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Sutton United 0 Dover Athletic 3 match report (Dover win 4-1 on aggregate)

Dover boss Chris Kinnear summed it up in one word - outstanding - as Whites reached the Skrill South play-off final in magnificent fashion after a stunning 3-0 win at Sutton.

They secured their first win at Gander Green Lane in 14 years with only 10 men, following the early dismissal of captain Craig Stone. Stone was shown a straight red card in the third minute after his desperate last-man challenge on Craig Dundas, who only had goalkeeper Mitch Walker to beat.

There was no joy for Dover manager Chris Kinnear and his side against FC Halifax.
There was no joy for Dover manager Chris Kinnear and his side against FC Halifax.

Kinnear's side may have been down a man but they were not down on courage as they battled for everything in front of a crowd of 1,671. The crowd was so large that the game kicked off five minutes late as the fans kept streaming in.

Whites went close to opening the scoring through Moses Ademola in the 23rd minute and it needed a spectacular clearance off the line to prevent his overhead kick going in.

It remained goalless until half-time and that's the way it stayed until Kinnear sent Jeff Goulding on in the 54th minute. His first touch sent Ricky Modeste clear on goal and he hammered it home to send the travelling Dover fans wild.

The celebrations continued in the 75th minute when Ademola's effort was parried by goalkeeper Jason Brown and Modeste pounced on the rebound. If the home fans thought it was all over then, Ademola ensured it was two minutes later after he fired home the third.

That meant Whites won 4-1 on aggregate following the 1-1 draw at Crabble on Wednesday night.

There was no hiding Kinnear's delight and pride in his players after the game.

He said: "We could have been staring down the barrel after the red card, but we dug deep and played with plenty of passion and heart. It was an amazing performance - there is no question about that."

As for the red card, Kinnear said he had no complaints. He said: "Craig had to make that tackle because if they had scored that early, well, you never know do you. You could say he took one for the team."

Whites will play arch rivals Ebbsfleet in the final, but Kinnear was not thinking about that.

He said: "We celebrate and enjoy this win first - it's certainly worth doing."

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