Hednesdford Town 1 Dover Athletic 0

DOVER bowed out of the FA Trophy at Hednesdford on Saturday but only had themselves to blame after producing a disappointing performance.

Both sides put in a lot of effort in the first half of this fifth round tie but rarely looked like breaking the deadlock.

The all-important turning point came when Steve Evans crossed from the left, big defender Chris Brindley headed back across goal and Steve Anthrobus bundled the ball home to provide Hednesford with the only goal of the game.

Dover tried to raise their game after this setback but didn’t really come close to equalising until stoppage time. Craig Wilkins saw his angled shot saved by home ‘keeper Ryan Young, and in the last minute Young dived to his right to stop a close range effort from substitute Jones Awuah, Dover’s loan signing from Gillingham.

On paper, it had seemed this was a game that Dover had a good chance of at least drawing but, after an excellent performance against Forest Green the previous Tuesday, Saturday’s performance was frustrating to watch for the 100 or so Dover fans who gave their team excellent vocal support throughout the match.

Dover Athletic: Hyde, Hickman, Davies, Browne, Cloke, Chapman, Day, Spiller, Wilkins, Skelton (Awuah 60), Carruthers.

Attendance: 587.