Simeon Hodson earns himself a red card by stamping on Dover's Joe Dunne

Dover Athletic battled back from a goal down to salvage a point and protect their unbeaten record in a keenly contested encounter at Crabble this afternoon.

Bill Williams was without suspended leading scorer Joff Vansittart and injured midfield general Dave Clarke as well as long term casualties Neil Le Bihan and Stuart Munday. On the plus side, Jake Leberl was able to play having recovered from the injury he sustained at Harlow last week. Matt Carruthers replaced Vansittart and last week's super-sub, Simon Beard, partnered Joe Dunne in central midfield in place of Clarke.

Like Dover, Altrincham were also unbeaten in recent weeks so we were all expecting a close match. Athletic started brightly and had a succession of corners in the first five minutes, but were unable to make the most of them. However, their pressure was rewarded shortly after when Joe Dunne netted from 15 yards with the help of a deflection that put the ball out of the reach of veteran Conference keeper Dean Greygoose.

Athletic's lead was short-lived though, as Altrincham drew level just six minutes later. Brendan Burke found Kevin Ellison who delivered a deep cross that somehow evaded both keeper Paul Hyde and centre-back Jake Leberl to be headed home unchallenged from a narrow angle by Phil Power. A soft goal that could have been avoided.

Altrincham grew in confidence after the equaliser and kept the home side quiet for most of the rest of the half.

The Whites' injury problems were added to on 35 minutes when left-back James Virgo limped off. He was replaced by striker Mark Hynes, a substitution that led to a complicated reshuffle in the Dover formation. Left winger Steve Norman dropped back to play full-back, Simon Wormull moved from the right wing to the left, Matt Carruthers replaced Wormull on the right and Hynes took Carruthers' place up front, alongside Steve Brown. Whilst most Dover fans would agree that this season's squad has much more strength in depth than in previous years, the team that finished the match was just a shadow of the rampaging, fully-fit side that effortlessly disposed of Hednesford and Stevenage.

Things got even worse for Athletic five minutes later. Lee Shearer conceded a free-kick on the Dover right, earning his sixth booking of the season in the process. Danny Allen's free-kick was headed on by Gary Talbot and volleyed into the back of the net by Ged Kielty from 12 yards.

Altrincham were looking quite comfortable at 2-1 up on 40 minutes, but on 41 minutes their lead was looking less secure thanks to a moment of madness from right-back Simeon Hodson. Dover's Joe Dunne went in hard on Hodson and the Alty player lost his cool, stamping on the Irishman, behind the referee's back. However, the eagle-eyed linesman on the far side spotted the offence and Hodson had to go.

Altrincham went in 2-1 ahead at half-time but the red card had set-up an exciting second period. Altrincham were a man down and leading away from home. They were looking to defend this lead, whilst Dover had a man advantage and sensed another three points for the taking.

There was relentless pressure on the Alty goal for much of the second half, with Wormull, Carruthers, Norman and Browne delivering an endless stream of crosses into the visitors' area. Unfortunately the aerial threat of diminutive Mark Hynes is not as great as that of the absent Joff Vansittart and the Altrincham back line defended manfully to repel most of the Whites' raids.

Athletic should have equalised on 63 minutes but were denied by a fine one-handed save by Greygoose low to his right to keep out Steve Brown's header from Norman's cross. It was not all one-way traffic though and on the occasions Altrincham broke they stretched the Dover back four but never really tested Paul Hyde, partly because of poor shooting.

Athletic grabbed the equaliser that their pressure had earned in the 76^th minute. Matt Carruthers netted at the back post from a yard out after Mark Hynes knocked the ball into his path following a scramble in the Altrincham six-yard box. Carruthers' second goal of the campaign.

Dover could have stolen all three points five minutes from time but somehow the ball stayed out when it seemed impossible for Dover to anything other than score. Leberl, Hynes and Carruthers were all involved but none of them could force the ball over the line.

The game finished 2-2 and a draw was probably a fair result. Dover had much more of the attacking play in the second half but they missed the craft and guile of Neil Le Bihan and more crucially Dave Clarke. Altrincham defended resolutely and deserved to take something from the match.

Hopefully Clarke will be fit for the trip to Stevenage next weekend, can anybody recall the last time Dover won a match in which he was not playing? It certainly hasn't happened this season. Bill Williams has said this week how vital Dave is to our play, and this was evident in his absence today. The Whites will also be boosted by the return of Joff Vansittart. Neither Hynes nor Carruthers did enough in this match to suggest that the Brown/Vansittart combination will not be resurrected in Hertfordshire.

Jake Leberl will definitely be unavailable for the trip because of suspension but with any luck James Virgo's injury is not serious and will not prevent him taking part. Neil Le Bihan and Stuart Munday are expected to start training soon so we should have a fully-fit squad for our next home game against Welling on the 27^th. Before then though, we must visit Stevenage and Kettering. Six points from those games would be most welcome.

Finishing on a positive note, Dover's unbeaten run now stands at 10 matches, a new club record at Conference level. Congratulations to Bill, Clive and all the players for such a brilliant response to such a disappointing result against that team from Sussex whose name we have promised never to mention again.

Matt Carruthers rises above the Alty defence to head at goal.

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