Dover Athletic manager Jake Leberl reacts to 2-1 National League South derby defeat to Tonbridge Angels at Crabble

Manager Jake Leberl conceded basement boys Dover were lucky to stay in the match for as long as they did in their National League South derby home defeat to Tonbridge on Tuesday.

Whites were second-best for much of the match after a bright start and trailed to ex-midfielder Jordan Higgs’ deflected first-half strike, only for stand-in skipper Jacob Mensah to level before the break in wet and windy conditions.

But a mistake by on-loan Dover goalkeeper Daniel Jinadu allowed Angels winger Francis Mampolo to convert for the all-important third goal in their 2-1 loss - a fourth defeat in their last five fixtures.

Leberl reflected: “We were lucky to still be in the game at half-time.

“But we did stay in the game, which gave us a chance in the second half. Obviously, we got a late goal in the first half against the run of play – which we didn’t deserve. But it kept us in the game.

“We gave away a sloppy one for the second. It was a little bit of a goalkeeping error from the cross and then we didn’t react to the second ball.

“We took a gamble, threw a couple of bodies forward late on, but just couldn’t quite get the equaliser.”

Report: Dover 1-2 Tonbridge

Mensah took the captain’s armband with regular skipper James Dunne on the substitutes’ bench as he nurses a minor knee injury and right-back John Oyenuga absent after he had been involved in a car accident.

Nevertheless, Whites, who also were without left-back Bailey Akehurst (knee), started brightly and midfielder George Wilkinson hit the crossbar early on while striker George Nikaj twice threatened in front of a crowd of 455.

Leberl said: “I’d forgotten about those chances after their dominance on the ball!

“We just couldn’t get close to them. Lots of the boys haven’t