Dover Athletic took an early lead at Crabble but they ended up on the end of a hiding against Woking.

Steven Rigg netted his first goal on home soil for Whites but Woking turned it around before the break, leading 3-1. Oscar Gobern was red carded for Dover in the second half and Woking added two more to seal a comfortable win.

Dover were back in action after a two week break, starting the evening second from bottom but knowing a win would see them climb several places.

Andy Hessenthaler’s team certainly started liked they meant business as Ade Azeez brought a ball down with his chest and Rigg fired home, with the aid of a deflection, taking it past keeper Craig Ross with just three minutes gone.

It was a first goal at Crabble for Rigg and only a second in 38 league appearances

One player who has no troubles finding the net is Woking striker Josh Davison, on loan from Charlton. He made it four goals in four games after making space for an easy header from Josh Casey’s cross on 16 minutes.

It wasn’t long before Woking had the lead, three minutes after the equaliser and it came from another cross into the box. Home keeper Tom Smith escaped with a yellow after rushing out of his box and handling the ball but he was beaten from the subsequent free-kick as Charlie Cooper whipped the ball in with pace and Kane Ferdinand nodded it home.

Woking’s third goal came from another free-kick and scored with another Ferdinand header. Jack Munns was booked for Dover following a foul and Ferdinand was on hand to nod in Casey’s set-piece.

Dover attempted to get a goal back before the break and Rigg should have done better when he was picked out at the back post but he only found the side netting.

At the other end, Dover almost conceded a fourth when determination from Ben Dempsey saw him get a shot away from the edge of the box but Tom Smith got down well to make a save.

Dover’s hopes of getting back into the match was made harder when a late challenge from Gobern on Woking’s Cooper earned him a straight red card, with 25 minutes of the match remaining. The hosts had shown more aggression after the interval but Gobern overstepped the mark.

Woking made it 4-1 on the break as Max Kretzschmar swept home a Davison cross.

An angled drive from Davison almost made it five, crashing it off the bar.

The visitors did claim a fifth, however, and the goal was scored by Slavi Spasov, his effort taking a deflection before hitting the net from a Cooper corner.

Dover: Smith, Passley, Wood, Gobern, De Havilland, Cumberbatch (Collins 64mins), Rigg, Munns, Bramble (Hinchiri 78mins), Azeez (Rose 55mins), Ekpiteta. Subs not used: Mersin, Spencer-Adams.

Woking: Ross, Cook, Casey, Cooper, Shotton, Tarpey (Jarvis 76mins), Ferdinand, Kretzchamer, Lofthouse, Dempsey, Davison (Spasov 81mins). Subs not used: Gerring, Collier, Wareham.

Referee: Ryan Atkin