The mist from the English Channel rolled in and out of the tiny Crabble Stadium on a night when there were only 486 supporters to see it, but it was the worst team in England.
It was the first time this season that Dover had taken the lead in front of their home fans and they had lost 20 and drawn four of their previous National League games. Eastleigh became the first team to lose to Andy Hessenthaler's side since January of 2021.
Two fans were pictured wearing T-shirts under their coats with the words "I saw Dover win" written on them, in hope rather than expectation, as the worst run in the side's history.
Despite the obvious jokes, the situation of the club is serious. A team of part-time players, attempting to compete in a league that includes the likes of Wrexham, who are owned and funded by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, have been anchored to the foot of the National League all season. Due to the financial impact of the Pandemic, they were fined and deducted 12 points.
Jim Parmenter, the chairman and owner of the team, said that they were set up to fail this season.
This league is getting harder. The money being spent by some clubs is unbelievable. The signing-on fee for a player from Wimbledon was 300,000 and the player's wages were 4,000 a week. We set our stall out to be cautious because we can't compete with that. I just want the club to be here for the town and function at whatever level we can afford.
Being the only senior team without a victory in British football has been a draining and unenviable distinction for the club.
I have never known anything like this in terms of how long it has lasted, according to the manager.
The White Cliffs, a distinctive rock chalk face, greet those heading to the United Kingdom from Europe. The gateway to Europe for trade and travel has been the town of Dover, which is only 21 miles away from France. The town has become a focal point for refugees from Africa, Syria and Iraq trying to get to the U.K. via the shortest possible route.
34% of children in the town of Dover live in poverty, according to a survey conducted by the University of Loughborough. Due to the end of free movement between the U.K. and Europe, the football club has seen attendance fall from around 1,200 a game to an average of 800 this season.
Chairman Parmenter said that it was always a struggle because of the large population and 180 degree catchment area. We can survive a good year with crowds of 1,400 or 1,500. We are getting 700 to 800 at the moment.
Parmenter, who runs a fruit and vegetable distribution company, took the controversial decision to leave everyone on the club's payroll. Parmenter said that they didn't start the season on time last year.
If we started in October, the grants would last until December, but when I asked what would happen if we couldn't have crowds in December, I was told we would get more grants. The League held a vote to decide if the season would continue after the grants were not there. We would have had to take a loan from the government of between $500,000 and 1 million if we had voted to continue.
I wrote to the League to say that we couldn't continue to play because I wasn't prepared to do that. They charged us with not completing our fixture, fined us and gave us a 12-point deduction because they couldn't relegate us as all the Leagues below us had stopped playing.
We carefully planned for the club to survive and our process was measured and thought out. I was surprised by the way we were treated.
In a statement issued at the time of the sanction, the National League said that theintegrity of the competition and the costs incurred by the other 22 clubs to continue the season DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch DropCatch Parmenter is unrepentant and believes his decision safeguarded the future of the club.
He said that the club has always been prudent, never had debt, and that he makes sure the books balance at the end of the year. It's 4,000 a week at some other clubs. It is real-world money.
I have had conversations with other clubs and supporters who say that what we did was right, but it doesn't change where we are. All the sympathy in the world does not improve our situation.
After working in the building trade for a while, Andy Hessenthaler decided to combine his career with playing professional games. He has been in management for more than 20 years and drives the kit van to games with Richard Harvey, a former professional cricket coach.
We all muck in, according to Hessenthaler. They are having a rough time right now, but they are fantastic people.
It is very difficult. When you are losing games, it is hard to keep motivating yourself to go onto the pitch, knowing that you cannot.
The losing stopped on Tuesday. Eastleigh are a full-time outfit with a squad of professional players, while Dover are a team of loan signings and players who have full-time jobs in teaching and construction. Sam Wood used to work as a body double for Lionel Messi in commercials, while reserve goalkeeper Alexis Andre Jr. is a model with a massive following on social media.
It is difficult to keep going when you have lost 13 games by one goal. We have been so close to winning that it has kept us going.
Some people were starting to believe we would go a full season without a win, but we all believed in ourselves.
Frank, a 56-year-old fan of the club, said that it had been awful.
Josh said that he only came to games because he didn't want to miss it when the team finally won, but he thought he would be next season because the winless run had seemed to become a psychological problem.
It seemed inevitable that we would throw it away even after Alfie scored, because there was still so much time to play. This was one of the best nights we had, because we didn't.
The goal came against the run of play and led to a lengthy period of Eastleigh dominance, but it was not enough. There was an awkward feeling of nobody knowing what to do with it being so long since they had last won.
Some players punched the air in joy, while others walked towards the home fans to celebrate with those who had been through so much. Within five minutes of the final whistle, the ground was empty and the lights had been turned off. The electricity bill needs to be kept down.
One fan joked to his friend that he would make the BBC News that night, while match winner Pavey looked at his phone to find a text from the missus.
He said to get past zero and get to plus. We don't want to end the season with minus points.
As he set the target, Southall walked by.
Southall said that he would go to the bar and have a couple of beers.
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