from the halfway line. A 26th-minute free-kick lobbed Ross Flitney but the Whites keeper recovered in time, pulling off a magnificent save to send the ball over the bar.

A foul on Dover's Barry Cogan minutes after Birchall's goal sparked a mass brawl and saw five players cautioned.

The visitors looked more of a threat in the second half, pinning Dover back and calling Flitney, defender Matt Fish and makeshift centre-back Luke I'Anson into action on numerous occasions.

At the other end Elliott Charles fired his shot straight at Lovett while one-on-one with the keeper but it was Hampton who came closest as the match drew to a close, drawing a fantastic save from Flitney – the 26-year-old tipping the ball onto the post to secure a Dover win.

Dover are sixth in the Conference South, level on points with Eastleigh and Woking and four points off the play-off places.