Tony Burman is back in the Dartford dugout in time for his side’s longest away trip of the season on Tuesday night.
The Darts begin life after Alan Dowson who was relieved of his managerial responsibilities on Thursday. Returning for a fourth time as Dartford manager, Burman’s first task is a trip to Plymouth for the National South fixture against Truro City.
This will be the third different venue Dartford have visited to play Truro City. In those five previous matches, the Darts have won just one and that was 5-0 in October 2016 at Treyew Road. Keaton Wood, Andy Pugh and Duane Ofori-Acheampong all scored in the first half. Ofori-Acheampong netted again in the second forty-five as did Alex Brown.
The last visit was six years ago to the day played at Torquay United’s ground, Plainmoor. After three unanswered goals Dartford scored a last-minute consolation. Tyler Harvey opened the scoring before hitting the woodwork. The striker then scored on the stroke of half-time and moments later Nick Grimes added a third. Kudus Oyenuga headed in a 90th minute goal for the visitors as it ended 3-1.
Dowson’s final game ended in a derby day defeat at Maidstone United leaving the club down in sixteenth place. Despite taking the lead through Luke Coulson’s penalty, two second-half strikes in five minutes handed the Stones victory. Under Dowson this season, the Darts dropped 21 points from winning positions. The former manager named his final starting eleven, which saw the league debut of Emmanuel Adebowale. The defender signed in March and his only other appearance came in the London Senior Cup back in September. New loan signing from AFC Bournemouth, Billy Terrell made his debut. The young goalkeeper has had previous spells in the National South with Weymouth and Dover Athletic. Those changes were forced by the departures of Moussa Diarra and Ryan Sandford.
Dartford know what to expect from Burman who has been successful as a manager of the club previously. In the nineties he got the Darts promoted from the Kent League and won the Kent Senior Trophy. He was back nine years later and was there for Dartford’s homecoming. That became the catalyst for a rise up the pyramid.
Burman led the Darts to the Isthmian Division One North and Isthmian Premier titles before winning the National South playoffs. The club made it back to the National League for the first time since 1986. He claimed the club’s first Kent Senior Cup in 23 years in 2011 and won it again four years later. The return to the National League ended in a F.A Trophy semi-final appearance and becoming the highest part-time team in the country. However, two successive bottom four finishes finally led to relegation. Burman was close to winning another National South title in 2018 losing out on goal difference. His third spell came after the departures of Adam Flanagan and Jamie Coyle.
Truro City fell behind Dartford in the standings on the weekend despite the Darts not having a game. F.A Trophy weekend meant a rest for Burman’s players, whilst the White Tigers fitted in a league fixture at home to Worthing. The Cornwall club were beaten 4-1 keeping them level on points with the Darts, but they have scored fewer goals.
Defeat can only be described as a blip on current form as Paul Wotton’s side had won six of their last seven league matches approaching Saturday’s game. A victory over playoff contenders Chelmsford City was followed up with a win versus St Albans City. The White Tigers were stopped by Maidstone United, but Truro City bounced back with four consecutive triumphs. The pick of the bunch a Boxing Day derby win at Torquay United.
Since gaining promotion back to the National South in the summer, Truro City have taken time to find their feet. Although they did open the campaign with an impressive 5-2 win over Welling United. The White Tigers went on to lose the next three and after a steady period went seven matches without adding maximum points. Aside from their result on the weekend, Truro City seemed to have settled and although down in sixteenth they have played the fewest matches in the division. If they take advantage of those games in hand they will be sniffing around the playoff places.
Current League Form
Dartford (LLWDDL) | Truro City (LWWWWL) | ||||
Maidstone United | A | 1-2 | Worthing | H | 1-4 |
Weston-super-Mare | A | 2-2 | Dover Athletic | A | 2-0 |
Welling United | H | 1-1 | Torquay United | A | 1-0 |
Welling United | A | 1-0 | Havant & Waterlooville | H | 1-0 |
St Albans City | H | 0-3 | Weston-super-Mare | A | 3-2 |
Tonbridge Angels | A | 0-4 | Maidstone United | A | 1-2 |
Head to Head
Dartford wins: 3 / Truro City wins: 5 / Draws: 2
Last Six Meetings
Dartford 1 – 1 Truro City (30/03/2019 – National South)
Truro City 3 – 1 Dartford (27/10/2018 – National South)
Dartford 4 – 1 Truro City (24/02/2018 – National South)
Truro City 3 – 1 Dartford (11/11/2017 – National South)
Dartford 5 – 3 Truro City (18/03/2017 – National South)
Truro City 0 – 5 Dartford (08/10/2016 – National South)
Statistics
- The last seven meetings between the two sides have averaged 4.32 goals per game. Dartford have scored 17 to Truro City’s 14 (W3, D1, L3)
- Dartford’s only win away at Truro City was 5-0 in October 2016, since then they have lost two in a row
On This Day
Dartford claimed a 4-1 victory against Bath City on this day in 2016. Burman was in charge that day and guided the Darts to a comfortable win. Andy Pugh netted a brace, Ryan Hayes scored and Callum McNaughton wrapped up the points. The Darts last match on 16 January was a 1-1 draw with hungerford Town, Josh Hill with Dartford’s goal. The last away game on this day was 44 years ago when the Darts progressed to the Kent Senior Cup semi-final by beating Folkestone and Shepway 2-0. The last away fixture was up at Rugby Town in a Southern Premier League game that finished 0-0 in 1965.