Dartford v Wealdstone

Report

 

Dartford 3-3 Wealdstone Match Report

Joe Brophy

Dartford remained top of the National League South after an enthralling 3-3 draw with Wealdstone.

The Darts had to twice come from behind through a double from Alfie Pavey before a strike from substitute Andy Pugh had put Dartford in the driving seat with ten minutes remaining.

However, with three minutes to go Daniel Green stepped up to equalise from the penalty spot before Lee Noble was given his marching orders in stoppage time after a second yellow.

The games frantic tone was set within minutes as Mustafa Teryake should have tested Deren Ibrahim more when he was found in space by Ryan Sellers.

The warning signs for the home side were there and Wealdstone struck first inside five minutes when Green burst forward and fed Abobaker who cut inside and finished well past Ibrahim.

It was just the wakeup call the Darts needed as they only took two minutes to level proceedings. Alex Brown’s effort fell kindly for top goal scorer Pavey to convert at the far post.

The pendulum didn’t take long to swing back into the favour of Wealdstone as they had quickly responded on 13 minutes when Luke Williams fed Green who squeezed a low-ball home from a tight angle to restore Wealdstone’s lead.

In an almost carbon copy, Pavey came agonisingly close to instantly equalising when his near-post shot was saved by keeper Jonathan North, who did well to recover and gather the loose ball as Mfula lurked.

North then nearly gifted Mfula the opportunity to restore parity anyway when he dawdled on a clearance and his eventual kick was deflected off the Darts frontman onto the upright.

North then redeemed himself in spectacular fashion with a stunning one-handed save to thwart skipper Elliot Bradbrook from Lyle Della-Verde’s free-kick.

Bradbrook went close again after winning the ball from the corner but Green got back to hack the ball off the line.

Play from both sides slowed down in the second 45 before out of nowhere North needlessly handed Pavey his second of the evening on 69 minutes.

The Wealdstone keeper was caught in no man’s land from a free-kick and Pavey gratefully gobbled up the loose ball to convert from close-range.

The Darts had been pushing hard all game and had the chance to take all three points when Pugh came off the bench to put them in front for the first time with 10 minutes left.

Another sloppy piece of defending from Wealdstone as they again failed to clear their lines and Pugh turned on the edge of the box before firing low beyond North.

Wealdstone wouldn’t lie down however and a mistake at the back from Mark Onyemah gave the referee no choice but to award the away side a late spot kick which Green duly slotted home to make it 3-3.

It got worse in stoppage time as Noble collected two bookings in the space of as many minutes after first being cautioned for dissent and then being sent to the stands for a yellow card for a foul on the halfway line.