Alfie Pavey has had his spell on loan at Dover from Maidstone extended.

Striker Pavey’s initial one-month loan stint back with his old club had been due to expire after their Boxing Day match at home to Dagenham, which they lost 2-0.

But Whites manager Andy Hessenthaler says Pavey will remain with the National League strugglers for a while longer yet.

“We have been able to extend that until the end of January now,” Hessenthaler told KentOnline.

“So Alfie will stay with us.”

Despite bottom side Dover’s struggles, Pavey has, at least, helped to offer a focal point up front for them and netted in their 2-1 defeat at King's Lynn. Pavey's previous spell with Dover ended in 2019 when he left for Barnet.

Hessenthaler also praised captain-for-the-day Ben Williamson for his performance in their loss to Dagenham at Crabble.

• Report: Dover 0-2 Dagenham

He said: “He (Pavey) does what he does, doesn’t he? You always need that type of player to occupy centre-halves and make sure it's not an easy afternoon for them.

“He gives you that option of helping things on because he does make it difficult for the opposition - and we haven’t got that type of player.

“I thought Ben Williamson was excellent as well today. He played as a number 10 but he was here, there and everywhere. His link-up play is good.

“He doesn’t get the plaudits he deserves at times for the amount of effort that he puts in.”

Academy frontman Noah Carney capped a good week for him as he made his first league start, after making England under-18s schoolboys squad.

Meanwhile on-loan AFC Wimbledon striker Aaron Cosgrave, Dover's top scorer, missed out after he tested positive for Covid earlier in the week.

Two first-half efforts were awarded to midfielder Matthew Robinson - although there was debate over his first one - as Whites’ winless start to the season extended to 20 league matches.

“Two goals conceded where we have been sloppy,” Hessenthaler reflected. “The first one is from a set-play and the second one is from our own set-play.

“We have given ourselves a mountain to climb and the confidence drains out of the players because they are so desperate to do well. But credit to them, they kept going in the second half.

“We probably dominated in terms of possession but they probably sat a bit deeper because they’re protecting their 2-0 lead - and it always becomes harder. But we had a couple of half-chances.

“Khale (Da Costa) gets in and then has a bad touch. I think, if that’s the opposition, they probably score. That’s the way things have been going for us.

“Even with the chance at the end, the ball comes in from Khale and Alfie has probably just mistimed it. If that’s the opposition, it probably goes in.

"But that’s what happens when you are fighting for your lives and have been struggling. That’s what I said to the boys in there.

“Listen, they could have thrown the towel in at half-time but they didn’t. They kept going and kept trying.

“They have done that for the majority of the season. We are lacking numbers. We were without Aaron Cosgrave through Covid and there’s a few injuries still - Travis (Gregory), Reda (Johnson) and we played Seth Twumasi.

“He was struggling a bit so we took him off in the end.

“It’s not been easy but we just have to keep going. That’s all we can do.”

Dover visit Woking on Tuesday before they face Dagenham, once again, at Victoria Road on January 2.