Whites' hopes of avoiding relegation took a nosedive at a very muddy Hoverspeed Stadium, as they only took a point from a game that they could have done with winning. Survival was always going to be difficult, and this result makes it even harder.

The side was the same one that had performed so superbly to thrash Harrow the week before. There was also only the one change on the bench too, with Daniel Braithwaite back from suspension to take Ricky Spiller's place.

The visitors were the first out of the traps, and had two superb chances within the first five minutes. They both fell to the dangerous Gary Ansell, but after two strong runs from midfield, he shot wide both times.

It took both sides time to adjust to the surface, but when the Whites did, they controlled the game. And probably the best chance of the match fell to the Whites after 14 minutes. Craig Cloke's free kick was flicked on by Renner to Carruthers, whose shot was well saved by keeper Paul Nicholls. Rogers then crossed the rebound back into the six-yard box, and Carruthers this time saw his header come back off of the post.

Dean Readings could have broken the deadlock soon afterwards, when he shot inches wide of the angle. But the visitors were threatening occasionally on the break, and Sam Vallance produced an outstanding last-ditch tackle, when Helder Valdez looked certain to score.

Towards the end of the half, a short enforced break took place, when a hole was found on the pitch. But once play had begun again, it was the Whites who came closest to scoring before the interval. Cloke shot over, Renner had a header on target, and then Anthony Hogg had a well-struck drive saved by the keeper.

The interval arrived with the game still goalless, but only five minutes into the second period the Whites were behind. Paul Hyde collected a corner, but as he went to kick the ball out, he was adjudged to have kicked out at Chelmsford's Gary Ansell.

After lengthy arguments, in which Hyde got booked, Chelmsford's keeper Paul Nicholls slotted the penalty home. It was the keeper's second goal of the season, both of them being penalties against the Whites.

The game got a bit scrappy for a while, with a series of bookings as the referee began to lose control of the game. It was left to Sam Vallance to again make a saving tackle to keep the game in the Whites' reach, as Gary Ansell almost put the game to bed.

But Whites were playing fairly well, and when Matata and Braithwaite replaced Rogers and Hamshare 12 minutes from time, it provided the extra gear needed. Within a minute of the changes, the scores were level.

Jude Stirling twisted and turned the right back, and Walid Matata turned in his cross at the near post, with his first touch of the game. Then four minutes later, Matata collected the ball following a dummy by Renner, and his shot looked like it could be the winner, before it was blocked for a corner.

The final chances fell to the Whites, as Renner volleyed a Braithwaite cross just over, and Cloke poked a Vallance free kick marginally over, but the vital winning goal did not materialise.

This result makes survival harder, especially with Tonbridge winning, but it was always going to be an uphill struggle. But the gap was closed by another point to 8 points, and if the side can beat Tonbridge and Folkestone before the end of the season, and pick up other points, then it could still happen. Whites deserved more than a point today, with Chelmsford's only shot on target being the penalty, but this is the story of Dover's season, and it is all about points from now until the end of the season.