Dover Athletic 2 Wealdstone 0 match report: Sublime brace in the first half from midfielder Jack Bates moves Whites into FA Cup second round

Jack Bates took centre stage as Dover pulled off an FA Cup upset at home to National League Wealdstone to move into the second round of the competition on Saturday.

The midfielder lit-up the tie with two fantastic first-half goals from distance as it finished 2-0 at Crabble and they moved one round away from a possible FA Cup third-round encounter against the likes of Premier League champions Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City and Manchester United.

In-form National League South side Whites’ victory saw them earn another £47,750 in prize money.

After a lively start - albeit one that saw no early clear-cut chances get created - the hosts, who had already seen off Folkestone, Hanwell Town and Dorking to reach this stage, drew first blood on 14 minutes in front of a bumper crowd.

A booming clearance by captain and goalkeeper Mitch Walker saw the ball fall to Sak Hassan, playing against his old club. Wealdstone had axed him last term after he reportedly played in the televised indoor Baller League competition without permission.

Optimistic home penalty protests were waved away by excellent referee Matthew Norton as Hassan went to ground, only for it to fall to Bates. He wrapped his laces around his effort from the edge of the penalty area to fire beyond a helpless goalkeeper Dante Baptiste.

Four minutes later, it almost got even better for Dover and Hassan. The 25-year-old sent midfielder Euan Williams’ right-wing cross goalwards at the far post, but he was thwarted by Baptiste.

Whites again had the ball in the net from a long throw by the magnificent defender Harry Beadle shortly after the half-hour mark. But Mr Norton correctly ruled it out for a foul after Baptiste had dropped winger Ruben Soares-Junior’s powerful strike.

The