Exeter City loanee Reid had given United a second half lead before
Ricky Miller levelled for Dover. However, instead of throwing in the towel, the
Gulls hit back immediately through Sparkes.
The visitors had made a promising start as Jack Parkinson
nodded a corner from Ricky Modeste wide after three minutes.
In the 11th minute, Joe Ward – on loan at
Plainmoor from West Bromwich Albion – tested Dover keeper Steve Arnold with a
long range strike.
Five minutes later, Nathan Blissett came close to scoring an
opener for United, but he agonisingly missed the target as he fired over.
Dover squandered a golden opportunity to take the lead in
the 23rd minute when Aswad Thomas headed a Modeste free-kick over
the bar.
Early in the second half, the Gulls were in front as Reid opened
his account for his hometown club following good build-up play involving Aman
Verma and Ward.
In the 70th minute, Sparkes was denied by the
reflexes of Arnold as he saw his headed effort tipped behind for a corner.
Five minutes later, the visitors were level as substitute
Miller found the target with a deflected free-kick.
However, the Gulls regained the lead a minute later as
Sparkes slotted home to score his first goal for the club.
Former
United striker Tyrone Marsh then struck the post for Dover in injury time, as
United held on to clinch all three points to end Dover’s run of three straight
victories.
In the penultimate game of the 2016-17 against the Whites at their Crabble ground, United completed the double over Dover with Brett Williams netting a brace to help the Gulls pull off a second 'great escape' under Kevin Nicholson.
