It’s been a stop-start season for Darts Academy Whites, with a host of players regularly called up for first-team duties and others on loans gaining invaluable experience.
For Academy Manager Ben Greenhalgh, it’s all part and parcel of running a successful Academy – and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
However, a string of excellent results and a host of players now Wembley-bound, have given him an extra spring in his steps in recent weeks.
A 5-1 win at home against Welling and 4-0 away win at Borehamwood for the Whites, left him singing the praises of his young stars.
However, Whitstable Town’s recent win to take them to the FA Vase final at Wembley, was equally as satisfying.
He said: “We’ve got four current Academy players involved with Whitstable and they’re obviously doing really well. They’re going to be playing at Wembley so that’s going to very interesting and exciting to see how they get on.
“We’ve also got three ex-Academy players there at the moment featuring regularly.
“It’s really good to see the number of players thriving down there and getting opportunities. It might disrupt us a little, but it’s great for Dartford, both now and further down the line.”
January to March saw some mixed results for the Whites, but some top performances along the way.
Ben continued: “We have a lot of players that are dual-registered or loaned, this year, so we have had less of a focus on our lead games as we aren’t always able to put out our strongest 11. There are so many players who are able to play first-team football who are performing so well outside of Academy football and that is exactly what the plan is.
“Ashdon Day is one of those at Whitstable and he has been scoring and assisting regularly.
“Olly, Sam and Jez, all got first-team experience on loan and it’s a model that really works for us as we look to continue our players’ development and get them as many minutes as possible playing men’s football. It’s great for our Academy boys to see there is a clear path-way and plan, to get them a chance in the first team, too.
“That doesn’t mean to say the Academy results have been poor, we beat Aldershot twice winning 4-3 away and 6-1 at home in one of our performances of the season, a few months ago.
“More recently, we beat Borehamwood 4-0 away which is a tough place to go against a very big club and then 5-1 to Welling.
“Jez Pinder and Joseph Kpaka have caught the eye in midfield in the last few matches, they have been playing really well together. We have more players available and are finishing the season very strongly.”
One player to have also caught the eye recently is between the posts – Victor Anjorin.
Ben added: “We had an injury to Josh and Victor came in. We knew he was a brilliant talent, but he’s been outstanding. He got a clean sheet against Borehamwood, which is quite difficult at Academy level and he’s been training with the first team since.”
Whitstable will play AFC Whyteleafe in the FA Vase final on 11 May. Keep an eye out for the next Academy matches which are posted on the website and social media.