It took until the last 10 minutes of the first half for the game to warm up. Jamie O'Hara had an effort palmed away by the Dover keeper, the highlight of a scrappy first half.
Radek Cerny made a fine save before Anthony Gardner and Reto Ziegler each struck the woodwork, then Tom Huddlestone's goalbound chip from the edge of the box was denied by a spectacular save. Huddlestone again went close with a header that was just too high before the break.
Dover changed their keeper, but Andy Barcham was prevented from breaking the deadlock and then a Phil Ifil volley across goal was ever so nearly latched onto by Leigh Mills.
The home side was always involved, and after having a goal crossed off they did take the advantage, from a set piece with nine minutes left on the clock. Another free-kick seven minutes later then deflected off Charlie Daniels leaving Cerny with no chance.
Clive Allen: "We didn't reach the levels that we've set ourselves and I felt we let ourselves down a little on this occasion. The result of all that was a defeat but perhaps that's not a bad thing. The lads have spoken about it, they were all very upset and disappointed and it's important they studied the negatives. A number of times last season we didn't play well but won games. On this occasion, for the first time in a very long time, we didn't feel like we were going to win it. There was so much we didn't do that we have been doing."
Dover Athletic 2 (Dryden 81, Daniels og 88) Tottenham Hotspur XI 0
Radek Cerny
Paul Stalteri (Leigh Mills 57)
Philip Ifil
Tom Huddlestone (Stuart Lewis 57)
Charlie Lee
Anthony Gardner (Rodrigo Defendi 57)
Wayne Routledge (Chris Riley 46)
Jamie O'Hara
Andy Barcham
Terry Dixon (Jacques Maghoma 6)
Reto Ziegler (Charlie Daniels 57)
Substitute not used: Richard Stroud