Lee McRobert hammers in Dover's first goal of the season.

Dover Athletic extended their excellent opening day record to seven wins and a draw in their eight Conference seasons with an emphatic 4-0 defeat of Hednesford Town at Crabble this afternoon. Three goals from Athletic's two summer signings and a fourth from fans' favourite Lee Shearer took the Whites to the top of the Conference, just 41 games away from a ticket to the Football League.

There were no suprises in Bill Williams' selection as he continued with the eleven players that have served him well in the recent friendlies. Steve Brown kept his place ahead of recent loan signing James Pinnock, and Dover's only permanent summer signing, Lee McRobert, was making a second Whites debut following on from the ten games he played for Athletic in 1997/98 whilst on loan from Millwall. Dave Clarke was unavailable for selection through both injury and suspension, and James Virgo is still recovering from his summer heart operation which will keep him out until at least October.

Hednesford were without the inspirational Stuart Lake, the only player to impress for Hednesford in their 4-1 reversal at Crabble last season, and summer signing Val Owen, the highly rated ex-Northwich goal-scoring midfielder, was only on the bench. They did however give a debut to former Everton defender Neil Pointon.

From the start Dover were the more effective of the two teams although they did not create many clear-cut chances. The first real opening fell to Matt Carruthers on 24 minutes when Steve Brown forced a short cross to the near post but Carruthers' header at goal was weak and was gathered at the second attempt by Gayle. Carruthers came close again on 33 minutes when his free-kick from the left was tipped over the bar by Gayle.

Steve Brown was off the field receiving treatment for a shoulder injury when the Whites went ahead. A glorious 40-yard pass from Stuart Munday made a mockery of the visitors' defence and found the feet of Lee McRobert. McRobert showed great confidence to hit a fierce low angled drive into the bottom corner of the net from about 18 yards out. He seemed rather pleased with himself and was genuinely ecstatic has he celebrated in front of the Dover End crowd.

Brown was suffering from a shoulder injury and was substituted after the goal went in, with James Pinnock taking his place to make his Dover debut. A trip to hospital later revealed that Steve Brown had suffered damage to his shoulder ligaments and is likely to miss the next few games.

The most controversial incident of the match occurred just before the interval. Joff Vansittart beat the offside trap and nodded the ball over the advancing Hednesford keeper. Gayle then followed through on Vansittart with a high challenge that left the Dover striker in a heap on the floor, requiring extensive treatment from Frank Brooks, the Dover physio. The collision occured on the edge of the area with Gayle the only player between Vansittart and the goal but the keeper escaped without punishment, much to the disgust of the home fans.

Dover had had the better of the first period and deserved to be a goal up at half-time. In the second period they completely dominated their opponents, the three goals they scored ought to have been at least five. With Shearer dominant at the back, Le Bihan orchestrating the game in midfield and Pinnock causing all sorts of problems for Hednesford's defence, the two teams were completely mismatched and had this been a boxing match the referee would have stopped the contest well before the final whistle.

James Pinnock scores his first goal for Dover after coming on as a substitute.

Pinnock makes it 3-0 with his second.

Dover's second arrived seven minutes into the second period. Neil Le Bihan did well down the Dover left and centred the ball for Pinnock. Pinnock effortlessly shrugged off the challenge of his marker, steadied himself and cooly slotted the ball into the bottom corner of the net from 18 yards.

Pinnock made it 3-0 on 72 minutes, thanks to a wonderful through ball from the most unlikely of sources, Lee Shearer. Shearer's long pass found Pinnock in the area and he finished well, striking the ball across Gayle and into the bottom corner.

Hednesford keeper Mark Gayle denies Matt Carruthers in the second half.

Pinnock could have had a hat-trick, but a third opportunity on goal was wasted as he hit weakly at the keeper.

Dover completed the rout on 84 minutes. A foul on McRobert just outside the area led to a free-kick for Matt Carruthers from the Dover left. Carruthers lifted it into the area and found Shearer who was completely unmarked. Shearer rose to meet the ball and thumped it past the helpless Gayle for the thirteenth goal of his Dover career.

The Whites were denied a chance to make it 5-0 when a clear handball in the area went completely unnoticed by the officials and no penalty was awarded.

Dover's victory was the biggest of the day in the Conference meaning Athletic become the first league leaders of the new season. Next up for the Whites is a trip to Hayes on Tuesday followed by the long journey to Conference new boys Chester City on Saturday before a return to Crabble for a Bank Holiday fixture against Kettering.

Lee Shearer causes even more problems for the Hednesford back line.