Dover Athletic were stunned by an injury-time winner from Nantwich Town to lose in the FA Trophy quarter-final to lower league opponents for the second straight year.

Some 45 places separate the two sides in the football pyramid but the hosts belied their standing of eighth in Evo-Stik Northern League Premier Division with a performance full of passion and confidence which left Dover second-best for long spells in chilly Cheshire.

The hosts took a deserved lead 10 minutes into the second half when Elliott Osborne fired in a low shot after a lightning 10-second break from a Dover corner.

Richard Orlu headed Whites level with 20 minutes remaining, glancing on a floated free-kick from Nicky Deverdics but though both sides hit the woodwork, neither could find a winner before the game entered five minutes of stoppage-time.

However with a replay at Crabble on Tuesday night looming, the hosts piled forward and Andy White's superb right-wing cross was headed home from six yards by the unmarked sub Liam Shotton, brother of Stoke's Ryan.

The game began in spectacular fashion as after just four minutes Mitch Walker produced a stunning one-handed save to keep out a diving header from the unmarked Josh Hancock after a cross on the break from the lively Matty Kosylo.

Less than three minutes later Stefan Payne was beaten to a short back-pass by the outrushing keeper Terry Smith, who won the ball with his feet but was caught by the Dover striker.

Smith also claimed a tame header from Orlu after a floated free-kick from Deverdics but it was the hosts who continued to press.

Orlu had to be alert to stifle the threat of Matt Bell as the ball dropped to him in the box while Hancock dragged a volley wide of Walker's near post after Kosylo had caused more havoc.

At the other end Payne lumped over the bar after a long-throw from Liam Bellamy and the tireless Ricky Miller superbly spun in the box but sent his volley high and wide of Smith's goal from an angle.

Six minutes before the break Elliott Osborne's lung-busting run saw him hold-off Sean Raggett but ended by the outrushing Walker. Raggett and Kosylo were booked just before the break after the Whites man tangled with Hancock.

The deadlock was broken 10 minutes after half-time when a Deverdics corner was cleared by the first man sending Kosylo down the left.

The lively winger tore forward but after being tackled by Sam Magri the ball broke to Sean Cooke whose low cross fell to Osborne, who bobbled a shot into the corner past the wrong-footed Walker.

The hosts were oozing confidence, encapsulated by Cooke who drilled a half-volley from near halfway after spotting Walker off his line, only to miss the target by a foot.

Deverdics hit the post 25 minutes from time, drilling into the upright from 12 yards after a Modeste cross was half-cleared, but soon after Hancock rattled Walker's bar with a 20-yard free-kick which was then scrambled away.

The equaliser arrived 20 minutes from time when Orlu rose highest to glance on a floated free-kick from Deverdics past the despairing dive of Smith.

Kosylo had lashed wide and Bell narrowly miss a low cross in the six-yard box when sub Mat Bailey spurned a chance to win it in stoppage-time, scuffing straight at Walker.

However there was still time for Shotton to spark wild scenes in the season's best crowd with his close-range header two minutes into the added time.

Nantwich: Smith, White, Short, Moran, Harrison, Osborne, Kosylo (Jones 74mins), Hall, Hancock, Bell (Shotton 81mins), Cooke (Bailey 89mins). Subs not used: Burzynski, Fisher.

Dover: Walker, Magri, Raggett, Orlu, Sterling, Bellamy; Parkinson, Deverdics, Modeste (Murphy 76mins), Miller (Ofori-Acheampong 89mins), Payne. Subs not used: Kinnear Jr, Pinnock, Hook.

Attendance: 892