Alarm bells sound as fans stay away
The Whites' third consecutive defeat condemned them to the lower reaches of the Ryman Premier League in front of a crowd of 556, their lowest league attendance for over a decade.
The entertainment for the crowd was pretty sparse with a poor game between two sides that look as though they may struggle to compete at the higher end of the table.
Fresh from the mauling by Cheshunt, head coach Richard Langley made a number of changes with the highlight being the return of Matt Carruthers who was immediately handed the captain's armband.
As in all of the games thus far this season, Dover made a slow start as they allowed the opposition to dictate the play and a number of close scares had come before the visitors took the lead.
Once again it was a poor goal all round for Dover, as they allowed a free kick to be whipped into the box, and as the defence stood still looking for the offside flag former Leatherhead striker Phil Ruggles slid the ball home at the near post though keeper Pat Mullins should have done better than only helping push the ball into the net.
This seemed to be enough for the Rebels as they seemed content with their one goal and allowed Dover back into the game, but for all their pressure they failed to create any real chances with James Rogers - showing his promise when going forward - launching a couple of long range efforts which went inches past the post, while the same player stung the gloves of former Brighton keeper Mark Ormerod with a dipping volley.
The midfield battles were still being won by the visitors, with Billy Bone once again falling short of what is expected of him with Dale Skelton seemingly having to do the job of two men which he did with great effect in breaking up attacks and feeding the ball to the Whites only outlet in Carruthers who started to enjoy running at the defence when switching sides to the left wing.
He nearly broke the deadlock on the stroke of half time after having been hauled down once again his free kick was well saved and cleared when Chris Wright looked set to pounce.
A poor opening to the second half sparked into life when Worthing introduced Sam Rents on the left hand side and in the 58th minute he doubled the lead when seeing no challenge come his
way, delightfully stroked the ball home from the corner of the box across an unsighted Mullin.
This seemed to knock the confidence of Dover with their only tactic of supplying the ball to Carruthers but with two men marking him it was difficult for him to get a run on goal or when he did get the ball into the box the experienced Worthing defender had an easy time to clear
from the non existent Dover attack.
The consolation goal came in the 77th minute when Rogers saw his free kick - given after another foul on Carruthers - deflected off the wall and into the net.
This should have seen a surge of attacks from the Whites but they failed to test Ormerod, as they had no game plan to break down a resilient defence.
The final action of the game saw Carruthers feel that he had been brought down in the penalty box but referee Mr Salt waved away the protests and booked Tom Hickman for his protestations.
Thirty seconds later he was showing the same player a second yellow card when a late lunge at Nko Ekoku gave the referee no alternative as Hickman's frustrations spilled over and unsurprisingly he became the first Dover player to be sent off this term.
Four games gone and just three points on the board maybe is not the time to panic just yet but with the crowds slipping alarmingly it seems it could be a long season ahead on and off of the pitch for the Whites.
Dover Athletic: Mullin, Ball, Rogers, Lane (Readings), Hickman, Cloke, Bone Smidmore),
Skelton, Wright, Smissen, Carruthers, Subs: Farrier, Hyde, Mee.
