Dover Athletic come out on top in Saturday’s Kent derby with a 2-0 win against Ebbsfleet United at Stonebridge Road.

A calamitous mistake from home goalkeeper Preston Edwards and a fine strike from Elliot Charles sent Dover back down to Crabble with all three points.

Dover took the lead after just 16 seconds without even touching the ball themselves. From kick off, the ball was played back to Preston Edwards by Osei Sankofa and the Ebbsfleet keeper inexplicably sliced the ball into the back of the net, reminiscent of Paul Robinson for England in Croatia back in the failed Euro 2008 campaign.

This early setback shocked the home team who struggled to get any kind of impact on the game and it was Dover who should have gone further ahead when Tom Murphy was found in the six yard box from a long throw in from the right but the winger headed straight at Edwards in the Ebbsfleet goal.

Dover lined up with 5 at the back and playing long balls into the channels bogged down Ebbsfleet creative spark and it wasn’t until the 20th minute that the Fleet had their first attempt on goal when Anthony Cook was taken out by centre back Terrell Forbes 35 yards from goal who was booked for the challenge with the home crowd appealing for a straight red.

From the resulting free kick, Cook’s shot was well saved by Mitch Walker in the Dover goal after being deflected by Terrell Forbes. Ebbsfleet had two weak claims for a penalty as they grew into the game halfway through the first half with first Alex Osborn and then Anthony cook going over in the box.

It was getting feisty out on the pitch with Dover winning most of the battles with Dover’s Chris Kinnear jr being particularly tenacious. The game reached boiling point on 32 minutes when the ball dropped at Cooks feet just inside the Dover half.

Cook drove at the heart of the defence and was crudely put down to the floor by a two footed challenge from young centre half Sean Raggett.

Players from both sides piled into each other and it looked as if a slap in Raggett’s direction found its mark from Michael Thalassitis. Both Thalassitis and Raggett were booked for their parts in the start of the melee. The resulting free kick from Cook was blocked but his second attempt cannoned off the bar.

Dover however were coping fairly easily with Ebbsfleet and went 2-0 up after 38 minutes when the tenacious Chris Kinnear dispossessed Michael Corcoran in the centre circle before driving forward and releasing Elliot Charles charging up the right hand side.

Charles took a steadying couple of touches before cooly slotting past Edwards off the right hand post. Ebbsfleet could have got back in the game when Cook popped up on the right hand side and his pin point cross found Dean Rance with a free header but the effort was spectacularly saved by Mitch Walker who tipped over the bar.

Dover almost sealed the game in first half stoppage time when a diagonal free kick was knocked down into the path of ex-fleet player Nathan Elder 5 yards from goal but the forward could only loop his effort against the bar before the players walked in for half time.

In the second half, Dover stifled all of Ebbsfleet’s attacks with consumate ease and the introductions of Daryl Mcmahon and Ben May made little difference as Ebbsfleet were left devoid of ideas. Dover sat back knowing they had the game won which made the spectacle for the paying public very poor indeed.

The game petered out and Dover ended up doing the double over their near neighbours and give them a chance of joining Ebbsfleet in the play off pack if they win their games in hand.

Things were to get fruity after the crowd had gone home with the after match press conferences with Steve Brown saying ‘ When they get their noses in front, their very difficult to play against, you only have to misplace one pass and its 70, 80 yards back the other way’ before saying that ‘ they are a frustrating team to play with their no 4 falling over, it comes from the management team, they played 5 across the back line, that’s how negative they are’ before stating that he ‘would rather lose his job than play like that.’

Brown also claimed that Ex-Fleet player Craig Stone is ‘not allowed to do anything but put the ball in the channel, he’s a better player than that’.

When asked about the recent story in the press about Ebbsfleet’s wage structure, Brown claims ‘ they have a bigger budget than us, why they try and spin it, maybe because they have a top three budget and their 10th, why they feel the need is beyond me, it’s grossly untrue, I know their wage structure, I’m more than happy to show us our books, I bet they’re not. It just beggars belief.’

When talking to Chris Kinnear after the game about Browns comments@” It’s up to him, at the end of the day, what was he doing, he was at Dover for 6 months last year and didn’t want to be there, that’s got nothing to do with me” before stating that “we played some good stuff, I’m not going to play the way to suit others but at the end of the day I don’t care.”

Both managers flared up after the game after Brown refused Kinnear’s handshake with Fleet assistant manager Steve Gritt, pulling Brown away from the confrontation. One thing’s for sure, Ebbsfleet vs Dover has got some feeling toward it and it doesn’t look like ending any time soon.

Teams:

Ebbsfleet: Edwards, Howe, Palmer, Corcoran ( May 74), Lorraine c, Sankofa, Osborn ( Mcmahon 54), Rance, Thalassitis, Bricknell, Cook

Subs not used: Hall, Long, Phipp

Yellow card: Thalassitis

Dover: Walker, Stone c, Wynter, Kinnear, Raggett, Forbes, Bellamy, Orlu, Elder, Charles (Bakare 63), Murphy

Subs not used: Kamara, Woodall, Cogan, Hook

Yellow cards: Wynter, Kinnear, Raggett, Forbes

Goals: OG Edwards 1, Charles 38.

Attendance 1320.