Dover Athletic manager Jake Leberl reacts to 3-3 home National League South draw with Braintree Town

Boss Jake Leberl felt Dover never hit top form in a thrilling home National League South draw against Braintree on Saturday.

Whites were denied a third win in four matches as Steve Pitt’s side struck twice in the final 12 minutes and it finished 3-3 at Crabble.

While attacker Alfie Matthews had converted a penalty against his former club in the opening 45 minutes, striker Decarrey Sheriff’s Dover double had put them into a 2-1 half-time advantage.

But Leberl said: “If I’m brutally honest, I didn’t feel we were on it from the very start.

“Obviously, they have come here with a game-plan to slow the first half down.

“It was a little bit bitty, very slow, and I don’t feel we ever got into a rhythm or any tempo. With them having nothing to lose and making the subs they did, you have got to give them credit.

“If it looked like anyone was going to win it at the end, it was going to be them, wasn’t it?”

With attacking midfielder Luke Baptiste having opened his account for the season, Dover looked to be coasting to victory for much of the second period in a 3-1 lead.

But a Braintree triple substitution brought new life to the attack while Leberl’s decision to take off defender Harry Beadle, with Whites playing twice in 48 hours, ultimately backfired.

“We made the decision to take Beadle off,” Leberl revealed. “Beadle has been struggling for a long time and we just felt we didn’t want to get another one injured.

“In hindsight, was that a mistake? Should we have taken a gamble and would that have made a difference? Who knows? But it did sort of upset us a little bit.

“Obviously - a bit like against Slough (a 5-3 home success a fortnight earlier) - they had nothing to lose. They made all the substitutions at 3-1 and just absolutely