Stafford Rangers 3 Dover Athletic 1

A COLD, grey afternoon in the industrial north and a soft, bumpy pitch do not provide the best conditions for football, but Stafford found them much more to their liking than Dover on Saturday.

Both sides started brightly in this Dr Martens Premier Division game and it was end-to-end stuff for the first quarter of an hour, but with neither side going close to scoring.

Most of the home side's dangerous attacks came through their diminutive right-winger Robin Gibson, and he proved to be a handful for Whites’ defence throughout the game.

But Dover began to dominate the play and they won a couple of corners, from one of which Nicky Dent got in a header which flew inches over the Stafford bar.

However, after 29 minutes, the home side took the lead against the run of play. Gibson picked up the ball 25 yards from goal, and he was given time to put in a fierce cross-shot which found the far corner of the net. From that point to half-time it was all Stafford, as the home side suddenly found their confidence.

After the break, Stafford soon had a 'goal' disallowed when centre-back Wayne Daniel bundled into Paul Hyde after he had made a catch, the ball ending up in the net. Matt Carruthers was also shown a yellow card for a foul challenge on Gibson as both sides fought for supremacy.

As in the first half, Dover began to take over proceedings, but it was Stafford who scored again. Gibson laid the ball off to substitute Paul Edwards, and the on-loan Crewe striker blasted the ball into the far corner of the net from the right-hand side of the penalty area after 72 minutes.

Dover then had Jamie Day cautioned for a foul before Stafford wrapped up the points with a third goal after 83 minutes, Edwards scoring again following a defence-splitting pass from Dennis Bailey.

Soon afterwards, Kristian James was cautioned for a foul on Gibson, and less than ten seconds later the Whites midfielder fouled him again, earning himself a red card.

Despite being 3-0 down and with 10 men, Dover pulled a goal back with two minutes left, when Day turned three defenders on the edge of their penalty area and shot fiercely for goal. Ryan Price, the home goalkeeper, parried the ball and Carruthers ran in to score from six yards.

Dover forced three corners in the remaining time, and Tommy Tyne beat three defenders only to shoot inches wide as Whites seemed to wake up to the fact that Stafford were winning the match.

In the end, the home side deservedly took the three points as some of their one-touch passing was of the highest order, and they always looked dangerous when attacking.

Hyde wasn't called into action that often as, apart from the three goals, Dover generally defended well. However, Stafford's defence, with Daniel outstanding, coped comfortably with what was rather a lightweight Dover attacking force.

Dover: Hyde, Browne, Dyer (Davies 75 min.), Readings, Dent (Norman 45), Chapman, Day, Lee Spiller, Glover (James) Tyne, Carruthers. Subs not used: Smissen, Williams.

Attendance: 664.